# Poison Arrow
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> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Poison_Arrow.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poison_Arrow
> Source revision: 1320805738
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
{{for-multi|poisons used on arrows or darts for hunting|Arrow poison|the bands|Poison Arrows|and|The Poison Arrows}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2014}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Poison Arrow
| cover = Poison Arrow-ABC.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = [ABC](/source/ABC_(band))
| album = [The Lexicon of Love](/source/The_Lexicon_of_Love)
| B-side = * "Theme from ''Mantrap''" (UK)
* "[Tears Are Not Enough](/source/Tears_Are_Not_Enough_(ABC_song))" (US)
| released = 15 February 1982 (UK) / 11 January 1983 (US)
| recorded = 1981
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = * [Disco](/source/Disco)[{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/poison-arrow-mt0026687937 |title=ABC – Poison Arrow – Song Review |last=Mason |first=Stewart |work=[AllMusic](/source/AllMusic) |accessdate=6 August 2015}}]
* [dance-pop](/source/dance-pop)[{{cite web | url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/abc-mn0000574597/biography | title=ABC | website=[AllMusic](/source/AllMusic) | accessdate=7 June 2016 | author=Erlewine, Stephen Thomas| author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine }}]
* [new pop](/source/new_pop)[{{cite web|website=[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian)|url= https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/jun/02/martin-fry-abc-comeback-lexicon-of-live-ii-godfather-part-ii
|title= Martin Fry on ABC's comeback: 'Lexicon of Love II is a kind of Godfather Part II'|author=Kate Mossman|date=2 June 2016|access-date=22 March 2023}}]
* [orchestral pop](/source/orchestral_pop)[{{cite book|first=Bob |last=Stanley|title=Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Story of Modern Pop|chapter= Here Comes That Feeling: New Pop|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9emZAAAAQBAJ&pg=PT7|date=13 September 2013|publisher=[Faber & Faber](/source/Faber_%26_Faber)|isbn=978-0-571-28198-5|page=533}}]
* [lounge](/source/Lounge_music)[{{cite book|editor1-last=Weisbard |editor1-first=Eric |editor1-link=Eric Weisbard |editor2-last=Marks |editor2-first=Craig |year=1995 |title=[Spin Alternative Record Guide](/source/Spin_Alternative_Record_Guide)|chapter= ABC|publisher=[Vintage Books](/source/Vintage_Books) |location=[New York City](/source/New_York_City) |isbn=0-679-75574-8|pages= 4–5}}]
| length = 3:24
| label = * Neutron
* [Mercury](/source/Mercury_Records)
* [Vertigo](/source/Vertigo_Records)
| writer = * [Martin Fry](/source/Martin_Fry)
* [Mark White](/source/Mark_White_(British_musician))
* [Stephen Singleton](/source/Stephen_Singleton)
* David Palmer
* Mark Lickley
| producer = [Trevor Horn](/source/Trevor_Horn)
| prev_title = [Tears Are Not Enough](/source/Tears_Are_Not_Enough_(ABC_song))
| prev_year = 1981
| next_title = [The Look of Love](/source/The_Look_of_Love_(ABC_song))
| next_year = 1982
| misc = {{External music video|{{YouTube|a70yJwgQtzo|"Poison Arrow"}}}}
}}
"'''Poison Arrow'''" is a song by the English [pop](/source/Pop_music) band [ABC](/source/ABC_(band)), released as the second single from their debut [studio album](/source/Album), ''[The Lexicon of Love](/source/The_Lexicon_of_Love)'' (1982). It reached No. 6 on the [UK singles chart](/source/UK_singles_chart). In the [United States](/source/United_States), it peaked at No. 24 on the ''[Cashbox](/source/Cashbox_(magazine))'' and No. 25 in [''Billboard'' Hot 100](/source/Billboard_Hot_100) charts.
The single was released in the United Kingdom on 15 February 1982[{{cite news |newspaper=[NME](/source/NME) |publisher=[IPC Media](/source/TI_Media) |location=London, England |page=31 |date=6 February 1982}}] on [7"](/source/Single_(music)) and [12"](/source/Twelve-inch_single), with the same mix appearing on both formats; however a subsequent US 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](/source/The_Lexicon_of_Love)''.
An alternate, [lounge music](/source/lounge_music) styled version of this song, entitled "Theme from ''Mantrap''", was released as the [B-side](/source/A-side_and_B-side) of "Poison Arrow" in the United Kingdom, and "[The Look of Love](/source/The_Look_of_Love_(ABC_song))" in the United States. The 12" single in the United Kingdom additionally included an instrumental version of "Theme from ''Mantrap''" under the title "''Mantrap'' (The Lounge Sequence)". The band's first hit in the United Kingdom "[Tears Are Not Enough](/source/Tears_Are_Not_Enough_(ABC_song))" was the B-side of "Poison Arrow" in the United States.
== Music video ==
In the [music video](/source/music_video), ABC's lead vocalist [Martin Fry](/source/Martin_Fry) plays three parts: a haughty [upper-class](/source/Upper_class) opera patron; a [messenger boy](/source/Courier) at the opera; and a [bandleader](/source/bandleader) at a 1960s-style swinging nightspot. In all three roles, he unsuccessfully attempts to woo the leading lady, played by the television personality and actress [Lisa Vanderpump](/source/Lisa_Vanderpump), later of ''[The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills](/source/The_Real_Housewives_of_Beverly_Hills)'' and ''[Vanderpump Rules](/source/Vanderpump_Rules)''.
