A half decade after the original nucleus of Fry and Mark White amicably dissolved ABC return with a new line-up and - most importantly - a magnificent new album Skyscraping. An eleven song collection that welcomingly recalls the stylish elements of classic ABC in parts while kicking out the jams with 100 per cent raw enthusiasm in others, it is unarguably a record of infectious spirit and pinsharp focus.

Many inspirational moments contributed to Martin Fry rediscovering that his heart and soul still belonged in music: Black Grape at the Hanover Grand; The Prodigy at Brixton Academy; Earl Brutus at the Dublin Castle; Suede at Kilburn National ("I like a good comeback" Fry grins of the latter). And the fact that when he flicked through his record collection, he was repeatedly being drawn back to the records that first excited him as a teenager: the Pistols, Bowie, The Temptations, Roxy Music. "I just had to get back to what I was truly all about" he admits "And if that meant listening to 'Pyjamarama' 720 times, then that's what I did"

The roots of this latest incarnation of ABC can be traced back to experimental sessions that Martin Fry became involved in with guitarist Keith Lowndes and long-time friend Glenn Gregory, famously of Heaven 17. Together they became - for a summer at least - The Magic Skulls. "It was really enjoyable and fulfilling just making music for the sake of making music" recalls Fry. Out of these sessions, songs began to form, Fry says, for no better reason than the fact that he felt the urge to sing again. Before long, mainly due to the relaxed and positive creative arrangements the three were enjoying, work on Skyscraping had begun.

The many alternative titles for Skyscraping reflect the mood of ABC at this point in time. Originally it was to be called The Fulham Dray Sessions (after their local), though 'Action?Maybe' and even 'Neptune's Your Ruler' were both considered at times. Musically the album displays a real attention for each musical detail.

On Skyscraping, ABC past and future collide - the classical piano flourishes and soul stirring strings of The Lexicon Of Love and Alphabet City are evident in Stranger Things (the first single); the guitar sample and Moog battles of How To Be A Zillionaire continue on Ask A Thousand Times, the hypnotic title track Skyscraping dreams of hazy Summer and Polaroid days.

Other tracks sound like nothing accredited to ABC in the past. Who Can I Turn To? nods in the direction of Young Americans with its Philly flavour and references to taking a tranquiliser from your limousine driver (a classic Fry line if ever there was one). Love Is Its Own Reward bears traces of Pistols-fashioned riffing. Only The Best Will Do echoes the heel-crushing stomp of early Roxy Music, while the epic slow-burning Light Years, Fry describes as about getting high, in every sense...losing yourself to find yourself.

Though as a group ABC have enjoyed a series of magnificent highs and magnificent lows, Martin Fry no longer feels as if he's dragging his past glories around behind him. Revitalised by recent live opportunities (which included impromptu performances with the Balanesque Quartet and with kitsch cabaret entertainer Lenny Beige's house band at the Talk Of London) ABC now have plans to return to the stage. "It's not like the ABC catalogue is Mount Rushmore and I have to stand in it's shadow anymore", Fry explains. "I'm beyond that now and so I'm quite happy to go out and sing Poison Arrow, How To Be A Millionaire and When Smokey Sings. The idea excites me now".