Spandau Ballet were an English new wave band formed in Islington, London, in 1979. Inspired by the capital's post-punk underground dance scene, they emerged at the start of the 1980s as the house band for the Blitz Kids, playing "European Dance Music" as "The Applause" for this new club culture's audience. They became one of the most successful groups of the New Romantic era of British pop and were part of the Second British Invasion of the Billboard Top 40 in the 1980s, selling 25 million albums and having 23 hit singles worldwide. The band have had eight UK top 10 albums, including three greatest hits compilations and an album of re-recorded material. Their musical influences ranged from punk rock and soul music to the American crooners Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett.
True is the third studio album by English new wave band Spandau Ballet, released on 4 March 1983 by Chrysalis Records. The band's songwriter/guitarist Gary Kemp realised after the release of their second album that the nightclub audience they initially wanted to attract had lost interest in them in part because of the band's transition from dance music to pop. He no longer felt obligated to keep writing music for them and shifted his focus to soul and R&B influences such as Marvin Gaye and Al Green for this album. Kemp thought that bandmate Steve Norman's newfound interest in the saxophone would be well-suited to the sound he was going for, as would the decision to record most of the album at Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas.
The Freestylers are a British electronic music group, consisting of producers Matt Cantor and Aston Harvey. They have released five studio albums and a number of mix compilations for, among others, Fabric and BBC Radio.
Gary Michael Langan is an English engineer, record producer, mixer and musician.
Hold Your Colour is the debut studio album by the Australian drum and bass band Pendulum, released on 25 July 2005 and later reissued in 2007 by Breakbeat Kaos. The album was mastered by Stuart Hawkes at Metropolis in London. The album features collaborations with artists such as the DJs Fresh and TC, the MCs $pyda and Fats, vocalists from bands Freestylers and Halogen, and guitarists from bands Karnivool and Concord Dawn, together with Peredur ap Gwynedd.
"True" is a song by English new wave band Spandau Ballet, released in April 1983 as the title track and third single from their third studio album. It was written by the band's guitarist/songwriter Gary Kemp to express his feelings for Altered Images lead singer Clare Grogan, influenced musically by songs of Marvin Gaye and Al Green he was listening to at the time, and lyrically by Green and The Beatles. It eventually reached number one on the UK chart in April 1983 and made the top 10 in several other countries, including the US, where it became their first song to reach the Billboard Hot 100.
Osymyso is a musician and DJ from the United Kingdom who specialises in the genres of mashup / bastard pop and breakbeat. He has been making music since 1994 and released his first album, Welcome to the Pailindrome, in 1999. Songs which he has created include "Pat n Peg", which turns an argument between two EastEnders characters into a track through the looping of the shouts You bitch! and You cow! and the addition of a hip hop beat, and "Intro-Inspection". In a 2002 front page survey of the genre, The New York Times remarked on "Intro-Inspection" and called Osymyso "one of the most popular bootleg artists".
Disco Tanz is the eighth compilation album compiled and remixed by Italian DJ Gigi D'Agostino, release in 2005 through Noise Maker records.
"To Cut a Long Story Short" is the debut single by the English new wave band Spandau Ballet, released on 31 October 1980. The band began recording the song before they were signed to a record label because of the interest they had generated with a debut concert for patrons of the exclusive weekly London nightclub the Blitz as well as a Christmas party at that establishment. After having tried other popular genres, the band had been preparing to make their debut as performers of dance music and wanted the public to associate them with the young crowd who met at the Blitz every Tuesday. They needed their guitarist/songwriter, Gary Kemp, to come up with something that they could feel confident about presenting to the top tier of the club's regulars at their first performance.
Journeys to Glory is the debut studio album by English new wave band Spandau Ballet, released on 6 March 1981 by Chrysalis Records. All of the songs on the album were produced by Richard James Burgess and written by band guitarist Gary Kemp to appeal to the patrons of a weekly Tuesday night club the band started attending called the Blitz, where they were accustomed to hearing "white European dance music". Their performances at the Blitz and other exclusive venues attracted the attention of record labels eager to sign them, and one of the songs they had been performing, "To Cut a Long Story Short", gained popularity through a recording session made at BBC Radio 1.
