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. He released a new album of solo material, Living Things in late 2004, though the material on the album was recorded in 2002. 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'. In early 2002 he formed the supergroup The Thorns with Shawn Mullins and Pete Droge. 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. Sweet's international success had been somewhat limited by his fear of flying; however he gained a significant following in Japan and his most recent album, Kimi Ga Suki * Raifu, was a Japan-only release in 2003. 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. Decidedly out of the musical mainstream, Sweet would issue a few more albums in the second half of the decade and maintain a devoted core of fans, but critical acclaim and chart success would be hard to come by.

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. In 1995, Sweet displayed a sense of irony on his next album, 100% Fun, mixing bouncy pop style with darker lyrics, including a leadoff track, the self-deprecating "Sick of Myself". 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. A more diverse and less immediately accesible album than Girlfriend, the album divided fans and critics who had mixed reactions to emotionally intense and brooding tracks like "Someone to Pull the Trigger" and "Knowing People". The album bombed and Spandau Ballet — from whom Gary Kemp was already feeling estranged — split up for good. Sweet's follow-up album, 1993's Altered Beast, was borne out of an apparent determination not to become mainstream. 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. The video for the title track was featured on MTV, featuring Manga-style animation, of which Sweet is a fan.

The title track was a big hit in the UK, but the album did nothing in America. Girlfriend continues to be regarded as Sweet's breakthrough album and some regard it a major '90s classic. 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. sales (spawning a top-10 single with the title track). 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. This album featured a classic set of pop-rock songs, was considered by many to be an artistic breakthrough and quickly garnered impressive U.S. Its opening single "Only When You Leave" became their last American hit. The album, still under construction, was retitled Girlfriend and released in October 1991.

But the followup, Parade (1984), was critically drubbed for failing to move the band's sound forward. In 1990, A&M released Sweet from his contract, and he signed with rival Zoo Entertainment. 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. The new group spent 1990 putting together Sweet's next work, originally titled Nothing Lasts. It was at this point that Norman became the band's sax player. Sweet quickly recovered, and put together a new band including Richard Lloyd, Robert Quine, Greg Leisz and Fred Maher. 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. This period marked a personal and professional low point for Sweet, as A&M lost interest and his marriage failed.

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). Sweet was then picked up by A&M Records where he released his second album, Earth (1989), again without commercial success. It was a massive hit. One album, Inside, was released by Columbia in 1986 to little success. 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. Before long he was signed to a solo recording contract with Columbia Records. 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. leader Michael Stipe at this time, joining Michael's sister in a band called Oh-OK and then forming another band, Buzz of Delight.

This was followed by "The Freeze" and "Musclebound" and the well-received album Journeys to Glory. Matthew worked with R.E.M. The band eventually signed to Island Records and released "To Cut a Long Story Short", a British hit in 1980. and The B-52's. 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. As a young musician wanting to make a name for himself, Sweet set off to Athens, Georgia in the mid '80s, to attend college and join the vibrant Athens music scene, most famous as the home base for R.E.M. 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. 1966) is a pop-rock musician from Lincoln, Nebraska, USA.

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. Matthew Sweet (born c. As with their poppier rivals Duran Duran they 'broke America', albeit briefly. Living Things (2004). Initially inspired by a mixture of funk, synthpop and New Romantic, they eventually mellowed into a mainstream AOR pop act. Kimi Ga Suki (Japan only) (2003). Spandau Ballet was a popular band of the 1980s. To understand: the early recordings of Matthew Sweet (2002).

Time Capsule: Best of 90/00 (2000). In Reverse (1999). Blue Sky on Mars (1997). 100% Fun (1995).

Son of Altered Beast (1994). Altered Beast (1993). Girlfriend (1991). Earth (1989).

Inside (1986).