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Gary Kemp and Steve Norman first decided to form a band, both playing guitar, in October 1976 after witnessing [[Sex Pistols|the Sex Pistols]] perform that summer at Islington's Screen on the Green.<ref>{{Cite book|title=I Know This Much From Soho to Spandau|last=Kemp|first=Gary|publisher=Fourth Estate|year=2009|isbn=978-0-00-732330-2|location=London|page=71}}</ref> Close friends and school mates at [[Dame Alice Owen's School|Dame Alice Owen's]] in Islington, they were joined by John Keeble on drums, Michael Ellison on bass and Tony Hadley on vocals when the school relocated to [[Potters Bar]]. They rehearsed at lunchtimes in the school's music room, playing sped-up versions of [[the Rolling Stones]]' "Silver Train",<ref>{{Cite book|title=New Romantics Who Never Were The Untold Story of Spandau Ballet|last=Barrat|first=David|publisher=Orsam Books|year=2018|isbn=978-0-9570917-2-6|pages=10}}</ref> [[the Beatles]]' "[[I Wanna Be Your Man]]" and [[the Animals]]' "We've Gotta Get Out of This Place". They also played an original Gary Kemp composition, "I've Got Roots", which inspired their band name, Roots.<ref>{{Cite book|title=New Romantics Who Never Were The Untold Story of Spandau Ballet|last=Barrat|first=David|publisher=Orsam Books|year=2018|isbn=978-0-9570917-2-6|pages=11}}</ref> Their first gig was a fourth-form Christmas party December 1976 in the school dining room.<ref>{{Cite book|title=I Know This Much From Soho To Spandau|last=Kemp|first=Gary|publisher=Fourth Estate|year=2009|isbn=978-0-00-732330-2|pages=80–81}}</ref>
The band changed their name to the Cut when Michael Ellison left, with Steve Norman filling in on bass.<ref>{{Cite book|title=New Romantics Who Never Were The Untold Story of Spandau Ballet|last=Barrat|first=David|publisher=Orsam Books|year=2018|isbn=978-0-9570917-2-6|pages=16}}</ref> In 1977 another Alice Owen pupil, Richard Miller, took over on bass guitar and the band changed their name to the Makers, playing [[power
Inspired by London's new underground nightclub scene, which began in Autumn 1978 with a weekly Tuesday night hosted by [[Steve Strange]] and DJ [[Rusty Egan]] at [[Gargoyle Club|Billy's]] in Soho,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/feb/13/steve-strange-a-beautiful-maverick-who-understood-the-power-of-myth|title=Steve Strange: a beautiful maverick who understood the power of myth|last=Kemp|first=Gary|date=13 February 2015|work=The Guardian|access-date=25 March 2019|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> the band switched musical direction to embrace the new electronic music. Friend and writer [[Robert Elms]] suggested they change their name to [[Spandau]] Ballet, a phrase which he told them he had seen written on a wall on a weekend trip to Berlin: “[[Rudolf Hess]], all alone, dancing the Spandau Ballet”.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Way We Wore A Life In Threads|last=Elms|first=Robert|publisher=Picador|year=2005|isbn=0-330-42032-1|pages=196–197}}</ref> Their first performance was an invitation-only showcase on the morning of Saturday 17 November 1979, at Halligan's Band Centre rehearsal studio, 103 Holloway Road,<ref>{{Cite book|title=New Romantics Who Never Were The Untold Story of Spandau Ballet|last=Barrat|first=David|publisher=Orsam Books|year=2018|isbn=978-0-9570917-2-6|pages=97}}</ref> to test the reaction of the key influencers of the new scene. Having passed that 'audition', the band's first gig as Spandau Ballet was at the [[Blitz (nightclub)|Blitz]]'s Christmas party on 5 December 1979.<ref>{{Cite book|title=New Romantics Who Never Were The Untold Story of Spandau Ballet|last=Barrat|first=David|publisher=Orsam Books|year=2018|isbn=978-0-9570917-2-6|pages=99}}</ref>
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