Spandau Ballet - wikipedia Spandau Ballet Spandau Ballet Spandau Ballet in 2009 Background information Origin Islington, London, England Genres New wave blue - eyed soul synth - pop Years active 1979 -- 1990 2009 -- present Labels Chrysalis Mercury Epic Parlophone Website spandauballet.com Members Gary Kemp Steve Norman John Keeble Martin Kemp Ross William Wild Past members Tony Hadley Spandau Ballet / ˈspændaʊ ˈbæl. eɪ / are an English band formed in Islington, London, in 1979. Emerging from new wave, they became one of the most successful groups of the New Romantic era of British pop, and were inspired by music ranging from punk rock and soul music to Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett. The band 's classic line - up featured brothers Gary Kemp on guitar and Martin Kemp on bass, vocalist Tony Hadley, saxophonist Steve Norman and drummer John Keeble. Gary Kemp also served as the band 's songwriter. The group 's debut single `` To Cut a Long Story Short '', which reached No. 5 in the UK in 1980, was the first of ten UK top 10 hits, including a No. 1 single `` True '', a No. 2 single `` Gold '', and two No. 3 singles : `` Chant No. 1 '' and `` Only When You Leave ''. The band have had eight UK top 10 albums, including three greatest hits compilations and an album of re-recorded material. After achieving the height of their popularity with the 1983 album True, in 1984 they received the Brit Award for technical excellence and were involved in Band Aid, and in 1985 they performed at Live Aid. The band split in 1990 and the members pursued solo careers, with both Kemp brothers winning acting roles. Since their reformation in 2009, the band have been recognised at the Q Awards and Gary Kemp 's songwriting has been honoured by the Ivor Novello Awards. On 3 July 2017, Tony Hadley publicly announced his departure from the band via Twitter. On 6 June 2018, Spandau Ballet announced the singer and actor Ross William Wild as their new lead singer at a ticketed gig at Subterania Club in west London. Contents 1 History 1.1 1976 -- 1982 : Formation and early success 1.2 1983 -- 1989 : International success and decline 1.3 1990 -- 1999 : Break - up and solo projects 1.4 2009 -- present : Reunion 2 In popular culture 3 Members 4 Discography 5 Awards and nominations 5.1 Q Awards 5.2 BRIT Awards 5.3 Ivor Novello Awards 6 See also 7 Literature 8 References 9 External links History 1976 -- 1982 : formation and early success The band was formed in 1976 as The Cut, with Gary Kemp and Steve Norman on guitar, later saxophone and percussion. Kemp and Norman were attending Dame Alice Owen 's School in Islington North London, and were close friends, as they shared a similar interest in music and a common desire to form a band. They were joined by fellow student John Keeble, who met Norman when he stored his drum kit in the school 's music room, and the three met regularly at lunchtimes to practice. They were joined by bass player Michael Ellison and by Tony Hadley, who knew Norman, as lead singer. After a few months, Richard Miller replaced Ellison on bass, before Kemp 's younger brother Martin Kemp took over the role a couple of years later. By this time, the band had already gained some live experience. Steve Dagger, a close school friend of the band members, was asked by Norman and Gary Kemp to manage them. He was to be an integral part of the band 's success. The band changed its name to The Makers in late - 1976 and played as a punk band at the Roxy in their early years. In 1978 they became a power pop band and changed the name to Gentry, under which they played a few gigs, including at Kingsway College. They changed the band 's name to Spandau Ballet after a friend of the band, journalist and DJ Robert Elms, saw the phrase `` Spandau Ballet '' scrawled on the wall of a nightclub lavatory during a visit to Berlin. The new Spandau Ballet, with Martin Kemp and Hadley, began performing with this name around London. Their music had been in the style of the early Rolling Stones or