ABC – Tears Are Not Enough (UK 12″)

Burning The Ground Exclusive 1981

“Tears Are Not Enough” is the debut single by the English new wave band ABC. It was released on 16 October 1981 in two formats (7″ and 12″).
The version that can be heard on the Lexicon of Love album was re-recorded by the band and produced by Trevor Horn. It features lavish orchestration by Art Of Noise’s Anne Dudley, one of several on the LP. According to Horn, they were her first-ever string arrangements.

The song was ranked at number 7 among the top ten “Tracks of the Year” for 1981 by NME. The single peaked at No. 19 on the UK Singles Chart. In the US, “Tears Are Not Enough” was released as the B-side of “Poison Arrow”.

SIDE A:
Tears Are Not Enough (Extended Version) 7:47

SIDE B:
Alphabet Soup (12″ Version) 8:03

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Neutron Records – NTX 101
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Single
Country: UK
Released: 1981
Genre: Funk / Soul, Pop
Style: Jazz-Funk, New Wave

CREDITS:
Artwork By – Neutron
Engineer – Owen Davies
Producer – Steve Brown
Written-By, Performer – ABC

NOTES:
From the LP “The Lexicon Of Love”

Find the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

THE GEAR:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge/Stylus: Ortofon 2M Black
Turntable Isolation Platform: ISO-Tone™ Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp:
Pro-Jec Tube Box DS2
DAC:
Alpha Design Labs GT40a USB DAC
Record Cleaning
: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans
: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner

SOFTWARE:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling/Dither: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

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Muff Diver
Muff Diver
September 15, 2021 1:02 am

Aaak! Too late 🙁
This is a bummer for yours truly, but I totally understand why the music is unavailable. It’s the thought that counts, after all.
Even if I missed out, I do thank you anyways for your ABC restoration work.
I’ll try to do better in responding sooner after you’ve posted an upload. And I really dig that you’ve made so much ABC available in the past!
Thanks again for your fabulous efforts, Paul.

David G
David G
September 3, 2021 1:48 am

Thanks so much for this one! This is such a great song from a fantastic band. I didn’t know about ABC when this song was released, but I loved them immediately when I heard “The Look of Love” a year or so later. The Lexicon of Love is one of those iconic ’80s albums, like The Human League’s Dare and Duran Duran’s Rio — simply the greatest new wave albums ever made.

negative1
September 2, 2021 8:36 pm

Hi Paul, You know I love ABC, so anything you post from them is great. It’s so interesting to hear their first single, and 12 inch versions. Especially the non-album track alphabet soup. They paid so much attention to everything in the music. But if people check out the back story on the cover, its a very long detailed story about some early history of the band, and some marketing. Its very interesting. I have a tourbook from the Lexicon of Love era, that also has a ton of cool pictures, and details too. Anyways, while Tears are not enough… Read more »

Daniel
Daniel
September 2, 2021 5:06 pm

It’s been a while I didn’t put a comment here. That doesn’t mean I don’t follow. It’s just that I’m busy doing a lot of things lately. So now I’m taking the time to say thank you Paul. It’s always a pleasure to look for your new posts. I do like this ABC single. One last thing: I miss your totally obscure posts.

Daniel

Lexicon Devil
Lexicon Devil
September 2, 2021 2:29 pm

Art Of Noise-Moments In Love 10 minute version is an underrated 80’s classic and I never knew A.D. was a participant on an ABC release…until now.
You learn something new everyday at DJ Paul’s School Of Music!

John
John
September 2, 2021 1:46 pm

ABC created some fantastic tracks in the 80’s, The Lexicon of Love being my favourite album with Tears Are Not Enough, Poison Arrow and The Look of Love (parts I/II).
Trevor Horn as always creating a fantastic production.

Hi Paul, loving the new ABBA tracks and that CGI footage of them looked so real.
Do you please have ABBA Lay All Your Love On Me disconet remix which I orginally had on CD, even though it’s also been on vinyl and is a great remix, I played it many times in the past.

Jeff
Jeff
September 2, 2021 9:57 am

Even with a lot of knowledge concerning 80’s music, I did miss a lot. Probably because I have so many musical genre interests. Burning The Ground has helped me “catch up” on music I do/didn’t know of but failed to curate in my music collections. As controversial as this may sound, I don’t own a copy of the album this song is culled from. I have many compilations, and singles, but so many albums eluded me when growing up. It’s difficult to explain, but Paul, I am most thankful for all of your offerings. And, because of you, I have… Read more »