❚ GRACE JONES’S HURRICANE-DUB went live today with the track This Is Dub free to hear at Soundcloud. On Sept 5 Wall Of Sound releases a double CD Hurricane-Dub. It comprises nine-track disc 1 containing the original version of Hurricane from 2008, which was Grace’s first album since 1989, wittily textured with collaborations from Tricky, Brian Eno, Sly and Robbie, guitarist Leo Ross and percussionist Tony Allan. The 2011 package adds a 10-track disc 2 featuring newly created dubs by producer Ivor Guest with fewer vocals but extra mixes of outtakes and unused riffs. They are said to bring “a new, deep, darker side to the already wicked bass-lines”.
A onetime member of Andy Warhol’s entourage, the 63-year-old Jamaican-born supermodel established herself as the eccentric queen of disco divas with hits throughout the 70s and 80s, her gamechanging album being the sleek and timeless Warm Leatherette which led to a tour performing her bizarre One Man Show and a Grammy nomination. She also invested in a movie career, but returned to music in 2007. Over the past two years her savage and passionate soul has been the elemental force powering the Hurricane stage tour. This renewed a creative partnership with her former lover, Jean-Paul Goude, to establish her new brand image in the spectacular glitterball hat by Philip Treacy, not to mention a galaxy of OTT costumes by Japanese designer Eiko Ishioka. Grace’s visually glamorous show returned for a second visit to fill London’s Royal Albert Hall to its 5,500 capacity in spring last year, and saw her son Paulo Goude in the band playing bongos. In recent years Grace has made her home in England with her producer who is also the fourth Viscount Wimborne.
❚ A WEEK BEFORE LONDON EXPLODED with the most shocking violence in memory, 18-year-old Chavez Campbell predicted the reaction to cuts in local youth services. “There’ll be riots,” he said in a video interview [below] for Guardian Online six days before they actually occurred. He and other young Londoners were describing the bleakness of their daily lives.
Campbell, who has recently left college and is struggling to find a job, does not condone rioting but does represent a voice that has been rarely heard in the maelstrom of recent days. He saw the riots explode, but went home to stay safe. Today Guardian Online publishes a second video interview in which he expresses further concern: “I don’t think it’s over. Because everyone came together and created this massive war zone, I think it will happen again.”
Chavez Campbell six days before the riots: “There’ll be riots” (Guardian credits: Cameron Robertson, Alexandra Topping and Elliot Smith)
Manchester city centre: as arrests continue, police appeal for help. (BBC video)
❏ The police are asking for people to shop those who destroyed and looted stores across the country [above]… Trouble is, as witnesses point out, “there’s no worse crime than grassing” … and “They’ve given out sentences of four months and six months, it’s farcical. In four weeks’ time those people will be out on tag anyway. There’s no point sending them to prison.” ➢ BBC News video August 12: Suspects appear in court
Tony Hadley in Rome, spring 2011: a busy year as a solo artist. Photograph by Riccardo Arena
❚ ON SATURDAY SUAVE BRITISH SINGER Tony Hadley debuts his solo show in the United States, his first professional visit since winning the British TV reality show Reborn in the USA in 2003. Otherwise American audiences haven’t seen him live since he visited in 1985 as vocalist with Spandau Ballet, onetime New Romantics turned pomp-rockers. Following a busy summer of festival appearances, the American tour represents one of the biggest and long-awaited challenges in his career. The first of his six big-city dates is at New York’s Irving Plaza, after which the divorced but happily remarried father of four then plays the Rivers Casino Stage as part of a gay street festival in Chicago.
John Keeble: Spandau pal whose drums drive the Hadley band too. Photographed by Shapersofthe80s
He’s backed by his long-standing band featuring Spandau’s John Keeble (drums) plus Phil Taylor (keyboards), Phil Williams (bass guitar), Richie Barrett (guitar). In October they head down-under to Australia for seven more shows, with Go West in support at three.
Hadley split acrimoniously from his school-mates Spandau Ballet in 1990, since when the singer with the mighty and melodious voice has pursued a vigorous solo career which often involves 200 live shows a year. It has yielded six albums, the last in 2006 titled Passing Strangers moving into jazz-swing territory, though his 15 singles have seen only minimal chart success. In live concert he loves covering pop standards by Bowie and even Duran Duran. Today he’s a declared fan of The Killers and My Chemical Romance. He also enjoyed a stint in the musical Chicago in London’s West End.
In 2004 Hadley wrote an autobiography called To Cut A Long Story Short which made clear how his worldview had always been markedly different from the other members of Spandau even at their peak of success. Hadley wrote: “I’m busier now [2004] than I was then [1983]… A couple of times I suggested we bring in a more experienced manager. I just thought it made sense to have someone working with us who knew more about the business than we did. No one else saw it that way.” In describing 1988, he devoted pages to a nit-picking analysis of the many cracks splitting the band, the last straw being the Kemp brothers, Gary and Martin, absenting themselves to star in the film about The Krays (notorious London gangsters), when all Tony wanted to do was sing his heart out on a stage. Then in 1999 the old school-mates found themselves daggers-drawn in an ugly court case over royalty payments, which Tony’s side lost. For years, the feud seemed irreconcilable. In 2005 Tony told me that by then he reckoned he personally was owed “about £2 million” to include interest.
