August 06, 2016

Martin Fry

1 hour 24 minutes

Martin Fry is a singer/songwriter who came to prominence in the early 1980s as lead singer of the band ABC. Their debut album, the Lexicon of Love, was a UK number one. Thirty four years on, he has released a sequel to reflect how his perspective on life and love has changed; and he explains why he now chooses to perform with an orchestra. The conductor Paul MacAlindin recalls how a newspaper advert: 'Iraqi teen seeks Maestro' led to him becoming the musical director of the National Youth Orchestra of Iraq.

Saturday Live listener Leslye Stansfield describes being reunited with her long lost bicycle and why its value is so sentimental. JP Devlin visits Matthew Sweet to take a look around his home and discover what it reveals about him.

Jason Kingsley OBE, is a games developer and Royal Armouries Trustee, but in his spare time he is a practising knight. He discusses his passion for riding warhorses and jousting in a reproduction 15th century Milanese harness.

And Billy Ocean shares his Inheritance Tracks - No Woman, No Cry, Bob Marley and A Change Is Gonna Come, Sam Cooke.

The Lexicon of Love II is out now. ABC will be performing an autumn tour with the Southbank Sinfonia Orchestra, conducted by Anne Dudley.

Upbeat - The Story of the National Youth Orchestra of Iraq will be Book of The Week on Radio 4 from 15 August.

Here you are: The Best of Billy Ocean is out now, and he has a Spring Tour in 2017.

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