| Spandau Ballet | |
|---|---|
| Origin | London, England |
| Genre(s) | New Romantic New Wave Synthpop Funk Pop Rock Soul |
| Years active | 1979–1989 |
| Label(s) | EMI/Chrysalis Sony BMG/CBS |
| Website | http://www.spandauballet.com/ |
| Members | |
| Tony Hadley Gary Kemp Martin Kemp Steve Norman John Keeble |
|
Spandau Ballet was a popular English band in the 1980s. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other New Romantic was a short- lived Fashion and music movement that occurred primarily in the United Kingdom and Ireland during the very early 1980s New Wave is a Rock music genre that existed during the late 1970s and the 1980s Synthpop is a subgenre of New Wave and Pop music in which the Synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument Funk is an American musical style that originated in the mid- to late-1960s when African American musicians blended Soul music, Soul Pop music as a genre features a noticeable rhythmic element catchy melodies and hooks, a mainstream style and conventional structure Rock music is a genre of Popular music often though not necessarily employing Electric guitar, Bass guitar, and Drums. Soul music is a Music genre that combines Rhythm and blues and Gospel music, originating in the United States. See also Musical groups established in 1979 Record labels established in 1979 1979 in music (UK This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1989 In the Music industry, a record label can be a Brand and a Trademark associated with the Marketing of music recordings and Music The EMI Group is a British music company comprising the major record company EMI Music – which operates several labels and is based in Kensington in A pupa ( Latin pupa for doll pl pupae or pupas) is the life stage of some Insects undergoing transformation Sony BMG Music Entertainment is a diverse music and entertainment group This article is about the record label founded in 2006 For the earlier CBS Records label see Columbia Records. Tony Hadley (born Anthony Patrick Hadley 2 June 1960, Islington, London) is an English pop Singer Gary Kemp (born 16 October 1959, in Islington, London) is an English pop artist who was the Guitar player and Martin John Kemp (born 10 October 1961 in Islington, London) brother of Gary Kemp, is an English Actor Steve Norman (born 25 March 1960, London) is a British pop Musician who played Saxophone, Guitar, John Keeble (born 6 July 1959, London) is a British pop artist, who was the Drummer with the 1980s band England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Initially inspired by a mixture of funk and synthpop, the genre-defining New Romantic group eventually mellowed into a mainstream pop act. Funk is an American musical style that originated in the mid- to late-1960s when African American musicians blended Soul music, Soul Synthpop is a subgenre of New Wave and Pop music in which the Synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument New Romantic was a short- lived Fashion and music movement that occurred primarily in the United Kingdom and Ireland during the very early 1980s
Contents |
History
Formation and first successes
The band's history began in 1976 (originally called 'The Cut' during their formative years) with Gary Kemp (singer/songwriter) and Steve Norman (guitar, later saxophone and percussion). Gary Kemp (born 16 October 1959, in Islington, London) is an English pop artist who was the Guitar player and Steve Norman (born 25 March 1960, London) is a British pop Musician who played Saxophone, Guitar, Gary and Steve were both attending Dame Alice Owen's School, Islington (which later moved to Potters Bar), and were close friends. They shared a similar interest in music and a common desire to form a band. Next came John Keeble. John Keeble (born 6 July 1959, London) is a British pop artist, who was the Drummer with the 1980s band John and Steve had met when they both discovered the drum kit in the school’s music room, and would regularly meet at lunchtimes to practice. Following John in joining the band was bass player Michael Ellison. Next to join was Tony Hadley (lead singer) who approached Steve Norman one day in the 6th form common room. Tony Hadley (born Anthony Patrick Hadley 2 June 1960, Islington, London) is an English pop Singer Steve Norman (born 25 March 1960, London) is a British pop Musician who played Saxophone, Guitar, After a few months Richard Miller replaced Michael Ellison on bass, before Martin Kemp finally took over the role, joining the band a couple of years later. Martin John Kemp (born 10 October 1961 in Islington, London) brother of Gary Kemp, is an English Actor By this time the band had already played some considerable gigs and gained live experience which would eventually prove fruitful. Steve Dagger, a friend of the band was then asked by Steve and Gary to manage them. He was to be an integral part of the band's initial and continuing success. The band was called 'The Makers' in the early years, but profess to have changed their name after a friend’s (BBC London 94.9 DJ Robert Elms) visit to Spandau, a borough of Berlin, the inspiration being from graffiti he saw in the lavatory of a club there. Robert Elms (born June 12 1959 is an English writer broadcaster and D For the Spandau machine gun see Maschinengewehr 08. For the 1980s New Romantic group see Spandau Ballet. Berlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. The term