Out of the blue in 2009 Spandau Ballet resolved their differences after Tony’s son Tom and Gary’s son Fin had met up in a pub and agreed to knock their dads’ heads together. The band reunited, they insisted, well, because all families have their squabbles and the old band of brothers from schooldays were really one big happy family again. It seemed just as pragmatic to assume that, as they were all approaching 50, the band knew a world tour might be their last chance to secure their pensions. What they agreed, though, was a one-year deal and it ended with an open-air show for 19,000 people at Newmarket racecourse on June 25 last year.
Hadley was always the non-Labour voter among the Spandaus and today at 51 he is a supporter of Conservative prime minister David Cameron. In recent years the singer harboured ambitions of becoming an MP. Given the horrendous violence that erupted this week on the streets of Britain, a remark he made in 2007 seems prescient. Tone was talking tough on crime to The Independent while attending the Conservative Party conference in Blackpool: “The fabric of society is torn. I walked through Blackpool and there were gangs walking the backstreets and 16-year-old pregnant women everywhere. What we need is Cameron to be like Thatcher, to say enough is enough, things have gone too far.”
This week as he packed for the States, Big Tone has given three lively online interviews, and here are some teaser quotes from him, which include news that his new solo album is now delayed …
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Liverpool Empire 1982: a fan and her handbag shin up a drainpipe to gain access to Spandau Ballet’s dressing room. Photographed by Shapersofthe80s
TH There’s so many. OK. We were playing the Liverpool Empire in 1983 [Actually 1982, Tony — Shapersofthe80s]. The dressing rooms were on the second floor and there were screaming girls outside going absolutely ballistic. So all the windows were shut and we’d just done the show. Suddenly there was a strange tap on the window. We opened the window and two fans had climbed up a drain pipe and shimmied up two floors just to get to us! If they’d have fallen, they would have been killed. We invited them in, signed all of their stuff and gave them something to drink. It was pretty wild.
QLeaving for the United States soon? TH I can’t wait. For some reason it has been very difficult to get into the States. An American agent saw my band in Europe and wanted to get us over there. We want to come to the States and prove ourselves. We are doing a handful of shows, then come back next year and do 20 or 30 shows.
QYou have a new album coming out this year, right? TH No, next year; I am a little behind on it. It will be the first album that is written by me. It will be 12 tracks that are classic pop rock. A few weeks ago I was in Miami for a private show and I was introduced to Barry Gibb from the Bee Gees. We are going to write together so I have to factor that in as well. How bloody brilliant is that?
Spandau Ballet reunited 2009: their first live performance for 19 years was on the Jonathan Ross TV show. (BBC)
QWill the Spandau reunion be ongoing? TH It was only meant to be a one-off, and from my point of view, it was just a one-off. But I always say ‘Never say never’. At the moment, I’m touring Britain, the States, Australia, New Zealand and Germany before Christmas, plus with the new album, there’s a lot going on, but maybe one day in the future.
QWhat would you say to more casual fans in the States that only know the softer side of Spandau Ballet? TH In America [in the 80s], Spandau really cocked it up unfortunately. America’s a country where you have to tour and tour and tour to prove yourself and we didn’t do that. For whatever reason, whether it was management, thinking we were clever or whatever, we just didn’t play it right. I love playing live, and the thing is now I want to prove myself in America. Some people will think “This guy sang that sweet little song True” but when they see us live, they might be surprised that it’s a lot heavier than they imagined.
➢ Tony’s US dates 2011 — Aug 13 Irving Plaza, New York; Aug 14 Northalsted Market Days Festival, Halsted Street, Chicago; Aug 16 House Of Blues, West Hollywood, Los Angeles; Aug 18 Ramona Mainstage, San Diego, CA; Aug 20 Fremont Experience, Fremont Street, Las Vegas; Aug 21 Red Devil Lounge, San Francisco.
➢ Tony’s Australia dates 2011 — Oct 26 Hindmarsh, South Australia; Oct 27 South Morang, Victoria; Oct 28 Doncaster, Victoria; Oct 29 Chelsea Heights, Victoria; Oct 30 Rewind Australia, Wollongong, NSW; Nov 3 Coolangatta, Queensland; Nov 4 Penrith NSW.
Photo posted at 2pm by Lawcol888 on yfrog: “We’re ready in Clapham and Vauxhall”
Dan Thompson: appeal by radio and Twitter
❚ DAN THOMPSON, an artist, writer, photographer, explorer of Worthing in Sussex has called for everyone with a dustpan and brush to get out on the streets of Britain today to lead the clean-up after three days of rioting and looting.
