ADMISSION:
Admission is free.

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EVENT RULES & PERMITTED ITEMS: For information on event rules and items allowed in the venue, click HERE.

DESCRIPTION:
“ABC melded new wave, synth-pop, soul music, sophisti-pop, disco, and supper club into an overall sound that remains as exciting, fresh, and distinctive as ever...”—The Mercury News, May 2023

Get ready to dance the night away with ABC at a spectacular concert and conversation presented as part of Trojan Family Weekend! Led by singer Martin Fry, the legendary band from Sheffield, England, formed in 1981 and fused disco and funk with new wave to chart 10 U.K. and 5 U.S. singles in the Top 40, including three number-one songs on the U.S. dance club charts: “The Look of Love,” “Be Near Me,” and “When Smokey Sings.”

The Lexicon of Love, ABC’s debut album produced by Trevor Horn, entered the U.K. Album Chart at number one and is considered one of “Top 100 British Albums” by The Observer Music Monthly and one of the “100 Greatest British Albums” by Q magazine. Its unforgettable songs were also featured in the Mantrap video by punk filmmaker Julien Temple (Absolute Beginners, The Great Rock ’n’ Roll Swindle, Earth Girls Are Easy).

In concert today, ABC is extra glorious and so is its leader. “ABC’s Martin Fry is a revelation, a soul man supreme, belting out pristine Vegas glitter pop and uptown House in his electric blue lounge suit,” writes Stephen Dalton in NME. “An ageless performer, Fry is the missing link between Bryan Ferry and Jarvis Cocker.”

The exciting performance will be preceded by a special conversation moderated by USC Vice Provost for the Arts Josh Kun with founding member and singer Martin Fry looking back at more than four decades with ABC, including his fight with Hodgkin lymphoma and being part of England’s post-punk New Romantic movement along with peers Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, and the Human League, and its ongoing impact around the world.

Presented by USC Visions and Voices and Trojan Family Weekend.