Spandau Ballet referred to the spasms of the Nazi war criminals as they "danced at the end of the rope", when they were hanged at Spandau Prison. This is a contentious point. The more likely scource of the name came in fact from graffiti on the wall of a lavatory in The Venue, London (Victoria) around 1980, where members of the originally named band worked. These members were; (Michael J) Mick Austin (now artist), David Wardill (later David Agar of The Passions), and Mark Robinson (musician). Michael J "Mick" Austin is a fine artist who lives and works in the UK The Passions were a British pop band which formed in 1978 and disbanded in 1983. They had been playing under the name Spandau Ballet since 1978 and had played in London once under this name at the Hope & Anchor, Islington, London on May 6th 1979 supporting The Softies. The new Spandau Ballet, with Martin Kemp and Tony Hadley began performing with this name and generating a positive buzz around London. Their music prior to then was very RnB in the style of early Rolling Stones or The Kinks, but became more electronic as they started to hang out in clubs such as Billys and Blitz nightclub, where they would listen to bands like Kraftwerk and Telex. The Kinks were an English pop and rock group formed in 1963 and categorised in the US as a British Invasion band The Blitz Kids were a short- lived group of then-unknown people who frequented the Blitz nightclub in Covent Garden London in the very early 1980s Kraftwerk (ˈkʁaftvɛɐk German for " power plant " or " Power station " is an influential Electronic music band from The Blitz was regarded as the birthplace of a new 1980s music and fashion phenomenon called New Romanticism. New Romantic was a short- lived Fashion and music movement that occurred primarily in the United Kingdom and Ireland during the very early 1980s
The band was involved in a major bidding war. They eventually signed to Chrysalis Records and released "To Cut a Long Story Short", produced by the cutting-edge electronic musician Richard James Burgess. Chrysalis Records was a British Record label that was created in 1969 Richard James Burgess is a studio drummer music-computer programmer recording artist record producer composer published author manager marketer and inventor Released just ten days after the band emerged from the studio in order to meet the huge demand created by the buzz the band had established, "To Cut a Long Story Short" was an instant British top 5 hit in 1980. This was followed by hits with "The Freeze", "Musclebound" and the well-received and genre-defining Gold certified album Journeys to Glory (February 1981). The sound of Journeys to Glory set the sound for the nascent New Romantic movement with chanted vocals, club/dance bottom end, splashy snare drum sound, lack of guitar solos and strongly rhythmic guitar parts. New Romantic was a short- lived Fashion and music movement that occurred primarily in the United Kingdom and Ireland during the very early 1980s The follow up album Diamond (March 1982) also produced by Richard James Burgess was certified Gold by the BPI and featured the influential funk-flavoured single "Chant No. Richard James Burgess is a studio drummer music-computer programmer recording artist record producer composer published author manager marketer and inventor 1". The band had Burgess remix every single from both albums for inclusion on each single's B-side and for twelve-inch club releases. These mixes were later released as a boxed set. However, times were changing - and these were the days of Dollar and Bucks Fizz, and the British charts were swinging away from the edgier New Romantic sound created by the band and Burgess. Dollar are a pop vocal duo from the UK, consisting of David Van Day and Thereza Bazar. The second chart single from Diamond was "Paint Me Down" which broke their run of top 20 hits by stalling at #30, and the third single, "She Loved Like Diamond", failed to make the UK Top 40 at all. Trevor Horn remixed the track "Instinction" which was released as the fourth single from the album, and which returned the band to the UK top ten after the poor chart performance of their previous two singles and of the Diamond album in general which had peaked at #15. Trevor Charles Horn (born 15 July 1949) is an English Pop music Record producer, songwriter and musician
International fame
With a slicker, adult contemporary sound the band released their third album True (March 1983), produced by Tony Swain and Steve Jolley - who would go on to enjoy a couple of years as the "producers du jour" in Britain. True was the third studio album by British band Spandau Ballet. The title cut was a six-minute opus paying tribute to the Motown sound (and in some respects, Marvin Gaye). " True " is the title track from Spandau Ballet 's 1983 album True. Marvin Pentz Gay Jr, known as Marvin Gaye ( April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American Singer-songwriter The image changed too — the cossack outfits and makeup of the New Romantic movement they had helped to establish had been replaced by smart, 1940s-inspired suits and well-scrubbed faces. The band still looked vaguely aristocratic, however. It was at this point that Steve Norman became the band's sax player. The album topped the charts all around the world, and launched several international hit singles such as "Gold" and the aforementioned title cut which was #1 in several countries.
