Comments:
Spandau Ballet was a popular British band in the 1980s. Initially inspired by a mixture of funk <br />
and synthpop, the group eventually mellowed into a mainstream pop act.<br />
The band's history began in 1976, and was originally called 'The Cut' during their formative years <br />
with Gary Kemp as singer/songwriter and Steve Norman on guitar, later saxophone and percussion. Gary and Steve <br />
were both attending Dame Alice Owen's School, Islington (which later moved to Potters Bar), and were close friends.<br />
They shared a similar interest in music and a common desire to form a band. Next came fellow student John Keeble, <br />
who had met Steve when they both discovered the drum kit in the school’s music room, and would regularly meet at <br />
lunchtimes to practice. Following John in joining the band was bass player Michael Ellison, and after that was <br />
was Tony Hadley as lead singer, who approached Steve Norman one day in the 6th form common room. After a few months, <br />
Richard Miller replaced Michael Ellison on bass, before Gary's brother Martin Kemp finally took over the role, <br />
joining the band a couple of years later. By this time, the band had already played some considerable gigs and <br />
had gained live experience, which would eventually prove fruitful. Steve Dagger, a friend of the band members, <br />
was then asked by Steve and Gary to manage them. He was to be an integral part of the band's initial and <br />
continuing success.<br />
The band was called 'The Makers' in the early years, but profess to have changed their name after a <br />
friend’s (BBC London 94.9 DJ Robert Elms) visit to Spandau, a borough of Berlin, the inspiration being from <br />
graffiti he saw in the lavatory of a club there. The term Spandau Ballet referred to the spasms of the Nazi <br />
war criminals as they "danced at the end of the rope", when they were hanged at Spandau Prison. This is a <br />
contentious point. The more likely source of the name came in fact from graffiti on the wall of a lavatory <br />
in The Venue, London (Victoria) around 1980, where members of the originally named band worked. These members <br />
were; (Michael J) Mick Austin (now artist), David Wardill (later David Agar of The Passions), and Mark Robinson <br />
(musician). They had been playing under the name Spandau Ballet since 1978 and had played in London once under <br />
this name at the Hope & Anchor, Islington, London on May 6th, 1979 supporting The Softies. The new Spandau Ballet, <br />
with Martin Kemp and Tony Hadley, began performing with this name and generating a positive buzz around London. <br />
Their music prior to then was very R&B in the style of the early Rolling Stones or The Kinks, but became more <br />
electronic as they started to hang out in clubs such as Billys and Blitz nightclub, where they would listen to <br />
bands like Kraftwerk and Telex. The Blitz was regarded as the birthplace of a new 1980s music and fashion <br />
phenomenon called New Romanticism.<br />
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Spandau Ballet - The Best Of Spandau Ballet<br />
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Artist...............: Spandau Ballet<br />
Album................: The Best Of Spandau Ballet<br />
Genre................: Pop<br />
Source...............: CD<br />
Year.................: 1991<br />
Ripper...............: EAC (Secure mode) / LAME 3.92 & <br />
Codec................: LAME 3.97<br />
Version..............: MPEG 1 Layer III<br />
Quality..............: Insane, (avg. bitrate: 320kbps)<br />
Channels.............: Joint Stereo / 44100 hz<br />
Tags.................: ID3 v1.1, ID3 v2.3<br />
Included.............: NFO, MD5, SFV, PLS<br />
Covers...............: Front Back CD <br />
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Tracklisting<br />
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<br />
1. (00:03:21) Spandau Ballet - To Cut A Long Story Short<br />
2. (00:03:31) Spandau Ballet - The Freeze<br />
3. (00:03:54) Spandau Ballet - Musclebound<br />
4. (00:04:05) Spandau Ballet - Chant No 1<br />
5. (00:03:42) Spandau Ballet - Paint Me Down<br />
6. (00:03:34) Spandau Ballet - Instinction<br />
7. (00:03:20) Spandau Ballet - Lifeline<br />
8. (00:03:26) Spandau Ballet - Communication<br />
9. (00:05:33) Spandau Ballet - True<br />
10. (00:03:52) Spandau Ballet - Gold<br />
11. (00:04:47) Spandau Ballet - Only When You Leave<br />
12. (00:05:10) Spandau Ballet - I'll Fly For You<br />
13. (00:04:10) Spandau Ballet - Highly Strung<br />
14. (00:04:32) Spandau Ballet - Round & Round<br />
15. (00:04:22) Spandau Ballet - Fight For Ourselves<br />
16. (00:05:16) Spandau Ballet - Through The Barricades<br />
17. (00:04:35) Spandau Ballet - How Many Lies<br />
18. (00:04:37) Spandau Ballet - Be Free With Your Love<br />
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Playing Time.........: 01:15:46<br />
Total Size...........: 173,45 MB<br />
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