Diamond is the second studio album by English new wave band Spandau Ballet, released on 12 March 1982 by Chrysalis Records. As with their debut album, Journeys to Glory, all songs were produced by Richard James Burgess and written by band guitarist Gary Kemp. The music was inspired by a variety of genres, including the renewed interest in funk around Soho, American film scores with roots in eastern Europe, the second side of David Bowie's Low album, Pink Floyd records and the mood pieces of another English new wave band, Japan.
The Singles Collection is a greatest hits album by English new wave band Spandau Ballet, released on 4 November 1985 by Chrysalis Records. The album peaked at number three on the UK Albums Chart and was certified double platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) within six weeks of release. It is the band's best-selling album in the United Kingdom, though despite its success, the album was released without the band's approval as they were leaving Chrysalis Records and signed to CBS Records for their next album.
The Twelve Inch Mixes is a compilation album by Spandau Ballet. It was released on 30 June 1986 by Chrysalis Records.
Pendulum are an Australian drum and bass band originating from Perth, Western Australia. They have released three studio albums, one live album, one compilation, twenty-four singles and twelve music videos.
"Painkiller" is a 2006 single by Freestylers featuring Pendulum and SirReal. It was released to promote the release of Freestylers' album Adventures in Freestyle. Pendulum had previously collaborated with Freestylers for the track "Fasten Your Seatbelt", which was released as a single and appeared on the former's 2005 album, Hold Your Colour. The single was released on 12" vinyl and on CD, with a second remix single being released on 12" vinyl.
"Tarantula" / "Fasten Your Seatbelt" is the fourth single by Australian drum and bass band Pendulum. It was released on 27 June 2005 by independent label Breakbeat Kaos and was their second release with the label. While "Fasten Your Seatbelt" features production from The Freestylers, "Tarantula" features production from Fresh and vocals from $pyda, together with Tenor Fly from The Freestylers. It peaked number 60 on the UK Singles Chart. Both songs were included on the CD release of Hold Your Colour a month later. "Fasten Your Seatbelt" samples a line from Spider-Man 2 where Doctor Octopus is firing up the fusion reactor for the first time, as well as the sound the reactor made when it was being primed.
"Slam" is a song by Australian drum and bass band Pendulum. It was released on 19 September 2005 by independent label Breakbeat Kaos as a double A-side single with "Out Here", and it was their third release with the label. It peaked number 34 on the UK Singles Chart. Both songs have been included on their CD release of Hold Your Colour in July 2005. "Slam", as well as the "Prelude" track from Hold Your Colour, samples spoken word sections from the Headhunterz song "Rock Civilization". When the song is performed live with the full band, the first minute and a half is cut out and replaced by part of the Metallica song, "Master of Puppets". However, when the song was played in DJ sets prior to 2006, the track "Prelude" was played before it, as "Slam" was always the first track played.
"Lifeline" is a song by English new wave band Spandau Ballet, released on 24 September 1982 as the first single from what would be their third album, True (1983). The song confirmed the band's intent to transition from dance music to pop that was hinted at with their previous single, "Instinction". Some band members found an enjoyable chemistry with "Lifeline" producers Tony Swain and Steve Jolley that was lacking in recording sessions with previous producers. The new song received mixed reviews but reached number 7 on the UK Singles Chart. It was also their first single to chart in the United States, missing the Billboard Hot 100 but charting on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 at number 8. The music video for the song received airplay on the U.S. cable channel MTV.
"Instinction" is a song by Spandau Ballet whose original version was included on their second album Diamond as produced by Richard James Burgess. The song was written by band guitarist/songwriter Gary Kemp. A remix by Trevor Horn was released on 2 April 1982 as the last single from the album and reached number 10 on the UK Singles Chart. This new version received good reviews but constituted a shift into pop music that did not interest the patrons of trendy London nightclubs that Spandau Ballet originally intended to represent. The band tried continuing their work with Horn on the songs for their next album but came to an impasse with him and moved on to a successful relationship with producers Steve Jolley and Tony Swain.
"The Freeze" is a song by the English new wave band Spandau Ballet, released on 12 January 1981 as the follow-up to their debut single, the number 5 UK hit "To Cut a Long Story Short". As was the case with that release, the 7-inch single of "The Freeze" featured a dub mix on its B-side, and the 12-inch single had two additional mixes of the song geared toward dance clubs. The cover art used for both formats of the single also repeated its predecessor in having a simple black-and-white classical motif. This design, however, was also seen on the sets of the music video for the song. Reviews of "The Freeze" were mixed. It reached number 17 on the UK Singles Chart.