The follow up, Parade (June 1984) and its singles were again big successes in the European charts, Australia and Canada, and the opening song "Only When You Leave" became their last American hit. At the end of 1984, the band performed on the Band Aid charity single, with Hadley taking a prominent lead vocal role; and in 1985, they performed at the Wembley Stadium end of Live Aid. Band Aid was a British and Irish charity supergroup, founded in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure in order to raise money original Wembley Stadium was a football Stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the Live Aid was a multi-venue rock music concert held on. The event was organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for famine relief in Ethiopia During this same year, Spandau Ballet achieved platinum status with the compilation, The Singles Collection, which kept the focus on the band between two studio albums, and celebrated their five years of success. In 1986, Spandau Ballet signed to CBS Records and released Through the Barricades (October 1986), which saw the band trying to move away from the pop/soul influences of True and Parade and more towards rock. The album, the title track and the single "Fight For Ourselves" were big hits in their native UK, in Europe - particularly in Germany, Italy and in the Benelux as usual - and in Australia, but not in the United States.
To the end
After a hiatus from recording during which the Kemps established themselves as credible actors in the gangster film The Krays, the band released Heart Like a Sky in September 1989. The Krays is a 1990 film based on the lives and crimes of the British gangsters Ronald and Reginald Kray, twins who are often The album was not widely released (not at all in the US) and was for the most part disregarded. It did, however, do well in Italy. Afterwards, Spandau Ballet — from whom Gary Kemp was already feeling estranged — split up for good.
Martin Kemp went on to land an acting role in the UK soap opera EastEnders, while Tony Hadley tried to establish a solo career. EastEnders is a most popular and award-winning Television Soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC1 on 19 February 1985 Gary Kemp did a little more acting, appearing in a supporting role in the Whitney Houston hit The Bodyguard, and in 1996 released the commercially unsuccessful solo album, Little Bruises. Whitney Elizabeth Houston' (born August 9 1963 is an American Singer-songwriter, Actress, Film producer, Arranger and former The Bodyguard is a 1992 romantic-suspense film directed by Mick Jackson, written by Lawrence Kasdan, and starring Kevin Costner In the 1990s, Hadley, Norman and Keeble launched a failed court case against Gary Kemp for a share of Kemp's song writing royalties. Since then Hadley's profile has been raised by his winning the ITV reality show Reborn in the USA. Reborn in the USA was a 2003 ITV reality TV show in which ten former British pop acts were transported to the USA, where they were supposedly
The three non-Kemp members toured as a trio, but as they had to sell their shares in Spandau Ballet's company to Gary Kemp to pay off legal debts, and that company owned the rights to the name of Spandau Ballet, they had to tour under the moniker of 'Hadley, Norman and Keeble, ex-Spandau Ballet'.
Steve Norman and the Kemps have since managed to put their differences behind them and a reunion tour has been mentioned.
Recently Martin Kemp has become the face of SCS Sofas stores, Gary Kemp has been writing songs with Paul Stratham who has previously written songs for Dido, Steve Norman is now a member of 'Cloudfish' the band he formed with Shelley Preston, and Tony Hadley has released a swing album and landed the lead role in the musical Chicago. Dido Florian Cloud de Bounevialle O'Malley Armstrong, (born 25 December 1971 professionally known as Dido, is an English BRIT Award -winning and Shelley Preston (born May 14, 1964 in Hillingdon, London, England) is a singer who is most famous for being the new girl when she Chicago is a Kander and Ebb musical set in prohibition era Chicago.
On Monday 12th May 2008, Tony Hadley can be quoted to have said that a reunion for the 30th anniversary of the bands formation or otherwise is highly unlikely and that rumours of him having said there might be one are unfounded.
In December 2007, the entire lineup of Spandau Ballet agreed to reunite to perform a show at a Las Vegas luxury property for £4. 75-million. [1]
Discography
Studio albums
- 1981 - Journeys to Glory United Kingdom #5
- 1982 - Diamond United Kingdom #15
- 1983 - True United Kingdom #1 United States #19
- 1984 - Parade United Kingdom #2 United States #50 Australia #4
- 1986 - Through the Barricades United Kingdom #7
- 1989 - Heart Like a Sky United Kingdom #31
- 2003 - True (20th Anniversary Edition)
Singles
| Year | Song | United Kingdom Singles Chart |
United States Hot 100 |
Australia Singles Chart |
Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | "To Cut a Long Story Short" | 5 | - | 15 | Journeys To Glory |
| 1981 | "The Freeze" | 17 | - | - | Journeys To Glory |
| 1981 | "Musclebound" | 10 | - | - | Journeys To Glory |