The Kinks, but became more electronic after they attended clubs such as Billy 's and Blitz where the New Romantic scene was spearheaded and they listened to bands like Kraftwerk and Telex. Spandau Ballet was involved in a major bidding war, but signed to Chrysalis Records and released `` To Cut a Long Story Short, '' produced by the electronic musician Richard James Burgess. Released 10 days after the band emerged from the studio, `` To Cut a Long Story Short '' became a top 5 hit in late 1980. This was followed by further top 20 hits with `` The Freeze '', `` Musclebound '', and the Gold - certified debut album Journeys to Glory in 1981. The follow - up album, Diamond, also produced by Burgess, was released in 1982. This album was certified Gold by the BPI and featured the funk - flavoured Top 3 hit `` Chant No. 1 ''. The band had Burgess remix every single from both albums for inclusion on each single 's B - side and for 12 - inch club releases. These mixes were later released as a boxed set. However, the second single from Diamond was `` Paint Me Down, '' which broke their run of top 20 hits by stalling at No. 30. The third single, `` She Loved Like Diamond '', failed to make the UK Top 40 at all. Trevor Horn remixed the track `` Instinction '', which was released as the fourth single from the album. Backed with a special dance remix of `` Chant No. 1 '' on the 12 - inch single version, the release was very well received. It returned the band to the UK top 10 after the poor chart performance of their previous two singles. The group also had success in the United States when `` Chant No. 1 '' peaked at No. 17 on the dance charts in 1981. 1983 -- 1989 : international success and decline The band released their third album, True, in March 1983. Produced by Tony Swain and Steve Jolley, the album featured a slicker pop sound. It was at this point that Steve Norman began playing saxophone for the band. Preceded by the title track which reached number one in various countries, the album also reached number one in the UK. Their next single, `` Gold '', reached number 2. The follow - up album, Parade, was released in June 1984, and its singles were again big successes in the charts in Europe, Oceania and Canada. The album 's opening song, `` Only When You Leave '', became the band 's last American hit. At the end of 1984, the band performed on the Band Aid charity single and in 1985 performed at Wembley Stadium as part of Live Aid. During this same year, Spandau Ballet achieved platinum status with the compilation The Singles Collection, which kept the focus on the band between studio albums and celebrated its five years of success. However, the album was released by Chrysalis Records without the band 's approval and the band instigated legal action against the label. In 1986, Spandau Ballet signed to CBS Records and released the album Through the Barricades, in which the band moved away from the pop and soul influences of True and Parade and more toward rock. Though the first single, `` Fight for Ourselves '' peaked at 15 in the UK, the title track and the album both reached the Top 10 in the UK and Europe. After a hiatus from recording, the band released their next album, Heart Like a Sky, in September 1989. The album and its singles were unsuccessful in the UK, and the album itself was not released in the United States. It did, however, do well in Italy ( where its singles `` Raw '' and `` Be Free with Your Love '' reached the Top 10 ) and also in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. 