How to Be a ... Zillionaire!
How to Be a ... Zillionaire! is the third studio album by English pop band ABC. It was originally released in October 1985, on the labels Neutron, Mercury and Vertigo. The album peaked at No. 28 on the UK Albums Chart and at No. 30 on the Billboard 200.[5][6] Four singles were released from the album, "(How to Be A) Millionaire" (UK Singles Chart: No. 49; Billboard Hot 100: No. 20), "Be Near Me" (UK: No. 26; US: No. 9), "Vanity Kills" (UK: No. 74; US: No. 91), and the fourth was "Ocean Blue", (UK: No. 54). It is the group's first and only album to feature founder members Martin Fry and Mark White flanked by new members Eden and David Yarritu, the latter two credited merely as "performers" with effectively no or limited musical contribution to the album. The four-piece was also presented in a cartoon form for the album's artwork and promotional videos, and wore outrageous costumes and played false instruments for "live" promotional performances.
How to Be a ... Zillionaire! | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | October 1985 | |||
Recorded | 1984–1985 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 37:52 | |||
Label | Neutron (UK) Mercury (US) Vertigo (Canada) | |||
Producer | ||||
ABC chronology | ||||
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Alternative covers | ||||
Original CD artwork | ||||
Singles from How to Be a ... Zillionaire! | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [2] |
Smash Hits | 8/10[3] |
The Village Voice | B−[4] |
In 2005, a digitally remastered CD of the album was released with eight bonus tracks.
Track listing
All tracks are written by Martin Fry and Mark White.
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Fear of the World" | 3:50 |
2. | "Be Near Me" | 3:37 |
3. | "Vanity Kills" | 3:28 |
4. | "Ocean Blue" | 3:36 |
5. | "15 Storey Halo" | 5:36 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
6. | "A to Z" | 2:49 |
7. | "(How to Be A) Millionaire" | 3:34 |
8. | "Tower of London" | 3:36 |
9. | "So Hip It Hurts" | 4:17 |
10. | "Between You and Me" | 3:16 |
Total length: | 37:52 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
11. | "Fear of the World" (In CinemaScope) | 4:40 |
12. | "Be Near Me" (Munich Disco mix) | 5:27 |
13. | "(How to Be a) Zillionaire" (Bond Street mix of "(How to Be a) Millionaire") | 6:05 |
14. | "Vanity Kills" (The Abigail's Party mix) | 5:08 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
11. | "(How to Be a) Trillionaire" (Harajuku mix of "(How to Be a) Millionaire") | 3:38 |
12. | "What's Your Destination?" (B-side to UK version of "Be Near Me" single) | 3:38 |
13. | "Vanity Kills" (USA remix) | 5:40 |
14. | "Vanity Kills" (The Abigail's Party mix) | 5:08 |
15. | "Ocean Blue" (Pacific Mix) | 3:40 |
16. | "Judy's Jewels" (B-side to "Vanity Kills" single) | 2:03 |
17. | "Fear of the World" (in CinemaScope) | 4:40 |
18. | "Tower of London" (instrumental version) | 3:38 |
Personnel
ABC
- Martin Fry – lead and backing vocals
- Mark White – E-mu Emulator II; Yamaha DX7; Fairlight CMI programming; synthesizers
- Fiona Russell Powell (aka Eden) – vocals; record scratching
- David Yarritu – spoken voice
Additional personnel
- Gary Moberley – Fairlight CMI programming
- Don Snow – piano; synthesizers
- Skip McDonald – guitar
- David Williams – guitar
- Brad Lang – bass guitar
- Keith LeBlanc – rhythm beatbox programming; drums
- David Palmer – hi-hat
- Chris Whitten – drums
- Guy Barker – trumpet
- Alan Carvell – backing vocals
- Jackie Challenor – backing vocals
- Lorenza Johnson – backing vocals
- P. P. Arnold – tertiary backing vocals on "Ocean Blue"
Production
- Mark White – producer
- Martin Fry – producer
- Martyn Webster – chief engineer
- Julian Mendelsohn – mixing; second engineer
- Mark Stent – assistant engineer
- Paul Corkett – assistant engineer
- Dietmar Schillinger – assistant engineer
- Heff Moraes – assistant engineer
- Mike Drake – assistant engineer
- Paul Wright – assistant engineer
- Charles Harrowell – assistant engineer
- Ian Cooper – analogue mastering engineer
- Daryl Easlea – digital pre-mastering; album sequencing
- Gary Moore – digital mastering engineer
- Nick Knight – photography
- Keith Breeden at Design KB – art direction
- Alan Best – animation art
- Ted Hall – animation art
- Peter Care – dialogue and photo modelling director
Chart performance
Weekly charts
Chart | Peak position |
---|---|
Canadian RPM Albums Chart[7][8] | 36 |
UK Albums Chart[5] | 28 |
US Billboard 200[9] | 30 |
West German Media Control Albums Chart[10] | 58 |
References
- Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "How to Be a... Zillionaire! – ABC". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
- Sheffield, Rob (2004). "ABC". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 2. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- Mills, Simon (25 September 1985). "ABC: How to Be a... Zillionaire!". Smash Hits. 7 (19): 59.
- Christgau, Robert (3 December 1985). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
- "ABC". Officialcharts.com.
- "How to Be a...Zillionaire! Charts & Awards Billboard Singles" at AllMusic. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
- "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
- "Results – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
- ABC. "ABC – Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
- "Charts.de". Charts.de. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
External links
- How to Be a ... Zillionaire! at Discogs (list of releases)
- Album page from official ABC site