Heaven 17 were one of the best trios of the New Wave movement. Sadly the band was absent at the show with no explanation. A roadie claimed they were not to be on this part of the tour, but this show was billed that way.
ABC, the shows headliner, was the most impressive all night. Leader Martin Fry was always one of the music scenes most dapper dressed men (comparisons to Roxy Music’s Brian Ferry are frequent). Fry also had some of New Wave’s best pipes and was as true blue eye soul singer (second in the New Wave genre only to Boy George). Fry and drummer David Palmer (who drummed on their legendary Lexicon of Love album and is considered part of the classic ABC lineup) are on board for this tour, though Stephen Singleton and Mark White, also part of the Lexicon days are still opting not to rejoin the band.
Regardless, ABC live still sounds soulful and the material does not sound that dated (especially alongside a Cutting Crew set). Fry is a showman in the Sinatra old school style (nice suit and groomed and all), but much more showy and extroverted.
And, guilty pleasure it is, how can one be happy when you hear “Poison Arrow” (funny, as it is a menacing song of getting dumped), “Look of Love” and the “should have been in a John Hughes movie” song, "That Was Then but This Is Now.”
The Regeneration Tour was, all in all, a fun night for 80s nostalgia. And as Joe Jackson famously (or not so famously) said when he did a Joe Jackson Band reunion tour in 2003, “Nostalgia is like cocaine. It’s not bad in small does.”
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