Be Near Me – ABC | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#9) and Hot Dance/Disco – Club Play (#1); 1985
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
An interview between Martin Fry, editor of the Modern Drugs fanzine, and Mark White and Stephen Singleton, of electro-combo Vice Versa, led to the creation of a perfect 1980’s pop band.
Once Fry was on board as lead singer, he took artistic control and renamed the group ABC. ABC expanded to a fivesome and launched Tears Are Not Enough into the UK Top 20 in late 1981.
The group set a blistering pace in 1982 with three Top 5 Brit hits and a #1 album, The Lexicon Of Love. Boosted by heavy MTV video-play, one of the singles – The Look Of Love (Part One) – caught hold in the US clubs and went to #1.
The failure of ABC’s second album left only Fry and White on board for how to be…Zillionaire! With a sound aimed straight at the American club scene, Zillionaire! and Be Near Me burned up the US dance floors. After a bout with Hodgkin’s disease, Fry and ABC returned for one last hit in 1987: When Smokey Sings.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- Martin Fry
- Mark White
Lyrics Written by:
- Martin Fry
- Mark White
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).