Spandau Ballet at the O2

Tuesday, 20 October, 2009

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.