1990 -- 1999 : break - up and solo projects In the 1990s, the band split up after a disagreement about royalties. Hadley, Norman and Keeble launched an unsuccessful court case against Gary Kemp for a share of Kemp 's songwriting royalties from his work with Spandau Ballet. Although they vowed to appeal the verdict, they later decided against this. The three non-Kemp members then continued to tour as a trio, but they had to sell their shares in Spandau Ballet 's company to Gary Kemp to pay off legal debts. Because the company owned the rights to the name of Spandau Ballet, the trio had to tour under the moniker `` Hadley, Norman and Keeble, ex-Spandau Ballet ''. In 1990, the Kemp brothers played the lead roles in the film The Krays. Martin Kemp landed an acting role in the UK soap opera EastEnders. Gary Kemp also did more acting, appearing in a supporting role in the Whitney Houston hit The Bodyguard. In 1995 he released his only solo album, Little Bruises. Meanwhile, Tony Hadley tried to establish a solo career but with little success. After leaving EastEnders, Martin Kemp continued acting in various high - profile projects and appeared on TV in other roles. He wrote and directed his first film, Martin Kemp 's Stalker. Gary Kemp wrote songs with Paul Stratham, who had written songs for Dido, continued acting on stage, in film and in television, and worked on the musicals Begbug and A Terrible Beauty with Guy Pratt. Steve Norman moved to Ibiza, where he formed a lounge band, Cloudfish, with Rafa Peletey and Shelley Preston in 2001. Hadley released three studio albums, landed the lead role in the musical Chicago and won the ITV reality show Reborn in the USA. In 1999, Hadley appeared as a guest vocalist on the Alan Parsons album The Time Machine, performing lead vocals on the song `` Out of the Blue ''. 2009 -- present : reunion Reunited Spandau Ballet performing at Berlin Fashion Week in January 2010 In early 2009, there was much speculation that the band was set to perform later that year. Although the band did not comment on these reports, the official Spandau Ballet website encouraged fans to sign up `` for an exciting announcement '', fuelling rumours that a reunion was imminent. Jonathan Ross mentioned during his BBC Radio 2 programme on 21 March 2009, that the band were re-forming and that he had been invited to the reunion party. The band confirmed the rumours at a press conference on 25 March 2009, on board HMS Belfast in London, a return to the venue of one of their first gigs to announce their comeback tour. The band began a world tour in October 2009, starting with eight dates across Ireland and the UK, the first of which was in Dublin on 13 October 2009. The tickets for the UK and Ireland shows went on pre-sale on the official Spandau Ballet website on 25 March 2009. They went on general release on 27 March 2009. For the general release tickets, the London O2 arena tickets sold out within 20 minutes and an extra two dates were added there because of demand. The band also announced an extra date in Birmingham and added Liverpool to the tour. Members gave their `` first public performance and interview anywhere in the world for 19 years '' on the BBC television show Friday Night with Jonathan Ross on 24 April 2009. On 19 October 2009, the group released a new album, Once More, which featured reworked versions of previous songs plus two new songs, including the single of the same name. The album reached the UK Top 10. Virgin Media honoured Spandau Ballet as the Best Comeback of 2009 in the Virgin Media Awards. Spandau Ballet went on tour in Australia during April 2010 with Tears For Fears. After a headline set at Isle of Wight Festival, the group played their last UK show of the Reformation Tour at Newmarket Racecourse on 25 June 2010. The band came together again in 2014 to promote a documentary about themselves and 1980s culture more broadly, Soul Boys of the Western World, which premiered at the Royal Albert Hall. It was directed by longtime Julien Temple producer, George Hencken. Band members attended South by Southwest ( their first public appearance in North America since 1985 ) and the Cannes Film Festival to drum up support for the film. It was confirmed on 31 July 2014, that Spandau Ballet were working on new material in the studio with Trevor Horn. In the UK, the band appeared in an ITV show, Spandau Ballet -- True Gold, in which they performed several hits and were interviewed in front of a studio audience. The band performed