two before true

It has been a helluva week. I didn't mean to neglect my little corner of the blogosphere. Sometimes things get in the way of our creative endeavors. Thankfully, I have music as my backdrop and soundtrack everyday. So, with apologies behind us, let's move forward with the tunes I've been spinning on my old Victrola all week long. Indeed, it was a LONG week.

Before we knew this much was true, Spandau Ballet released two, bold, slightly rough musical statements. "Journeys To Glory" was their debut which saw the band plucked from the tastemaker, New Romantic glitz of London's Blitz Club and dropped onto "Top Of The Pops", tartan dishcloths and all.

Their second album, "Diamond", traded in the more stately, dramatic elements of the first longplayer for a more urban, funky backdrop. However, both clearly derived their inspiration from the dancefloor.

Now, after nearly 30 years since they were first released, and over 20 since they first appeared on CD, Spandau Ballet's first two sonic offerings have been brushed up just as the band has reformed for a reunion tour. It has been a long time coming.

The Spandau story started in 1980 with their debut single, "To Cut A Long Story Short", which rocketed to #5 in the UK. The insistent, dramatic and somewhat militaristic synth number was followed by another goosestep groover, "The Freeze", and the hunky sleaze of"Musclebound". The parent album pulled in Old English folk influences which, when played on synths, gave the album a futuristic Renaissance flair with a Germanic twist.

Together with Tony Hadley's art house bravado, which has since become a formidable croon, "Journeys To Glory" certainly didn't sound like anything else in the early decade's dawn. Even though they were joined at the hip with Duran Duran in the press, the two bands sounded nothing alike.

At this point, Spandau were mixing slightly Goth and Middle Ages imagery in their videos. Much different than the slightly futuristic and sexualized look of Duran Duran's early clips.

The video for "The Freeze" features the rare sight of a bearded Tony Hadley! I've known Mr. Hadley for nearly two decades and I've never seen him sport whiskers of any sort. However, he's always smartly attired.



As with most reissues, a slew of bonus tracks have been added to the original tracklisting. This expanded, 2 CD edition is plumped up to included non-album b-side and funky favorite, "Glow" in both its 7" and extended 12" versions, both of which have rarely appeared on CD. However, for some odd reason, the 12" mix of "Musclebound" has been strangely omitted. This is a disappointment considering the entire package is nearly complete.

The rest of the set is filled out with 12" mixes, some of which mark their first appearance on CD with this collection. For the generation that grew up in the 80s, many of Spandau's unique remixes became the soundtrack to most weekend club crawls. They were clearly influenced by the likes of late era disco as well as acts like Chic and Roxy Music, both of which are often name checked by Duran Duran as influences.

As an added bonus, previously unreleased BBC recordings fill out the rest of the package which give an inside look into the bands rugged, live roots.

"Diamond", Spandau Ballet's second slab of longplaying vinyl, was a funkier affair that dabbled with Middle Eastern and Turkish flavors. It's quixotic and somewhat confused. Looking back on it, you can hear the shift from the first album and the move toward the smoother, smoochier worldwide breakthrough of "True".

Slap bass is the order of the day for Martin Kemp on groovy numbers like "Chant No. I (I Don't Need This Pressure On)", "Instinction" (which is not a real word, BTW) and "Coffee Club".

More world music undertones are featured on the hushed tones of "Innocence And Science" and the obtuse "Missionary" which conjures up images of David Sylvian and Japan.

"Diamond" went four singles deep with its campaign having been introduced by the high octane funk of "Chant No. 1 (I Don't Need This Pressure On)" highlighted by a signature, metallic guitar riff and Earth Wind & Fire style horn arrangement.

Unfortunately, I'm unable to locate the video clip for the song without the embedding having been disabled. So, instead, let's revisit Spandau Ballet's performance of the hit on "Top Of The Pops" from 1981. Keep your eyes on Martin Kemp's wonky, bedraggled presence. What was he smoking before the show? Oh, the evils of YouTube. There's no where to hide these days.

Subsequent singles failed to crack the top 10 in the UK. However, they are all worthy of attention in the Spandau cannon. For instance, "Paint Me Down", second single from "Diamond", features a darker element and more chanting choruses. It's easy to see why it was considered a formidable follow up to "Chant No. 1".

Perhaps the homo eroticism of the video prevented it moving past its #30 peak, a far cry from the #3 success of previous single, "Chant No. 1". At the time, Mother Beeb didn't take kindly to shirtless men painting each other with tender care.

Third single, "She Loved Like Diamond", a foreshadowing of the soul boy ballads for which they became most remembered, missed the top 40 completely and crashed out at a lowly #49.



"Instinction", the final single lifted from "Diamond", restored the band's fortunes on the singles chart with a little reswizzling from man of the moment, Trevor Horn. If you get a chance to play the album version back to back with Trevor's mix, you can hear how much depth and polish he added to one of Spandau's funkiest moments.

The reissue of "Diamond" follows the same path as its predecessor. The 12" mixes and previously unreleased BBC recordings round out the collection. Of special note is the non-album b-side, "Gently". It's only one of two songs the band recorded that never appeared on one of their longplayers.

Unlike Duran, Spandau weren't prolific and had a more continental appeal. In fact, Gary Kemp as sole songwriter for the band, shows them in complete contrast to their 80s heyday rivals. Of course, the contribution of all the band members brought added depth, color and style to songs. On one of the occasions when we worked together, Gary mentioned to me that he only ever wrote enough material for an album with very little extra material available for inclusion as b-sides.

The inclusion of the remixes that were released as an EP with a limited edition, boxed set of "Diamond", are a nice surprise. Some of them were never issued on CD and appear on this collection for the first time.

Unfortunately, neither reissue was serviced with liner notes. Surely there is a Spandau Ballet historian who could've regaled us with colorful accounts of the band's exploits. But if you want to know more about a band from the big 80s that doesn't get the glory which seems to be reserved for other groups from that era, pick up Spandau Ballet's first two albums. There's more to them than "True".