Be Near Me

"Be Near Me"
"Be Near Me"
Single by ABC
from the album How to Be a ... Zillionaire!
B-side	"A to Z", "What's Your Destination?"
Released	29 March 1985
Recorded	December 1984
Genre	Synth-pop; dance-pop; blue-eyed soul;
Length	3:38
Label	Neutron; Mercury; Vertigo;
Songwriter(s)	Martin Fry; Mark White;
Producer(s)	Martin Fry; Mark White;
ABC singles chronology
Music video
	"Be Near Me" on YouTube

"Be Near Me" is a song by English pop band ABC. It was released in April 1985 as the second single from their third studio album, How to Be a ... Zillionaire!. It peaked at No. 26 on the UK Singles Chart in 1985, and was the only single from the album to reach the UK top 40. It was more successful in the United States where it reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100.^[5]^[6] The song also went to number-one on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart in September of that year, remaining on top for two weeks.^[7]

Composition

The song is written in F major (C mixolydian mode) with a BPM of 125.

Music video

The song's music video was directed by Peter Care and shows the four band members in colourful attire playing oversized, cartoonish, instruments, against a white background and floor while the camera makes a series of rolling, panning and swooping shots.^[8]

Track listing

7" version

US release

"Be Near Me" – 3:38
"A to Z" – 2:50

UK release

"Be Near Me" – 3:38
"A to Z" – 2:50

12" version

US release

"Be Near Me" (Munich Disco Mix) – 5:28
"Be Near Me" (Ecstasy Mix) – 4:45
"What's Your Destination?" (instrumental version of "Be Near Me") – 3:36

UK release

"Be Near Me" (Munich Disco Mix) – 5:27
"A to Z" – 2:50
"What's Your Destination?" (instrumental version of "Be Near Me") – 3:38

Personnel

Credits adapted from the original album liner notes, "One Two Testing" and "International Musician".^[9]^[10]

ABC

Martin Fry - lead and backing vocals
Mark White - E-mu Emulator II, Fairlight CMI programming

Additional Musicians

Gary Moberley - Fairlight CMI programming
Don Snow - piano, Oberheim OB-X and Yamaha DX7 synthesizers
Brad Lang - bass guitar
Keith LeBlanc - E-mu Drumulator programming
David Palmer - hi-hat

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Chart (1985)	Peak position
Canada Top Singles (RPM)^[11]	22
UK Singles Chart^[12]	26
US Billboard Hot 100	9
US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play	1
US Cash Box Top 100^[13]	10

Year-end charts

Chart (1985)	Rank
U.S. Billboard Hot 100^[14]	71
U.S. Cash Box ^[15]	90

References

^ "Music Week" (PDF). p. 34.
^ 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. But after Beauty Stab flopped, ABC returned to synth pop for the fabulously poignant 1985 hit "Be Near Me," on How to Be a Zillionaire!
^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "ABC – Artist Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
^ Sarah Rodman (22 August 2008). "A reason to flock to '80s night". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
^ "ABC Chart History". Billboard. Archived from the original on 4 April 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits: Eighth Edition. Record Research. p. 16.
^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003. Record Research. p. 15.
^ Be Near Me. MTV. Archived from the original on 23 July 2015.
^ Colbert, Paul (June 1985). "ABC". One Two Testing (Jun 1985): 48–51.
^ Bashe, Philip (March 1986). "The Zillion Dollar Men". International Musician (Mar 1986): 58–61.
^ "RPM100 Singles". RPM Weekly. 30 November 1985. p. 6. Retrieved 24 February 2021 – via Library and Archives Canada.
^ "officialcharts.com". officialcharts.com. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles – Week ending November 30, 1985". Cash Box Magazine. 30 November 1985. Archived from the original on 1 October 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
^ "Top 100 Hits of 1985/Top 100 Songs of 1985". Music Outfitters. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
^ "Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles". Cash Box. 28 December 1985. Archived from the original on 1 October 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2018.

[1] "Music Week" (PDF). p. 34.

[2] 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. But after Beauty Stab flopped, ABC returned to synth pop for the fabulously poignant 1985 hit "Be Near Me," on How to Be a Zillionaire!

[3] Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "ABC – Artist Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 7 June 2016.

[4] Sarah Rodman (22 August 2008). "A reason to flock to '80s night". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 22 March 2023.

[5] "ABC Chart History". Billboard. Archived from the original on 4 April 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.

[6] Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits: Eighth Edition. Record Research. p. 16.

[7] Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003. Record Research. p. 15.

[8] Be Near Me. MTV. Archived from the original on 23 July 2015.

[9] Colbert, Paul (June 1985). "ABC". One Two Testing (Jun 1985): 48–51.

[10] Bashe, Philip (March 1986). "The Zillion Dollar Men". International Musician (Mar 1986): 58–61.

[11] "RPM100 Singles". RPM Weekly. 30 November 1985. p. 6. Retrieved 24 February 2021 – via Library and Archives Canada.

[12] "officialcharts.com". officialcharts.com. Retrieved 15 September 2022.

[13] "Cash Box Top 100 Singles – Week ending November 30, 1985". Cash Box Magazine. 30 November 1985. Archived from the original on 1 October 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2018.

[14] "Top 100 Hits of 1985/Top 100 Songs of 1985". Music Outfitters. Retrieved 10 October 2018.

[15] "Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles". Cash Box. 28 December 1985. Archived from the original on 1 October 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2018.

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v t e ABC
Martin Fry Stephen Singleton Mark White Mark Lickley David Robinson David Palmer Fiona Russell Powell David Yarritu
Studio albums	The Lexicon of Love Beauty Stab How to Be a ... Zillionaire! Alphabet City Up Abracadabra Skyscraping Traffic The Lexicon of Love II
Live albums	The Lexicon of Live
Compilation albums	Absolutely Look of Love: The Very Best of ABC The Ultimate Collection
Singles	"Tears Are Not Enough" "Poison Arrow" "The Look of Love (Part One)" "All of My Heart" "That Was Then but This Is Now" "S.O.S." "(How to Be a) Millionaire" "Be Near Me" "Vanity Kills" "Ocean Blue" "When Smokey Sings" "The Night You Murdered Love" "King Without a Crown" "One Better World" "The Real Thing" "The Look of Love (1990 Mix)" "Love Conquers All" "Say It" "Stranger Things" "Skyscraping" "Rolling Sevens"
Related articles	Discography Vice Versa Honeyroot