their 1980s hit single `` True '' and a new song called `` This is the Love '' on Jimmy Kimmel Live on 11 November 2014. It was their US late - night TV debut and their first US TV appearance since 1985 when they played on Soul Train. They were there to promote their new greatest hits collection called The Story -- The Very Best of Spandau Ballet, which also contains three new songs. The album reached the UK Top 10. The band embarked on another world tour in 2015. In January 2015, they appeared on The Today Show, performing `` True ''. They also appeared on The Talk on 27 July 2015 to perform `` True ''. On 3 July 2017, Tony Hadley announced on Twitter that due to circumstances beyond his control, he was no longer a member of the band. In popular culture This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( December 2015 ) The song `` True '' has been sampled in many songs, most notably P.M. Dawn 's `` Set Adrift on Memory Bliss '' in 1991 and Lloyd 's `` You '' in 2007. `` True '' is featured in the movies `` Sixteen Candles '' and The Wedding Singer sung by Steve Buscemi 's character. The song `` Gold '' appears on a UK advert for Flora margarine. Actor Edward Norton appeared on the ABC sitcom Modern Family as Izzy LaFontaine, a fictional bass player / backup vocalist for Spandau Ballet ( `` between Richard Miller and Martin Kemp '' ), in the episode `` Great Expectations. '' In series 4, episode 2 of Skins, JJ Jones and the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain serenade Lara with a rendition of Spandau Ballet 's `` True ''. `` Gold '' is featured in the closing credits of the episode. The song `` Gold '' appears in Rockstar Games ' 2002 video game Grand Theft Auto : Vice City on the WAVE 103 Station, which plays New Wave and Synthpop songs. The song `` True '' appears as a collectible music tape in the 2015 game Metal Gear Solid V : The Phantom Pain written and directed by Hideo Kojima Members Current members Gary Kemp -- lead guitar, keyboards, synthesizers, piano, backing vocals Steve Norman -- saxophone, guitar, percussion, bongos, congas, backing vocals Martin Kemp -- bass guitar, guitar, backing vocals John Keeble -- drums, backing vocals Ross William Wild -- lead vocals ( 2018 - present ) Past members Tony Hadley -- lead vocals, keyboards, synthesizers ( 1979 -- 1990 ; 2009 -- 2017 ) Early members Michael Ellison -- bass Richard Miller -- bass Discography Main article : Spandau Ballet discography Journeys to Glory ( 1981 ) Diamond ( 1982 ) True ( 1983 ) Parade ( 1984 ) Through the Barricades ( 1986 ) Heart Like a Sky ( 1989 ) Once More ( 2009 ) Awards and nominations Q Awards The Q Awards are hosted annually by the music magazine Q. Spandau Ballet has received one award. Year Nominee / work Award Result 2009 Spandau Ballet The Q Idol Won Brit Awards The BRIT Awards are the British Phonographic Industry 's annual pop music awards. Spandau Ballet has received one award from one nomination. Year Nominee / work Award Result 1984 Spandau Ballet The Sony Award For Technical Excellence Won Ivor Novello Awards The Ivor Novello Awards are awards for songwriting and composing, presented annually in London. Year Nominee / work Award Result 2012 Gary Kemp Outstanding Song Collection Won See also Book : Spandau Ballet List of best - selling music artists Literature Kemp, M. ( 2000 ). True : The Autobiography of Martin Kemp. Orion. ISBN 0 - 7528 - 3264 - 6. Hadley, T. To Cut A Long Story Short. Pan. Kemp, Gary ( 2009 ). I Know This Much. Fourth Estate. ISBN 978 - 0 - 00 - 732330 - 2. References Jump up ^ Debnath, Neela ( 3 August 2014 ). `` Spandau Ballet to release first studio album since 1989 ''. The Independent. Retrieved 27 April 2016. Jump up ^ Lester, Paul ( 2009 ). `` Spandau Ballet Once More Review ''. BBC Music. Retrieved 27 April 2016. Jump up ^ Reynolds, Simon ( 2006 ). `` Chapter 18 : Electric Dreams : Synthpop '', `` Chapter 22 : Raiding the Twentieth Century : ZTT, the Art of Noise, and Frankie Goes to Hollywood ''. Rip It Up and Start