How to Be a ... Zillionaire!

How to Be a ... Zillionaire!
Studio album by
ABC
Released4 October 1985[1]
Recorded1984–1985
StudioJacobs Studios (Farnham, Surrey)
Genre
Length37:52
LabelNeutron (UK)
Mercury (US)
Vertigo (Canada)
Producer
ABC chronology
Beauty Stab
(1983) 		How to Be a ... Zillionaire!
(1985) 		Alphabet City
(1987)
Alternative covers
Original CD artwork
Singles from How to Be a ... Zillionaire!
  1. "(How to Be A) Millionaire"
    Released: 2 November 1984[3]
  2. "Be Near Me"
    Released: 29 March 1985[4]
  3. "Vanity Kills"
    Released: 31 May 1985[5]
  4. "Ocean Blue"
    Released: 3 January 1986[6]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[7]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[8]
Record Mirror[9]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[10]
Smash Hits8/10[11]
The Village VoiceB−[12]

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.[13][14] 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 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.

In 2005, a digitally remastered CD of the album was released with eight bonus tracks.

  1. ^ Strickland, Andy (28 September 1985). "Index: That's Rich". Record Mirror. p. 2. ISSN 0144-5804.
  2. ^ a b Lewis, Justin (2003). "ABC". In Buckley, Peter (ed.). The Rough Guide to Rock (3rd ed.). London: Rough Guides. pp. 2–3. ISBN 978-1-84353-105-0.
  3. ^ "Music Week" (PDF). p. 28.
  4. ^ "Music Week" (PDF). p. 34.
  5. ^ "ABC singles".
  6. ^ "ABC singles".
  7. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "How to Be a... Zillionaire! – ABC". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
  8. ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th Concise ed.). United Kingdom: Omnibus Press. p. 32. ISBN 978-1-84609-856-7.
  9. ^ Morton, Roger (12 October 1985). "Albums". Record Mirror. p. 16.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ Mills, Simon (25 September 1985). "ABC: How to Be a... Zillionaire!". Smash Hits. 7 (19): 59.
  12. ^ Christgau, Robert (3 December 1985). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
  13. ^ "ABC". Official Charts Company.
  14. ^ "How to Be a...Zillionaire! Charts & Awards Billboard Singles" at AllMusic. Retrieved 1 October 2011.