A Thought For This Weekend

RE: Tony Hadley Leaves Spandau Ballet

Yesterday Tony Hadley released a statement to the press stating that he had left Spandau Ballet and would no longer be a member of the group. The official Twitter page for the group would also share this, hours later. Twitter and Facebook were full of mixed reactions, some wishing him the best of luck, some wondering if there was another underlying reason, and others were understandably upset as this was a band they had been following for many years, like myself, even though, I am considerably quite young. To be honest, it's really saddening, but sometimes, things have to come to an end. I have lots of happy memories listening to such an iconic group growing up, and feel quite fortunate to have seen them once, on the last tour. I bet you, the reader, have many too. Most of the followers on my Ultravox/Spandau Ballet Twitter fan page got to see them in their 80s prime, and have spoken about how amazing they were. I wish I was that lucky.

Sheffield Arena March 6th 2015

With all that being said, best of luck in whatever you decide to do next, Tone.

- S

P.S. A very happy Independence Day to all of my American readers!

Review of Soul Boys of the Western World (Blog Mirror)

(Mirrored from an old blog dated 12/10/14)

As most of you know, the UK premiere for the all new Spandau Ballet documentary "Soul Boys of the Western World" premiered in cinemas all across the country last Tuesday, with a special live performance following that. When I was sitting watching the film with my friend, I was very surprised that there was only roughly 20 people dotted around the cinema, not many at all! I guess Yorkshire isn't home to, if any, Spandau fans. It took forever to come on, and when it did, first impressions did last! The opening part where each member discussed how they took interest to music, where they grew up in the Swingin' Sixties was really good. They were all quite cute as little boys, especially Steve Norman, where my friend was literally drooling! I liked where they all had a chance to speak, their own personal opinion about the band. The best bit, in my eye, was when they were discussing the making of the True album in the Bahamas. Definitely plenty of eye candy there, ladies! I noticed that their fan base had a higher proportion of women. Maybe because there's (at the time), five good looking men on stage, flaunting themselves in skin tight leather and luxury Anthony Price suits. Towards the middle of the film, when it flashes back to 1979 when Gary says "We don't want to lose each other" - who could possibly think he was foreshadowing the band's demise! This is the first time I've heard this - but Gary Kemp? A bully? I can't believe he picked on Tony Hadley like he did! But take it from personal experience, not everyone gets on with him. Enjoyed the bit about The Krays and Spandau living their separate lives in the 1990s, but when it got to the court case in 1999, from what I've read in "I Know This Much", it was a very stressful period in the band's history. Ten years later when they reformed, I breath a huge sigh of relief. I haven't even discovered Spandau Ballet yet (I was 10 in 2009) but a band as good as this by certain needs an excellent comeback and oh boy they sure did! What a fantastic film and a cracking good way to end it!

I was very disappointed that they only got the chance to answer only 3 questions, it would have been better if they could have answered more. 

I think the highlight of the whole night was the actual live performance at the end. TCALSS and Chant No.1 have been given a brand new, upbeat, 21st century punk sound - it was great!! It sounded just as good as the original eighties version! True and Only When You Leave were good as well!! I wish I was there in front of them!

Overall, it was a really good night and I highly recommend the film to new and old Spandau Ballet fans. 5/5!!! 

Six Months On...The Legacy Continues...

On Sunday it would have been George Michael's 54th birthday. It also marked six months since his tragic passing from heart and liver failure on Christmas Day. I would have made a post then, but I'm still quite emotional from the event, and other things came up at the very last minute so that was a bit of a push back for me but I promised myself I would get on the computer and write something.

It was very enlightening to see people flock to Highgate and Goring to pay their tributes, oh I wish I had some cash and a big toe that wasn't broken so I could go down there and show my personal respect to a man I found truly inspiring. It's nice to know his beloved dogs are okay too and are receiving the best care. However a few weeks ago I did make my own advance tribute video dedicated to him, which I don't doubt that some of you have seen already. Others have made brilliant ones too. I suggest you check out the one created by Twitter user Lady Sunshine here.

Sorry it's been a short post today, but stay tuned for the next one.

- S

Happy Birthday John Taylor!

A very happy birthday to the legendary Duran Duran bass player John Taylor, who celebrates his 57th birthday today. Duran Duran was one of the first 80s bands that I listened to alongside Spandau Ballet from the get go and John certainly had enabled me to have big dreams about my hair. First brown, then red, and then hopefully black at the end of next month. Might add a little blonde too.

