Spandau Ballet: Difference between revisions

'''Spandau Ballet''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|p|æ|n|d|aʊ|_|ˈ|b|æ|l|eɪ}} {{respell|SPAN|dow|_|BAL|ay}}) were an English [[pop music|pop]] 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.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/live-music-reviews/11476894/Spandau-Ballet-O2-Arena-review-celebratory.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/live-music-reviews/11476894/Spandau-Ballet-O2-Arena-review-celebratory.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Spandau Ballet, O2 Arena, review: 'celebratory'|last=McCormick|first=Neil|journal=Daily Telegraph|date=18 March 2015|access-date=25 March 2019|language=en-GB|issn=0307-1235}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/oct/04/spandau-ballet-new-romantics|title=Spandau Ballet, The Blitz Kids and the birth of the New Romantics|last=Johnson|first=David|date=3 October 2009|work=The Observer|access-date=25 March 2019|language=en-GB|issn=0029-7712}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Pop Stars In My Pantry|last=Simper|first=Paul|publisher=Unbound|year=2017|isbn=978-1-78352-388-7|location= London|pages=15}}</ref> They became one of the most successful groups of the [[New Romantic]] era of [[British pop music|British pop]]<ref>{{cite web|website=ministryofrock.co.uk|title=New Romantics|last=Nickson|first=Chris|author-link=Chris Nickson|url=https://www.ministryofrock.co.uk/NewRomantics.html|date=25 September 2012}}</ref> and were part of the [[Second British Invasion]] of the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Top 40]] in the 1980s, selling 25 million albums and having 23 hit singles worldwide.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.popmatters.com/193332-spandau-ballet-finds-redemption-after-years-apart-2495532712.html|title=Spandau Ballet Finds Redemption and Reformation After Years Apart|date=5 June 2015|website=PopMatters|language=en|access-date=25 March 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandjazzmusic/5054105/Spandau-Ballet-interview.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandjazzmusic/5054105/Spandau-Ballet-interview.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Spandau Ballet interview|last=Singh|first=Anita|journal=Daily Telegraph|date=26 March 2009|access-date=25 March 2019|language=en-GB|issn=0307-1235}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name="auto3">{{Cite web|url=https://mdtheatreguide.com/2015/05/concert-review-spandau-ballet-at-930-club-in-washington-d-c/|title=Concert Review: Spandau Ballet at 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C.|last=Menefee|first=Lynne|date=2 May 2015|website=Maryland Theatre Guide|language=en-US|access-date=26 March 2019}}</ref> The band have had eight UK top 10 albums, including three greatest hits compilations and an album of re-recorded material.&nbsp;Their musical influences ranged from [[punk rock]] and [[soul music]] to the American crooners [[Frank Sinatra]] and [[Tony Bennett]].<ref>{{cite news | url= https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/soul-boys-of-the-western-world-review-harmony-restored-as-spandau-ballet-remember-roots-9763424.html | title= Spandau Ballet's Soul Boys Of The Western World, film review: Band remember roots |work=The Independent|first=Geoffrey|last=Macnab|date=30 September 2014|access-date=28 October 2018}}</ref>

 

 

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.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/332115.stm|title=Spandau court bid fails|work=BBC News|date=30 April 1999|access-date=25 March 2019}}</ref> 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'',<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.smoothradio.com/news/spandau-ballet-add-second-o2-arena-date/|title=Spandau Ballet Add Second O2 Arena Date|website=Smooth|language=en|access-date=25 March 2019}}</ref> was world-premiered at [[South by Southwest|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.