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. While Spandau Ballet's first two albums earned them European popularity,True made them worldwide stars and was heavily influenced by jazz,soul and R&B. It reached number one on the UK Albums Chart,number 19 on the US Billboard 200,and charted in numerous other countries around the world. The title track spent four weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart and peaked at number four on the US Billboard Hot 100. It was also Spandau Ballet's first album to be recorded outside of London.
"Set Adrift on Memory Bliss" is a song by American hip-hop group P.M. Dawn,released in August 1991 as the second single from their debut album,Of the Heart,of the Soul and of the Cross:The Utopian Experience (1991). It is built around samples of Spandau Ballet's "True",The Soul Searchers' "Ashley's Roachclip",and the Bob James version of Paul Simon's "Take Me to the Mardi Gras",with the remainder of the song written by P.M. Dawn vocalist Attrell "Prince Be" Cordes;only Prince Be and "True" writer Gary Kemp were credited for writing the tune.
"To Cut a Long Story Short" is a song by the English new wave band Spandau Ballet,released on 31 October 1980. It was their first single,and they began recording it 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.
Parade is the fourth studio album by English new wave band Spandau Ballet,released on 25 June 1984 by Chrysalis Records. The album contained two UK top-10 singles,"Only When You Leave" and "I'll Fly for You".
Through the Barricades is the fifth studio album by English new wave band Spandau Ballet,released on 17 November 1986 by CBS Records in the United Kingdom and by Epic Records in the United States. The album reached number seven and remained on the UK Albums Chart for 19 weeks. It spawned three UK commercially successful singles:"Fight for Ourselves","How Many Lies" and the band's final top-10 entry,"Through the Barricades".
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.
"Gold" is a 1983 single by English new wave band Spandau Ballet,taken from their third album True.
"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 U.S.,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.
"Only When You Leave" is a song by the English new wave band Spandau Ballet,released as the first single from their fourth album Parade.
"Through the Barricades" is the title track of Spandau Ballet's 1986 album Through the Barricades. Released as a single,"Through the Barricades" entered the UK Singles Chart on 8 November 1986 and became the band's tenth and final top ten single,peaking at number six and spending a total of ten weeks on the chart.
"Chant No. 1" is a song by the English new wave band Spandau Ballet,released on 10 July 1981 as the first single from their upcoming second album,Diamond. The band's guitarist/songwriter,Gary Kemp,wanted to pay homage to the latest London hotspot,Le Beat Route,by emulating the funk music that was popular there and even using the club as the location for the music video,all in order to show that the band was still part of the trendy Soho scene. Except for the remix of the song from the album's box set,"Chant No. 1" received good reviews,and the 7-inch single became their third top ten hit in the United Kingdom,peaking at number 3 on the UK Singles Chart.
"Instinction" is a song by Spandau Ballet whose original version was included on their second album Diamond as produced by Richard James Burgess. A remix of the song 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.
"Muscle Bound" is a song by the English new wave band Spandau Ballet,released as part of the third single from their debut album Journeys to Glory. In the UK,it was released as a double A-side with the song "Glow";elsewhere,"Glow" was included as the B-side. "Muscle Bound" received mostly good reviews,and the combined single was their third consecutive top 20 hit in their native UK,reaching number 10 on the UK Singles Chart. The music video for "Muscle Bound" was more ambitious than their previous promotional clips and went over budget because of snowy weather that caused delays during the location shoot.
"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.
"Glow" is a song by the English new wave band Spandau Ballet,released on 27 March 1981 as part of their third single,which,in the UK,was a double A-side with the song "Muscle Bound". The combined single was their third consecutive top 20 hit in their native UK,reaching number 10 on the UK Singles Chart. Elsewhere,"Muscle Bound" was the A-side. "Glow" was written while their debut album,Journeys to Glory,was in the finishing stages and not included on it,but a few different versions of the song were on the 2010 reissue of the album.
"She Loved Like Diamond" is a song by the English new wave band Spandau Ballet,released on 11 January 1982 as the third single from what would be their second album,Diamond. The music video and cover art for the single focused on the sexual themes in the lyrics and the allure of the title character. In writing the song,their guitarist/songwriter Gary Kemp was influenced by American Jewish music with an eastern European flavor that he had heard in movie themes and musicals. Most reviews singled out lead singer Tony Hadley's performance as the main problem with the recording,which only mustered a number 49 peak position on the UK Singles Chart. The poor showing prompted the idea to release another song from the album,but the band realized that getting a new single to succeed would require a remix of the disappointing work of their current producer and decided to discontinue their association with him in doing so.
"Communication" is a song by English new wave band Spandau Ballet,released on 4 February 1983 as the second single from what would be their third album,True. The song was recorded at Compass Point Studios in Nassau,Bahamas along with most of the material from that album and received several good reviews. It reached number 12 on the UK Singles Chart and made the pop charts in other countries as well. The music video for the song was made to look like a film with lead singer Tony Hadley as the main character and received airplay on the U.S. cable channel MTV.
