Poison Arrow
| "Poison Arrow" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by ABC | ||||
| from the album The Lexicon of Love | ||||
| B-side | "Theme from Mantrap" (UK) | |||
| Released | 5 February 1982 | |||
| Format | ||||
| Recorded | 1981 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:24 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Writer(s) | Martin Fry, Mark Lickley, David Palmer, Stephen Singleton, Mark White | |||
| Producer(s) | Trevor Horn | |||
| ABC singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Poison Arrow" is a song by the British new wave band ABC, released as the second single from their debut studio album, The Lexicon of Love (1982).
The single was released in the UK on 5 February 1982[3] on 7" and 12", with the same mix appearing on both formats; however a subsequent U.S. 12" remix (also known as the "Jazz Remix") appears on several ABC compilations and as a bonus track on reissues of The Lexicon of Love. An alternate, lounge music-styled version of this song, entitled "Theme from Mantrap", was released as the B-side of "Poison Arrow" in the UK and "The Look of Love" in the US. The UK 12" single additionally included an instrumental version of "Theme from Mantrap" under the title "Mantrap (The Lounge Sequence)". The band's first UK hit "Tears Are Not Enough" was the B-side of "Poison Arrow" in the US.
Chart performance
The song reached number 6 on the UK Singles chart while also climbing to number 4 in Australia and serving as the group's first entry on the US Billboard Hot 100, rising to number 25.
Music video
In the music video, ABC's frontman Martin Fry plays three roles — as a haughty upper-class opera patron, as a messenger boy at the opera, and as a bandleader at a 1960s-style swinging nightspot — and, in all three roles, unsuccessfully attempts to woo the leading lady, played by Lisa Vanderpump, later of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
In popular culture
The song was included on a compilation album released by Hip-O Records, Gold: New Wave.[4] "Poison Arrow" was used in the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.
Charts
| Charts (1982) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report) | 4[5] |
| UK Singles Chart | 6[6] |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 25[7] |
| US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play | 39[7] |
References
- ↑ Mason, Stewart. "ABC – Poison Arrow – Song Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
- ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "ABC". AllMusic. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
- ↑ NME. London, England: IPC Media. 6 February 1982. p. 31. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ "Various - New Wave: Gold (CD)". Discogs.com. 2016-11-08. Retrieved 2016-11-13.
- ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 10. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ↑ "UK charts archive". chartstats.com. Retrieved 2010-03-06.
- 1 2 "Billboard Singles". All Media Guide / Billboard. Retrieved 2010-03-06.