Spandau Ballet
Spandau Ballet are a popular British band most prominent during the 1980s. Members are Tony Hadley on vocals, brothers Gary Kemp and Martin Kemp on guitar and bass respectively, with Gary also supplying background vocals, Steve Norman on saxophone and John Keeble on the drums. Gary Kemp also wrote most of the group’s music and lyrics. Initially formed in 1976 in London they didn’t reach a stable line-up or decide on the Spandau name until 1978. Inspired by a mixture of synth-pop and funk as typified by the track Chant No 1 (I Don’t Need This Pressure On) which reached No 2 in the national charts and was notable for inclusion of the horn section from the group Beggar & Co, which proved a fruitful collaboration on record.
Immensely popular in the UK, the New Romantic group eventually mellowed into a mainstream pop act. As with their friendly rivals Duran Duran they ‘broke America’, albeit briefly - the title track of their 3rd album True peaked in the Top 5 of the Singles charts.
The song gained a new life in the 1990’s and beyond by being sampled in the songs 'Set Adrift On Memory Bliss' by PM Dawn and 'N Dey Say' by Nelly.
After a split in 1990 and a court case almost 10 years later involving Hadley, Keeble & Norman suing Gary Kemp over royalties, they announced in March 2009 a reformation.
Search for Spandau Ballet on iTunes
Read a classic Spandau Ballet article
Courtesy of Rock's Backpages
Demand a Spandau Ballet concert...
Original lyrics to 'Gold' and 'True' and Schector custom guitar played by Gary Kemp
Spandau Ballet formed in the late 1970s in London and within just a few years were one of the most successful of the ‘New Romantic’ groups. This guitar was played by guitarist and songwriter with Spandau Ballet, Gary Kemp. It has a mother of pearl inlay designed like a stylised bird, recreated on the album cover for their LP True. Kemp was responsible for writing all 23 hit singles including classics such as ‘True’, ‘Gold’ and ‘Through The Barricades’.
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The Who
Townshend played, and smashed up, this guitar during a gig to celebrate the end of the filming of Tommy in 1974. It later featured on the cover of their 1981 Hooligans album. Pete Townshend became famous for his signature windmill arm action, which he copied off Keith Richards, and then smashing guitars and other equipment on stage. This enthusiasm for destruction was apparently ignited when he accidentally broke the neck off his guitar when it collided with a low roof at an early gig in Harrow.
