ABC went through more personnel changes in the early 80s than their new wave counterparts did bottles of hairspray. But the lineup that fronted third album How to Be A …Zillionaire! was undoubtedly the most radical. Out went founding member Stephen Singleton, whose wailing saxophones had been such a vital component of instant classic The Lexicon of Love. And in came Fiona Russell Powell, a journalist for The Face and Leigh Bowery club kid also known as Eden, plus David Yarritu, a diminutive, shaven-headed American with comically large glasses.
Both were chosen for their striking aesthetic appeal rather than their musical prowess, although apparently neither were short of the latter either. In fact, the pair’s studio contributions didn’t extend beyond a few record scratches and spoken word passages. Even the immortal line, “I want you to kiss my snatch”, often credited to Eden, was actually uttered by the group’s frontman Martin Fry in speeded-up mode.
FRY AND MARK WHITE NO DOUBT FELT THE NEED TO MIX THINGS UP AGAIN FOLLOWING THE NEGATIVE RESPONSE TO THE ROCK OF PREDECESSOR BEAUTY STAB