Spandau Ballet. Yes or no?

I was always curious of the song True, enjoying the chorus, but listening to the whole song recently I thought it was garbage. This opinion is slightly coloured by my theory, after watching a documentary on the band in 2015, that the band were so far up themselves that they don't realise their music is bland and their outfits were stolen from Bowie.

 

Yacht Pop...is there such a term ? if there is then they would be it.

btw, that's not a cheap knock as i've own 2 of their albums (True & Parade) since the 80's.
in fact, i'm posting this cuz i've heard their 2009 remake album Once More by chance this afternoon.
it actually sounded pretty good for the most part and the singer's voice hasn't aged a bit.

 

I don't know how, but the song "True" became our high school soccer team theme song. Maybe because it was true....our team sucked.

 

Not sure about 20- something. But it was sure great being a 13 something! Love all of those bands except King Crimson who were unknown to kids my age in the 80's.

They were definitely cutting edge/avant garde in the early 80's along with the other New Romantics such as Duran,Visage et al

Late 70's / early 80's were a golden age for pop

Yeah True is an excellent album (Parade is bland) but the first two are their most interesting albums by far. "Missionary" is amazing

 

I have their True album and haven't heard anything else by them. I like the True album and it is a good listen from start to finish. The title song and Gold are great songs.

Scott

 

Spandau were never ever a dance band.

 

First album had a few great singles, New Romantic direction, holds some good memories for me, 2nd album was badly produced, and was rescued by Trevor Horn re recording a badly produced album track, he made it sound superb.
3rd album True was a gigantic pop classic, Parade had some really great songs,just not as good as True, songs while very good were not as memorable and did not catch on with the general public like True did.
Through The Barricades, title track is a stunning piece , the rest is decent but nothing amazing.
Heart Like A Sky Awful title, awful album, The end of the Road.
I Vote 100% YES.

 

Not my bag.

 

I've heard nothing that stuck like the song "True".

It's like they are a one-hit wonder in my life.

Maybe I'll find another track like that classic but I doubt it.

 

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Made that same connection back in the day. I’ve found myself listening to them again after all these years, though the reunion has been a let down due to the portly Tony....

 

Erm, Tony left the band last year ..

 

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Yes, that is why it has been a let down...

 

ironic their last single before reuniting was a very polished pop song, however seems it only charted in Italy. Not as experimental or edgy as their early 80's songs, but I still like it. Tony is a good singer and Gary Kemp can craft a great tune

Crashed into Love (1990)

 

No. Definitely not. No way. Not in a millions years.

First thing I knew of them was reading an interview in the UK music press where they said that the clothes were more important than the music. And sure enough, when I heard the records the clothes really made an impression. Isn't radio wonderful!?!

 

Only recently (in past 10 years) it came to my attention that Gary Kemp was in movie The Bodyguard (1992), and he acted from a young age going back to the early 70's. Interesting