Riot police in London today: "appropriate force" will be used
STAY AT HOME TONIGHT AND ‘GIVE US THE STREETS’ — POLICE CHIEF
Sir Hugh Orde, president of the Association of Chief Police, told Radio 5 Live today: “The police will respond robustly and we will get the streets back.” 16,000 officers will be on duty in London tonight and will respond robustly to troublemakers and with appropriate force. Londoners are asked to stay indoors and give the police space in which to operate.
London riots, Saturday: Fire rages through the Carpet Right store in Tottenham, north London, after an arson attack
London riots, Saturday: three text messages sent via the BlackBerry BBM service by some organising hand to rally looters. (BBC)
❏ Tottenham Hale retail park, Saturday-Sunday: One looter asks the cameraman to look after his bike so it didn’t get nicked while he went inside the shops (by viceuk1)
❏ Fires over north London: Time lapse filming as Tottenham buildings burned into early Sunday morning (by itdrewitself).
❏ Update Aug 10: The photographer Amy Weston took this dramatic shot on Monday night in what she called a “war-zone”, meaning the outer London borough of Croydon where the House of Reeves furniture store was ablaze [below]. It was published on the front page of Tuesday’s final editions of the Guardian, Times, Sun, Daily Mirror and Daily Telegraph and in many other papers. Weston says: “In front of me was this fire with six or seven riot police and this lady falling from a window, but directly behind me was Surrey Street market where the larger stores sell electrical products… As I turned around it was like a war-zone… People were turning on each other and beating each other up, and mugging and robbing each other. That’s when I took my cardigan off and wrapped it round my camera so nobody could see what I had and I ran as fast as I could through that crowd back to my car.” Listen to the full four-minute interview for BBC Radio 4’s Media Show here:
London riots, Monday: the 144-year-old House of Reeves furniture store ablaze in Croydon, south London. A 33-year-old man was later charged with arson. (BBC)
❏ Driving through London riots: Video of looters ruling in Clapham about 21:30 Monday before police took control of the situation (by RussiaToday).
➢ Choose “View full site” – then in the blue bar atop your mobile page, click the three horizontal lines linking to many blue themed pages with background article
MORE INTERESTING THAN MOST PEOPLE’S FANTASIES — THE SWINGING EIGHTIES 1978-1984
They didn’t call themselves New Romantics, or the Blitz Kids – but other people did.
“I’d find people at the Blitz who were possible only in my imagination. But they were real” — Stephen Jones, hatmaker, 1983. (Illustration courtesy Iain R Webb, 1983)
“The truth about those Blitz club people was more interesting than most people’s fantasies” — Steve Dagger, pop group manager, 1983
PRAISE INDEED!
“See David Johnson’s fabulously detailed website Shapers of the 80s to which I am hugely indebted” – Political historian Dominic Sandbrook, in his book Who Dares Wins, 2019
“The (velvet) goldmine that is Shapers of the 80s” – Verdict of Chris O’Leary, respected author and blogger who analyses Bowie song by song at Pushing Ahead of the Dame
“The rather brilliant Shapers of the 80s website” – Dylan Jones in his Sweet Dreams paperback, 2021
A UNIQUE HISTORY
➢ WELCOME to the Swinging 80s ➢ THE BLOG POSTS on this front page report topical updates ➢ ROLL OVER THE MENU at page top to go deeper into the past ➢ FOR NEWS & MONTH BY MONTH SEARCH scroll down this sidebar
❏ Header artwork by Kat Starchild shows Blitz Kids Darla Jane Gilroy, Elise Brazier, Judi Frankland and Steve Strange, with David Bowie at centre in his 1980 video for Ashes to Ashes
VINCENT ON AIR 2026
✱ Deejay legend Robbie Vincent has returned to JazzFM on Sundays 1-3pm… Catch up on Robbie’s JazzFM August Bank Holiday 2020 session thanks to AhhhhhSoul with four hours of “nothing but essential rhythms of soul, jazz and funk”.
TOLD FOR THE FIRST TIME
◆ Who was who in Spandau’s break-out year of 1980? The Invisible Hand of Shapersofthe80s draws a selective timeline for The unprecedented rise and rise of Spandau Ballet –– Turn to our inside page
SEARCH our 925 posts or ZOOM DOWN TO THE ARCHIVE INDEX
UNTOLD BLITZ STORIES
✱ If you thought there was no more to know about the birth of Blitz culture in 1980 then get your hands on a sensational book by an obsessive music fan called David Barrat. It is gripping, original and epic – a spooky tale of coincidence and parallel lives as mind-tingling as a Sherlock Holmes yarn. Titled both New Romantics Who Never Were and The Untold Story of Spandau Ballet! Sample this initial taster here at Shapers of the 80s
CHEWING THE FAT
✱ Jawing at Soho Radio on the 80s clubland revolution (from 32 mins) and on art (@55 mins) is probably the most influential shaper of the 80s, former Wag-club director Chris Sullivan (pictured) with editor of this website David Johnson
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