Chief songwriter Spandau Ballet, actor.
Evolving from The Makers, Spandau Ballet formed in 1979 with a line up comprising Gary Kemp, his brother Martin Kemp, Tony Hadley, John Keeble, and Steve Norman.
Spandau Ballet originally came to prominence as part of the new romantic scene revolving around a handful of fashionable London clubs, at which the habitues would dress in outlandish clothes and makeup. Such was the interest in this unknown band that the group was offered a contract by Island Records' proprietor Chris Blackwell. This was rejected, and instead the band set up their own label Reformation, ultimately licensing through Chrysalis Records. Their powerful debut, the harrowing "To Cut A Long Story Short," reached the UK Top 5.
"Chant Number 1 (I Don't Need This Pressure On)" reached the UK Top 3, and was followed by "Paint Me Down," and "She Loved Like Diamond."
The band completed a couple of albums and employed various producers, including Trevor Horn for "Instinction" and Tony Swain and Steve Jolley for "Communication."
"True" was released in 1983 and topped the UK charts for several weeks. The album of the same name repeated the feat, while the follow up "Gold" reached number 2. The obvious international appeal of a potential standard like "True" was underlined when the song climbed into the US Top 5 the same year.
Material: oldies.com