Again : Postpunk 1978 -- 1984. Penguin Books. ISBN 1 - 4295 - 2667 - X. Jump up ^ Macnab, Geoffrey ( 30 September 2014 ). `` Spandau Ballet 's Soul Boys Of The Western World, film review : Band remember roots ''. The Independent. Retrieved 28 October 2018. Jump up ^ @ TheTonyHadley ( 3 July 2017 ). `` A statement from Tony Hadley : - I am... '' ( Tweet ). Retrieved 1 February 2018 -- via Twitter. Jump up ^ `` Band Return With Ross William Wild ''. spandauballet.com press release, 7 June 2018. Jump up ^ `` My New Band ''. Instagram, 8 June 2018. Jump up ^ Kemp, Martin. True : the Autobiography of Martin Kemp. pp. 36 -- 37. Jump up ^ `` The Roxy Club ''. Boredteenagers.co.uk. Retrieved 5 November 2015. Jump up ^ Kemp, Martin. True : the Autobiography of Martin Kemp. p. 44. Jump up ^ Johnson, David ( 4 October 2009 ). `` Spandau Ballet, the Blitz kids and the birth of the New Romantics ''. The Observer. Jump up ^ Arctic Monkeys - Uncensored on the Record. Retrieved 6 November 2015. Jump up ^ `` Spandau Ballet : Diamond ''. AllMusic. Retrieved 6 November 2015. Jump up ^ Whitburn, Joel ( 2004 ). Hot Dance / Disco : 1974 -- 2003. Record Research. p. 242. Jump up ^ Leroy, Dan. `` Spandau Ballet : True ''. AllMusic. Retrieved 6 November 2015. Jump up ^ Watts, Halina ( 11 November 2014 ). `` Band Aid 30 years on : Where are the original stars three decades after the 1984 song was released ? ''. Mirror. Retrieved 6 November 2015. Jump up ^ Leroy, Dan. `` Spandau Ballet : Through the Barricades ''. AllMusic. Retrieved 6 November 2015. Jump up ^ `` Hit Parade Italia -- Indice per Interprete : S ''. Hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved 15 July 2011. Jump up ^ Steffen Hung. `` Spandau Ballet -- Raw ''. dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 20 October 2011. Jump up ^ Cole, Katherine ( 1 April 2014 ). `` After 28 Years, Spandau Ballet Returns to US ''. Voice of America. Retrieved 6 November 2015. Jump up ^ `` Spandau Ballet in court over royalties ''. BBC News. 27 January 1999. Retrieved 6 May 2009. Jump up ^ `` Spandau court bid fails ''. BBC News. 30 April 1999. Retrieved 6 May 2009. Jump up ^ `` Spandau three drop royalties appeal ''. BBC News. 15 October 1999. Retrieved 31 December 2008. Jump up ^ Child, Ben ( 22 August 2013 ). `` Kemp brothers to reunite on the big screen 22 years on from The Krays ''. The Guardian. Retrieved 6 November 2015. Jump up ^ `` Bedbug ''. National Theatre. Archived from the original on 22 October 2015. Retrieved 6 November 2015. Jump up ^ `` Gangs of Britain ''. National Theatre. Retrieved 6 November 2015. Jump up ^ Smart, Gordon ( 5 January 2009 ). `` Is it act II of Spandau Ballet ? ''. The Sun. Retrieved 16 March 2009. Jump up ^ Smart, Gordon ( 13 February 2009 ). `` Spandau are Nou Romantics ''. The Sun. Retrieved 16 March 2009. Jump up ^ `` Spandau Ballet to re-form 30 years on with hopes of ' doing a Take That ' ''. Daily Mail. 15 February 2009. Retrieved 16 March 2009. Jump up ^ `` Spandau Ballet Official Site ''. Retrieved 21 March 2009. Jump up ^ I got an invite recently to a band that have recently reformed who were a big band in the ' 80s. I ca n't tell you their name but it involves the words ' Ballet ' and ' Spandau. ' The invite said that `` we 're going to party like it 's 1982 ''. '' Transcribed from Jonathan Ross, BBC Radio 2, 21 March 2009. Jump up ^ `` Spandau re-form for a world tour ''. BBC News. 25 March 2009. Retrieved 1 April 2009. Jump up ^ `` Spandau Ballet 's homecoming gigs sell out in 20 minutes ''. The Daily Telegraph. 27 March 2009. Retrieved 1 April 2009. Jump up ^ `` One Programmes -- Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, Series 16, Episode 12 ''. BBC. Retrieved 15 July 2011. Jump up ^ `` Best Comeback -- Spandau Ballet -- Virgin Media Music Awards 2009 : The winners -- Music ''. Virgin Media. Retrieved 15 July 2011. Jump up ^ `` SB To Tour Australia With Tears For Fears ''. Spandauballet.com. Retrieved 3 August 2014. Jump up ^ `` Isle of Wight Festival Appearance Announced ''. Spandauballet.com. Retrieved 3 August 2010. Jump up ^ `` See Spandau Live for the Last Time This Year ! ''. Spandauballet.com. Retrieved 3 August 2010. Jump up ^ `` Soul Boys of the Western World ''. Spandauballet.com. Retrieved 3 August 2014. Jump up ^ `` Confirmed : Spandau Ballet working on NEW MATERIAL with Trevor Horn ''. Spandauballet.com. Retrieved 3 August 2014. Jump up ^ `` Spandau Ballet confirm first album since 1989 ''. NME. Retrieved 3 August 2014. Jump up ^ `` Spandau Ballet Recording First New Studio Album in 25 Years ''. Billboard. Retrieved 3 August 2014. Jump up ^ `` Spandau Ballet are back ! 80s heart - throbs recording first new album in 25 years ''. Metro. Retrieved 3 August 2014. Jump up ^ `` Watch Spandau Ballet Make Their First U.S. TV Appearance in Almost 30 Years on Kimmel ''. Stereogum. Jump up ^ `` Spandau Ballet performs hit song ' True ' ''. Today. 20 January 2015. Retrieved 28 April 2015. Jump up ^ @ TheTonyHadley ( 3 July 2017 ). `` A statement from Tony Hadley : - I am... '' ( Tweet ). Retrieved 1 February 2018 -- via Twitter. Jump up ^ `` True by Spandau Ballet ''. Songfacts. Retrieved 5 November 2015. Jump up ^ `` Flora Gold, Dancing Dad ''. TV Ad Music. Retrieved 5 November 2015. Jump up ^ `` Modern Family : Great Expectations Cast & Crew ''. TV.com. Retrieved 20 October 2013. Jump up ^ Strong, Martin C. ( 2000 ). The Great Rock Discography ( 5th ed. ). Edinburgh : Mojo Books. pp. 911 -- 912. ISBN 1 - 84195 - 017 - 3. Jump up ^ `` Brit Awards 2008 : The winners ''. BBC. 20 February 2008. Retrieved 16 October 2008. Jump up ^ `` Gary Kemp ' Complete ' With Ivor Novello Award ''. Contact Music. Retrieved 18 June 2013. External links Official Spandau Ballet website Spandau Ballet Ross William Wild Gary Kemp Steve Norman John Keeble Martin Kemp Tony Hadley Michael Ellison Richard Miller Studio albums Journeys to Glory Diamond True Parade Through the Barricades Heart Like a Sky Once More Live albums Live from the N.E.C. Compilation albums The Singles Collection The Twelve Inch Mixes The Best of Spandau Ballet The Collection Original Gold Gold : The Best of Spandau Ballet Reformation The Collection II The Ultra Selection Singles, Rarities & Remixes Top 20 singles `` To Cut a Long Story Short '' `` The Freeze '' `` Muscle Bound '' `` Chant No. 1 ( I Do n't Need This Pressure On ) '' `` Instinction '' `` Lifeline '' `` Communication '' `` True '' `` Gold '' `` Only When You Leave '' `` I 'll Fly for You '' `` Highly Strung '' `` Round and Round '' `` Fight for Ourselves '' `` Through the Barricades '' Related articles Discography Book : Spandau Ballet WorldCat Identities BNF : cb13906641t ( data ) GND : 5551719 - 5 ISNI : 0000 0001 2359 3281 LCCN : n88092005 MusicBrainz : 4c0d9acf - a8a1 - 4765 - 9c56 - 05f92f68c048 VIAF : 153742037 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Spandau_Ballet&oldid=866090718 '' Categories : Brit Award winners British soul musical groups English new wave musical groups Epic Records artists Mercury Records artists Parlophone artists Musical groups established in 1979 Musical groups disestablished in 1990 Musical groups reestablished in 2009 Musical groups from London British synthpop new wave groups Chrysalis Records artists Hidden categories : Articles with hCards Articles needing additional references from December 2015 All articles needing additional references Use dmy dates from November 2015 EngvarB from May 2015 Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz identifiers Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Български Čeština Dansk Deutsch Eesti Español فارسی Français 한국어 Hrvatski Italiano Magyar Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Occitan Piemontèis Polski Português Română Русский Simple English Slovenčina Suomi Svenska ไทย Українська 18 more Edit links This page was last edited on 28 October 2018, at 05 : 28 ( UTC ). 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Question: where did spandau ballet get their name from
Answer: Islington, London, England