| 1981 | "Chant No. Journeys To Glory is the first studio album by Spandau Ballet. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Diamond is the second studio album by Spandau Ballet. It was released in 1982 by Chrysalis Records. True was the third studio album by British band Spandau Ballet. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Parade is a studio album by Spandau Ballet. It was released in 1984 by Chrysalis Records. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Through the Barricades is a studio album by Spandau Ballet. It was released in 1986 by Epic Records. Heart Like a Sky is a Studio album by Spandau Ballet. It was released in 1989 by Reformation Records. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official UK Charts Company (OCC on behalf of the British record industry The United States of America —commonly referred to as the For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. " To Cut a Long Story Short " is a 1980 song by Spandau Ballet. Journeys To Glory is the first studio album by Spandau Ballet. For the peace organisation see Peace Action The Freeze are a hardcore punk rock band from Cape Cod, Massachusetts Journeys To Glory is the first studio album by Spandau Ballet. 1 (I Don't Need This Pressure On)" | 3 | - | 30 | Diamond |
| 1981 | "Paint Me Down" | 30 | - | - | Diamond |
| 1982 | "She Loved Like Diamond" | 49 | - | - | Diamond |
| 1982 | "Instinction" | 10 | - | 30 | Diamond |
| 1982 | "Lifeline" | 7 | - | 68 | True |
| 1983 | "Communication" | 12 | 59 | 24 | True |
| 1983 | "True" | 1 | 4 | 4 | True |
| 1983 | "Gold" | 2 | 29 | 9 | True |
| 1983 | "Pleasure" | - | - | - | True |
| 1984 | "Only When You Leave" | 3 | 34 | 12 | Parade |
| 1984 | "I'll Fly For You" | 9 | - | 38 | Parade |
| 1984 | "Highly Strung" | 15 | - | 83 | Parade |
| 1985 | "Round And Round" | 18 | - | 16 | Parade |
| 1986 | "Fight For Ourselves" | 15 | - | 16 | Through the Barricades |
| 1986 | "Through The Barricades" | 6 | - | 50 | Through The Barricades |
| 1987 | "How Many Lies" | 34 | - | - | Through The Barricades |
| 1988 | "Raw" | 47 | - | - | Heart Like A Sky |
| 1989 | "Be Free With Your Love" | 42 | - | - | Heart Like A Sky |
| 1989 | "Empty Spaces" | 94 | - | - | Heart Like A Sky |
| 1990 | "Crashed Into Love" | 96 | - | - | Heart Like A Sky |
Compilations & live albums
| Year | Album | United Kingdom Albums Chart |
United States Albums Chart |
Australia Albums Chart |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | The Singles Collection | 3 | -- | -- |
| 1986 | The Twelve Inch Mixes | 15 | -- | -- |
| 1991 | The Best Of Spandau Ballet | 44 | -- | -- |
| 1997 | The Collection | -- | -- | -- |
| 1999 | Original Gold | -- | -- | -- |
| 2000 | Gold - The Best Of | 7 | -- | -- |
| 2001 | The Collection | 7 | -- | -- |
| 2002 | Reformation | 7 | -- | -- |
| 2003 | The Collection II | -- | -- | -- |
| 2005 | The Ultra Selection | -- | -- | -- |
| 2005 | Live From The N.E.C. | -- | -- | -- |
| 2006 | Singles, Rarities & Remixes | -- | -- | -- |
Awards
- 1984 BRIT Awards - The Sony Award For Technical Excellence
See also
References
External links
Diamond is the second studio album by Spandau Ballet. It was released in 1982 by Chrysalis Records. True was the third studio album by British band Spandau Ballet. " True " is the title track from Spandau Ballet 's 1983 album True. Parade is a studio album by Spandau Ballet. It was released in 1984 by Chrysalis Records. Through the Barricades is a studio album by Spandau Ballet. It was released in 1986 by Epic Records. Heart Like a Sky is a Studio album by Spandau Ballet. It was released in 1989 by Reformation Records. Heart Like a Sky is a Studio album by Spandau Ballet. It was released in 1989 by Reformation Records. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The UK Albums Chart is a list of Albums ranked by sales in the United Kingdom. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. The Singles Collection is a compilation album by Spandau Ballet, released in 1985 by Chrysalis Records. The Twelve Inch Mixes is a compilation album by Spandau Ballet. The Best Of Spandau Ballet is a compilation album by Spandau Ballet. The Collection is a compilation album by Spandau Ballet. It was released in 1997 by EMI. Original Gold is a compilation album by Spandau Ballet. It was released in 1999 by Disky. Gold The Best of Spandau Ballet is a Greatest hits album from Spandau Ballet, released on 4 September 2000 and contains 17 The Collection is a compilation album by Spandau Ballet. It was released in 1997 by EMI. Reformation is a compilation album by Spandau Ballet. It was released in 2002 by Chrysalis Records and Reformation Records. The Collection II is a compilation album by Spandau Ballet. It was released in 2003 by EMI. The Ultra Selection is a compilation album by Spandau Ballet. Live From The NEC is a live album by Spandau Ballet. It was released in 2005 by Sony BMG. Singles Rarities & Remixes is a Compilation album by Spandau Ballet, released on 13 November 2006 and contains 30 songs in The BRIT Awards, often simply called The BRITs, are the British Phonographic Industry 's annual pop music awards When adding to this page please ensure that your claims are sourcedDapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic