Spandau Ballet

Recently, the band have managed to put their differences behind them and a reunion tour has been mentioned; however, the success of Martin Kemp's acting career means that plans remain on hold. In 2005, Switchfoot received five Dove Award nominations, including Artist of the Year. The three non-Kemp members toured as a trio, but as Gary Kemp owned the rights to the name of Spandau Ballet, they had to go under the less-than-catchy moniker of 'Hadley, Keeble and Norman, ex-Spandau Ballet'. The song "Gone" has also received airplay on Christian radio stations but wasn't released as an actual single. As a result, Hadley in particular was left very short of money, and he ended up entertaining troops and taking part in the reality show Reborn in the USA. A re-recorded version of "Dare You to Move" has been high on the charts as well. In the 1990s, Hadley, Keeble and Norman launched a failed court case against Gary Kemp for a share of royalties which they claimed they were due. The hit single "Meant to Live" enjoyed widespread airplay on rock radio stations and transitioned into the top 40.

Gary Kemp did a little more acting, appearing in a supporting role in the Kevin Costner hit The Bodyguard, and in 1996 released a critically praised solo album, Little Bruises. Their latest album, The Beautiful Letdown, has been their most successful to date. Martin Kemp went on to land an acting role in the UK soap opera Eastenders, while Tony Hadley floundered trying to establish a solo career. Singer and actor Mandy Moore, who starred in the movie, sang Switchfoot's song "Only Hope" during a scene in the movie. The album bombed and Spandau Ballet — from whom Gary Kemp was already feeling estranged — split up for good. A number of Switchfoot's songs were included in the 2002 movie A Walk to Remember. After a hiatus from recording during which the Kemps established themselves as credible actors in the gangster film The Krays, the band released Heart Like a Sky in 1989. It's about change and movement, a different way of approaching life and music.".

The title track was a big hit in the UK, but the album did nothing in America. To switch your feet means to take a new stance facing the opposite direction. In 1986 Spandau Ballet signed to Epic Records and released Through the Barricades, which saw the band trying to move away from the pop/soul influences of True and Parade and more towards rock. "We all love to surf and have been surfing all our lives so to us, the name made sense. At the end of 1984, the band performed on the Band Aid charity single, with Hadley taking a prominent lead vocal role; and in 1985, they performed at the Wembley end of Live Aid. According to Jon Foreman, the name "Switchfoot" is a surfing term. Its opening single "Only When You Leave" became their last American hit. Switchfoot is a United States rock and alternative rock band that rose to mainstream prominence in the mid-2000s.

But the followup, Parade (1984), was critically drubbed for failing to move the band's sound forward. +Stars+ Switchfoot fansite (http://www.shrimpdesign.com/sf/). The album topped the charts on the both sides of the Atlantic and launched several hit singles such as "Gold" and the aforementioned title cut. Switchfoot lyrics (http://www.christianrocklyrics.com/switchfoot.php). It was at this point that Norman became the band's sax player. Columbia Records (http://www.columbiarecords.com/). The image changed too - the cossack outfits and make-up of New Romanticism (which was dying as a fad in 1983 anyway) had been replaced by smart suits and well-scrubbed faces. Switchfoot (http://www.switchfoot.com/).

With newfound confidence and a cleaner, radio-friendly sound, Spandau Ballet finally broke into the mainstream with True (1983), an album whose title cut was a six-minute opus paying tribute to the Motown sound (and in some respects, Marvin Gaye). The Beautiful Letdown, Top Internet albums, #16. It was a massive hit. The Beautiful Letdown, Top Christian albums, #1. Horn also took the Diamond album track "Instinction" and gave it a bombastic dance remix that sounded not unlike the work he would later do for Frankie Goes to Hollywood. The Beautiful Letdown, Billboard 200, #16. The followup album Diamond performed poorly, despite a big hit with "Chant No.1", and the band met with veteran producer Trevor Horn, who advised them on how to revamp their image and sound. The Beautiful Letdown, Top Contemporary Christian, #2.

This was followed by "The Freeze" and "Musclebound" and the well-received album Journeys to Glory. Learning to Breathe, Top Contemporary Christian, #23. The band eventually signed to Island Records and released "To Cut a Long Story Short", a British hit in 1980. Learning to Breathe, Heatseekers, #34. They began performing and generating positive buzz around London as the house band at the Blitz nightclub, which became regarded as the birthplace of a new 1980s music and fashion phenomenon called New Romanticism. New Way to Be Human, Top Contemporary Christian, #21. The band were initially called 'The Makers', but changed their name after a visit to Berlin, the inspiration from graffiti on the walls of Spandau Prison. New Way to Be Human, Heatseekers, #31.

Guitarist and songwriter Gary Kemp and his brother, bassist Martin Kemp formed the band in 1979, with drummer John Keeble, lead vocalist Tony Hadley and Steve Norman, who initially played guitar but later switched to saxophone when the band changed musical direction. "Dare You to Move," Top 40 mainstream, peaked at #29 (as of writing). As with their poppier rivals Duran Duran they 'broke America', albeit briefly. "Dare You to Move," Modern rock tracks, peaked at #9 (as of writing). Initially inspired by a mixture of funk, synthpop and New Romantic, they eventually mellowed into a mainstream AOR pop act. "Meant To Live," Top 40 tracks, peaked at #9. Spandau Ballet was a popular band of the 1980s. "Meant To Live," Top 40 mainstream, peaked at #6.

"Meant To Live," Hot 100, peaked at #18. "Meant To Live," Modern rock tracks, peaked at #5. "Meant To Live," Mainstream rock tracks, peaked at #36. "Meant To Live," Adult Top 40, peaked at #5.

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