Artist Name
Spandau Ballet
web link web link web link web link web link web link
heart icon off (0 users)

artist logo
Artist Image
artist thumb

Functions

transparent
Data Complete
percent bar 100%

Members
members icon 5 Male

Origin
flag London, England, UK

Genre
genre icon New Wave

Style
style icon Rock/Pop

Mood
mood icon Quirky

Born

born icon 1979

Active
calendar icon 1979 to dead icon 2019

Cutout
artist cutout

Current Record Label

artist logo


heart icon Most Loved Tracks
5 users heart off Spandau Ballet - True
4 users heart off Spandau Ballet - True
4 users heart off Spandau Ballet - True
4 users heart off Spandau Ballet - True
4 users heart off Spandau Ballet - True


youtube icon Music Video Links
youtube thumb
To Cut a Long Story Short
youtube thumb
Communication
youtube thumb
Only When You Leave
youtube thumb
Gold
youtube thumb
Round and Round
youtube thumb
True
youtube thumb
To Cut a Long Story Short
youtube thumb
Instinction
youtube thumb
She Loved Like Diamond



Artist Biography
Available in: gb icon flag icon flag icon
Spandau Ballet (/ˈspændaʊ ˈbæleɪ/ SPAN-dow BAL-ay) 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.

The band's classic line-up featured Gary Kemp on guitar, synthesiser and backing vocals, his brother Martin Kemp on bass, vocalist Tony Hadley, saxophonist Steve Norman and drummer John Keeble. Gary Kemp was also the band's songwriter. Their debut single, "To Cut a Long Story Short", reached No. 5 in the UK in 1980. It was the first of ten UK top 10 singles. The band peaked in popularity in 1983 with the album True, with its title track reaching No. 1 in the UK and the top five in the US. In 2011, it received a BMI award as one of the most played songs in US history with four million airplays. In 1984, they received a Brit Award for technical excellence and were the first act to be approached by Bob Geldof to join the original Band Aid line-up. In 1985, they performed at the Live Aid benefit concert at Wembley Stadium.

In 1990, the band played their last live show before a 19-year absence. In 1999, Hadley, Norman and Keeble launched an unsuccessful case in the High Court against Gary Kemp and his Reformation Publishing Company for a share of the band's songwriting royalties. Spandau Ballet reformed in 2009 for The Reformation Tour, a sell-out "greatest hits" world tour. In 2014, their archive-only feature-length documentary biopic, Soul Boys of the Western World, was world-premiered at SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas. It was officially screened at the Rome, Ghent (Belgium) and NYC Doc film festivals and received its European premiere at the Royal Albert Hall, London.

In 2017, Hadley announced his departure from Spandau Ballet. A year later, the band announced singer and actor Ross William Wild as their new frontman for a series of European live dates and a one-off show at Eventim's Hammersmith Apollo. In May 2019, Wild tweeted that he had quit the band "to pursue my own music with my band Mercutio", while Spandau bass player Martin Kemp confirmed there were no further plans for Spandau to tour without original singer Hadley.
wiki icon

Wide Thumb
wide thumb


Clearart
artist clearart


Fanart

fanart thumb

Banner
artist banner


User Comments

transparent iconNo comments yet..


Status
unlocked icon Unlocked
Last Edit by zag
08th Jan 2022

Socials
social icon social icon social icon

Streaming
website icon website icon website icon website icon

External Links
fanart.tv icon musicbrainz icon last.fm icon website icon website icon website icon amazon icon