2014 Directed by George Hencken
A journey through the 1980s and beyond; the story of a band, an era and how one small gathering of outsiders in London shaped the entire world’s view of music and fashion. The film is not only a fascinating, often hard-hitting social and cultural document of the time, but a brutally honest story of how friendships can be won, lost and ultimately regained.
Soul Boys of the Western World: Spandau Ballet The Movie, Soul Boys of the Western World: Spandau Ballet Il film, 소울 보이즈, 스팬다우 발레
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Eighties pop bands have some of the worst reputations around. Accusations they couldn't play their instruments, that drum machines and synthesisers had made making music easier, and of course the hideous fashion statements and excessive make-up that turned men into androgynous marketing tools. Following on from punk and the post-punk movement led by the likes of Joy Division, The Cure, and Siouxsie and the Banshees, there was always going to be something more mainstream that clean-cut kids and especially girls were going to idolise. Duran Duran were arguably the biggest of the New Romantics, a pop culture movement born out of the night clubs of late seventies and early eighties London. This documentary on Spandau Ballet touches on all those…
I always felt a bit sorry for Spandau Ballet because Duran Duran were obviously a lot better looking, and had more cohesive albums if you ask me. Still, 'Journeys to Glory' is a fantastic debut album, and Tony Hadley has one hell of a set of pipes.
Martin Kemp was my favourite character of all-time on 'EastEnders', he was in it when I started watching and I often credit my obsession with 'EastEnders' (which lasted 10 years) for being the best English didactic method you could wish for. So I do have a soft spot for Spandau, or really any band that has one band member that just plays every instrument known to man.
The Kemps grew up on Essex…
With 80's nostalgia still high on the agenda, going back to look at one of the decades most icon bands makes a lot sense. A bunch of young working class guys from London came together in the late seventies to form Spandau Ballet, initial front runners of the new wave movement that dominated the first half of the 80's in both music and fashion.
The five members all contribute narration as we move through the chronological timeline of the group. We hear about the childhood influences that led them to music and their formation in the sixth form of school where their initial sound matched the punk mood of the time. A combination of electronica, punk, disco and pop spat…
7/10
I'll admit I watched this for Martin Kemp 🙈 but it ended up being pretty interesting. I didn't actually know that much about the band apart from loving the three main hit songs.
It was a bit indulgent with its run time though and really dragged in the middle.
But then got juicy again with the court case.
I was grinning ear to ear at the end, It gave me the warm and fuzzies.
Also gained a crush on another Spandau member - Steve Norman 😍
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! Before I saw this, I knew jack shit about Spandau Ballet other than their first single, most of their first album, the mega-hit “True,” and that they had a funny name. But in actuality, the band was comprised of several smart and genuine London boys and even had two brothers in the band (Oasis much?). They also for the first few years were pretty much a SUPER London new-wave fashion/art band which I had no idea about.
As soon as “True” and Live Aid (!) come and go, the boys become more and more uber famous and the band just comes across as the lesser rock star peers to Duran Duran and I started to zone out a…
Excellent documentary charting the musical lifespan of Spandau Ballet.
I realised I actually don't know any Spandau songs other than True or Gold.
Also, how suave and stylish is Martin Kemp?
And it seems a band can get together after a court room royalties battle after all, unless the singer is a stubborn vegetarian.
Oh boy, while enjoyable, this documentary tells a real tall tale about the importance of Spandau Ballet. Yes they were a phenomenon but they were also one band of many that were made up of pretty boys playing whitewashed funk. That sound evolved into something even more homogenized by the second album. Gary Kemp is convinced the music he is making is edgy throughout and it's just not. The best parts are the early years particularly when they are spouting off dribble regarding politics, society, and fashion. Their first interview in New York involves Gary wearing an outfit the journalist describes as Bedouin which baffles the band (it does look like some sort of Lawrence of Arabia chic thing). The band's take on this moment was that New York wasn't ready! Um okay…
By the 90’s Spandau was singing songs about women who “like it raw. ” Yeah it happened and it's documented in this film.
The formation and rise of the band make this doc a good watch. The stories of growing up watching "Top Of The Pops" every week while the country was either on strike or running out of fuel for the winter really brought home the power of pop music to kids. By '79/'80 after name changes and experimenting with their different influences and styles Spandau Ballet with songwriter/lead guitarist Gary Kemp leading the way become a part of the Blitz nightclub scene and a spearhead in what the ever present UK pop media dub "The New Romantic" movement (also Duran Duran, Adam and the Ants, Culture Club, Yaz). The doc is best here when it's more about a certain time and…
Somehow this documentary had like three of my favorite songs ever and they were all not by Spandau Ballet.
I like how this was organized, only problem is Spandau Ballet is neither interesting musically or historically.