== Personnel ==
Credits sourced from ''[Sound on Sound](/source/Sound_on_Sound)'' and the original album liner notes.[{{cite magazine |last=Doyle |first=Tom |title=Classic Tracks: ABC 'The Look Of Love' |magazine=[Sound on Sound](/source/Sound_on_Sound) |date=July 2016 |url=https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/classic-tracks-abc-look-love}}]
'''ABC'''
* [Martin Fry](/source/Martin_Fry) – lead and backing vocals
* [Mark White](/source/Mark_White_(British_musician)) – electric guitars, piano, synthesizers
* [Stephen Singleton](/source/Stephen_Singleton) – saxophone
* Mark Lickley – bass guitar
* David Palmer – drums, congas
'''Additional musicians'''
* [Trevor Horn](/source/Trevor_Horn) – [Minimoog](/source/Minimoog) bass, [Roland TR-808](/source/Roland_TR-808) programming, [Roland MC-4 Microcomposer](/source/Roland_MC-4_Microcomposer) sequencer
* [J. J. Jeczalik](/source/J._J._Jeczalik) – [Fairlight CMI](/source/Fairlight_CMI) programming
* [John Thirkell](/source/John_Thirkell) – trumpet, flugelhorn
* Karen Clayton – spoken voice
== Chart performance ==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
=== Weekly charts ===
{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
! Chart (1982–1983)
! Peak
position
|-
! scope="row" | Australia ([Kent Music Report](/source/Kent_Music_Report))[{{cite book|last=Kent|first=David|author-link=David Kent (historian)|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992|edition=illustrated|publisher=Australian Chart Book|location=[St Ives, New South Wales](/source/St_Ives%2C_New_South_Wales)|year=1993|isbn=0-646-11917-6|page=10}}]
| style="text-align:center;" | 4
|-
{{single chart|Flanders|19|artist=ABC|song=Poison Arrow|rowheader=true|accessdate=6 January 2020}}
|-
{{single chart|Ireland2|14|song=Poison Arrow|rowheader=true|accessdate=6 January 2020}}
|-
{{single chart|Dutch100|18|artist=ABC|song=Poison Arrow|rowheader=true|accessdate=6 January 2020}}
|-
{{single chart|New Zealand|5|artist=ABC|song=Poison Arrow|rowheader=true|accessdate=6 January 2020}}
|-
{{single chart|UK|6|date=19820314|rowheader=true|accessdate=6 January 2020}}
|-
! scope="row" | US [''Billboard'' Hot 100](/source/Billboard_Hot_100)[{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/abc/chart-history|title=Billboard > ABC Chart History > Hot 100|magazine=[Billboard](/source/Billboard_(magazine))|accessdate=6 January 2020}}]
| style="text-align:center;"|25
|-
! scope="row" | US ''Billboard'' [Hot Dance Club Play](/source/Dance_Club_Songs)[{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/abc/chart-history/dsi/|title=Billboard > ABC Chart History > Dance Club Songs|magazine=[Billboard](/source/Billboard_(magazine))|accessdate=6 January 2020}}]
| style="text-align:center;" | 39
|}
{{col-2}}
=== Year-end charts ===
{|class="wikitable"
! Chart (1982)
! Peak position
|-
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[{{cite web|url=https://i.imgur.com/iP7HHqt.jpg|title=Kent Music Report No 445 – 3 January 1983 > National Top 100 Singles for 1982|publisher=[Kent Music Report](/source/Kent_Music_Report), via [Imgur](/source/Imgur)|accessdate=6 January 2020}}]
| align="center" | 31
|}
{{col-end}}
== In popular culture ==
* The song was featured in an early 1983 episode of the US television soap opera ''[The Young and the Restless](/source/The_Young_and_the_Restless)''.
* "Poison Arrow" was used in the action-adventure game ''[Grand Theft Auto: Vice City](/source/Grand_Theft_Auto%3A_Vice_City)'' (2002) on the fictional radio station Wave 103.
* In February 1998, the song was featured in an episode of motoring magazine programme ''[Top Gear](/source/Top_Gear_(1977_TV_series))'', in which scenes of the [Vauxhall Astra](/source/Vauxhall_Astra) is being driven, with a voice over by presenter [Jeremy Clarkson](/source/Jeremy_Clarkson).[{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwC-lQDZ2D0 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170405153136/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwC-lQDZ2D0 |archive-date=2017-04-05 |url-status=dead|title=Old Top Gear Vauxhall Astra MK4| website=[YouTube](/source/YouTube) |date=February 22, 2017}}]
*The song was featured as the title credits song for the [BBC](/source/BBC) sitcom ''[White Gold](/source/White_Gold_(TV_series))'' in the episode "The Past Does Not Equal the Future".
*The song was featured in the [Nine Network](/source/Nine_Network) program ''[Footy Classified](/source/Footy_Classified)'', where it is used to introduce the segment "Caro's Arrow". The segment involves [Caroline Wilson](/source/Caroline_Wilson_(journalist)) delivering a monologue where she targets high-profile issues and personalities in the [Australian Football League](/source/Australian_Football_League) (AFL). This segment ended after 2024 with Wilson's departure.
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
== External links ==
* {{discogs master|type=single|73372}}
{{ABC (band)}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Poison Arrow}}
Category:1982 songs
Category:1982 singles
Category:ABC (band) songs
Category:Song recordings produced by Trevor Horn
Category:Songs written by Mark White (musician)
Category:Songs written by Stephen Singleton
Category:Songs written by Martin Fry
Category:Music videos directed by Julien Temple
Category:Mercury Records singles
Category:Vertigo Records singles
Category:Orchestral pop songs
---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Poison Arrow](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poison_Arrow) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poison_Arrow?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.