All the best on your special day!

Time to crack out the Duran Duran records and partayy!

- S

Discovering... Level 42

I discovered the band Level 42 on YouTube recently. One of their videos was in my recommended feed and I decided to check them out. The song was Lessons in Love, and after I watched it, I was really impressed with them. I found one of their records in the loft, and gave it a blast the same night. By the end of the week I had played Running in the Family from side to side and was more than eager to delve into their anthology to see what other music they had produced! My best friend had been a fan of their work for many years and was more than happy to suggest tracks for me to listen to. He said that the frontman/bass player, Mark King, was truly iconic and his bass skills were out of this world, I agree!.

So, for those of you who don't know who they are, Level 42 are an English band, who had a number of UK and worldwide hits during the 1980s and 1990s, So far I've only listened to the early eighties stuff and have yet to enter the realms of their '90s content. Here's a pic if you're new to them.

Top: Boon Gould, Phil Gould
Bottom: Mike Lindup, Mark King

In the space of a few short months I've really gotten to like their music and would recommend them to any newcomer to the 1980s, if you're looking for a blast for the past, or if you simply just fancy a change from what you normally listen to. Here are my favourite tracks so far. I'll provide their YT links so you can give them a whirl, if you desire.

1. Lessons in Love (1987) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gt7mtdLha-c

2. Leaving Me Now (1985) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqvM0hneovs

3. Something About You (1985) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpdQQoc-gkk

4. It's Over (1987) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xD1Yuev8xYw

Four tracks seems like a sparse amount to recommend, but like I said earlier, I'm still a newbie to the band and my list, in time, will surely expand, so watch this space! There's just something about them I really like. See what I did there? Pun intended, sorry not sorry!

- S

Review of Adam Ant at Leeds First Direct Arena 27/5/17

From being very young I have always wanted to see musicians that I idolised live in concert, despite not being around at the time when they were at their peak. I would listen in awe to my folks' anecdotes about their experience seeing Queen, Wham!, Electric Light Orchestra, Status Quo, Big Country etc live back in the 1980s and part of me really wanted to find the blueprints for the Tardis so I could go back in time and live the dream, but I wasn't that lucky. I saw Spandau Ballet at Sheffield Arena two years ago on the Soul Boys tour, and they were totally phenomenal. Manic Street Preachers last year at Leeds was exceptionally brilliant. I'm waffling, better get right into this...

I first knew that I wanted to go and see Adam Ant live because of the positive reviews he was getting for his Kings of the Wild Frontier anniversary UK tour prior to the Anthems one. Sadly, he had not come anywhere near West Yorkshire so I lived in hope that one day he would do another tour local to me. My prayers were about to be answered. Last September he announced the tour dates and I knew right away when I saw that he was going to Leeds I was going to be batting my eyelashes to go. I could use the excuse that it was a birthday present, after all, it was the day before my birthday. Dad let me book the tickets and the rest was history. 

We got in fairly early, provided that there was added security on the night due to the recent events in Manchester, but that was expected. It was really easy to find our seats and we got sat down fairly quickly. There wasn't much of a wait for Adam to come on the stage, and the opening to the concert I found rather amusing, the theme tune for the Grand National. The only downfall was that I'd forgot to pick up a powerbank so I couldn't take many photos and videos. Here's one of them:

Performing Prince Charming 

For 62 years old, Adam has still got the moves, and the groove that he had back in the 80s. We were treated to all the classics, Antmusic, Stand and Deliver, Prince Charming, Goody Two Shoes, Apollo 9 and Strip, but at the same time it was good to hear some of the B sides and little gems that had almost faded to grey in my mind, such as Young Parisiennes, Room at the Top, Greta X, Desperate But Not Serious, Puss in Boots. I also loved the addition of some Dirk Wears White Sox tracks too such as Car Trouble. This gave my dear old mum a long awaited blast from the past! His energy was outstanding and really engaged with the crowd, getting everyone to join in with Stand and Deliver and Prince Charming. It was nice to see people doing the old dance from the original video too. But I bet you, I wasn't the only young gun there that night that had the time of her life. Best 18th birthday ever! 

I loved that he kept the tradition of two drummers, it really gave the music that authentic feel, especially on Kings of the Wild Frontier and Antmusic. No Marco, Merrick, Terry Lee, Gary Tibbs, and Yours Truly, but still, it was like walking into a time machine and being there in the 1980s.

Definitely a 10 from me! 

VIVE LE ROCK!

- S