Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular Music

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

SPANDAU BALLET

'New romantics' band formed '79 by guitarist/songwriter Gary Kemp (b 16 Oct. '60, London), like his friends a habitu‚ of London club scene based around black funk music and gaudy sartorial backlash against punk. He'd played with schoolmates in youthful ensemble the Makers with vocalist Tony Hadley (b 2 June '59), drummer John Keeble (b 6 July '59), Steve Norman (b 25 March '60) on rhythm guitar; recruited brother Martin Kemp (b 10 Oct. '61) as bassist (brothers also had experience in children's theatre). Initial gigs were invitation only at unconventional venues (i.e. HMS Belfast on the Thames); they were branded as escapist by the music press, but their stance very much anti-rock'n'roll. Manager Steve Dagger signed them to Chrysalis, who gave them their own Reformation label. Early hits were 'experimental' electro-funk: 'To Cut A Long Story Short', 'The Freeze', chanting, slavonic 'Musclebound' '80--81. Pioneered different mixes for 7]im[ and 12]im[ singles, a practice taken from black music. First LP Journeys To Glory '81. 'Chant No. 1' was brassy African-sounding single, but second LP Diamond '82 was pale by comparison, prod. like first by Richard James Burgess (ex- Landscape), one side commercial singles and one of Japan-like 'experimental' music; also released as four 12]im[ singles (parallel with Moby Grape's five 7-inchers in '60s): the first two of these flopped, but Trevor Horn remixed 'Instinction' for face-saving no. 10 hit. They changed Burgess for Jolly/Swain, the pop/soul prod. team behind Imagination and Bananarama; True '83 dropped experimental pretence for white soul in Hall and Oates mould and hits incl. 'True' (no. 1), 'Gold' (2) attested to consumer satisfaction, with Norman's newly acquired saxophone adding icing to the cake. Parade '84 incl. more pop hits incl. 'Only When You Leave' (3) but dispute with label caused a damaging hiatus, broken only by best-selling The Singles Collection, released against the band's wishes. They blanded out to become a shamelessly populist group that appeared '85 in Live Aid; Kemp appeared solo on Labour Party Red Wedge tour '86, surprising as their success was based on conspicuous consumption. Through The Barricades '86 on CBS/Reformation was judged superior to Parade, but still tired; the title song (about Northern Ireland) was the first Kemp political song to make it into their repertoire. After Heart Like A Spy '89 Hadley released The State Of Play '92 on EMI.