ABC threw aside the bleak trappings and harsh sounds of early '80s post-punk, putting on gold lamé suits and looking back to upbeat vintage R&B on their debut The Lexicon of Love. Powered by Trevor Horn's widescreen production, the album was an instant success, but singer Martin Fry and guitarist Mark White chose never to do the same thing twice. Constantly reinventing themselves—politically minded art rockers, bubblegum cartoons, suave Northern soul romantics, house music fanatics—ABC gained and lost fans with every about-face. But the music was outstanding each and every time.