Tag Archives: premiere

➤ Warts-and-all revelations now that Spandau want the truth to be known

Posted on 7 Mar 2014 | 1 comment

Soul Boys of the Western World, Spandau Ballet, trailer, SWSW, premiere,biopic, pop music, New Romantics, Blitz Kids,

The defeated Norman, Keeble and Hadley outside the law court 1999: “You can see on our faces Spandau Ballet had just come to an end”

Soul Boys of the Western World, Spandau Ballet, trailer, SWSW, premiere,biopic, pop music, New Romantics, Blitz Kids,Gary Kemp, Tony Hadley

Hell freezes over as an interviewer asks: “Gary, you’ve been referred to as the driving force. What is the input of the others in the group?” Tony Hadley: “Ah-ha-ha!”

❚ WHAT A HAIR-SHIRT OF A TRAILER! Nettlesome would be a good word for the first glimpse we’ve been given this week of Soul Boys of the Western World, the warts-and-all biopic about the rise and fall (and rise again) of Spandau Ballet, which premieres next week at SXSW in Texas. The trailer rattles through the glorious birth pangs of a new fashion-and-music scene in the 80s and screeches to a standstill at the gaping open wound when the band decided in 1989 they really didn’t like each other any more.

➢ Click to view the trailer of
Soul Boys of the Western World

For 20 icy seconds hairs rise on the back of your neck. A direct question in a TV interview blows a hole in Spandau’s credibility – Tony Hadley simply laughs, “Ah-ha-ha!” Before a another interviewer, the Kemp brothers dissemble about their acting ambitions. After a battle over money, three band members leave the law court defeated. And lifelong friendships wither before our eyes. John Keeble said this year: “It’s very honest and very difficult. It’s a film about redemption.” By God, it had better be.

➢ Previously at Shapersofthe80s: Spandau confirms live reunion gig in Texas – for a tiny elite!

“These guys talk funny, right?” – Best of friends since their schooldays, Spandau Ballet star on Soul Train in 1985, at the height of their American fame

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Posted in Film, London, Media, North America, Pop music, TV, Youth culture

Tagged biopic, Blitz Kids, New Romantics, premiere, redemption, Soul Boys of The Western World, Soul Train, Spandau Ballet, SWSW, trailer

2014 ➤ Tweets that tell the tale of Spandau Ballet’s road to Redemption

Posted on 26 Feb 2014 | Leave a comment

Spandau Ballet, film, Soul Boys of The Western World, pop music, George Hencken, SXSW, premiere,reunion,

Director of the Spandau movie, George Hencken, tweets: “No better way to spend Wednesday afternoon than watching @SpandauBallet in rehearsal. Texas here we come!”

❚ REUNITED FOR THE FIRST TIME in three years, the five men who fronted the New Romantic sounds of 1980 started rehearsals this week. Spandau Ballet were gearing up for their return to the live stage in the US on March 12 as part of the promotion for the biopic about their rise, Soul Boys of The Western World, which is being premiered at the SXSW Festival in Texas.

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Lauren Kemp’s snap of Tony Hadley

Another snap by film director George Hencken

Spandau Ballet, film, Soul Boys of The Western World, pop music, George Hencken, SXSW, premiere,reunion, John Keeble

John Keeble: “My Paiste”

John Keeble: “My office”

Only When You Leave: Big Tone back in front

Steve Norman back on guitar, Gary Kemp leading

Spandau Ballet, film, Soul Boys of The Western World, pop music, George Hencken, SXSW, premiere,reunion, Tony Hadley, Gary Kemp

Martin Kemp’s insta-vid of Gary and Tony

Martin Kemp – What an amazing way to spend a day! SpandauBallet rehearsal room was rocking today!

George Hencken as Henckenstein – First time I’ve been in a room with all the boys together. I can’t lie. It was emotional.

John Keeble – My irreplaceable Paiste 3000 24″ Ride. Over a quarter of a Century of Grooves!

Steve Norman – Another fab day at the office.

Gary Kemp – Looking forward to playing in the Lou Reed tribute concert on 14th March in @sxsw. Spandau delivering a peach from Transformer.

SPOT THE LEITMOTIF… ‘REDEMPTION’

Spandau Ballet, film, Soul Boys of The Western World, pop music, SXSW, premiere,reunion,BBC 6Music, interview, Matt Everitt

News hound Matt Everitt interviewing Spandau in rehearsals last Monday – “Such great hair going on in that photo”. (Where’s Big Tone? Hadders was unwell that day)

➢ Listen to this morning’s Spandau feature on BBC 6Music – Matt Everitt interviews band members on their return to the live stage (scroll forward to 1h 44m)

Songwriter Gary Kemp on the documentary film: “It’s warts and all. There are some tough bits because we went through a smash-up, and that’s all there on the screen. But there’s also redemption.”

Drummer John Keeble: “It’s very honest and very difficult. Life comes at you. There was no point in telling the story and airbrushing it. We grew up together, we explored the world together and we fell out – badly. It’s about redemption.”

What next, Martin? “We’ll see! There’s a couple of surprises along the way, coming up.”

redemption / rɪˈdɛm(p)ʃ(ə)n: “The action of saving or being saved from sin”

➢ Previously at Shapersofthe80s: Spandau confirms one-off live reunion gig in Texas – for a tiny elite!

➢ Previously at Shapersofthe80s: Video gems unearthed by the Spandau Ballet movie Soul Boys of The Western World

Rock god and his gong: John Keeble twit-picced by sax man Steve Norman

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2014 ➤ Video gems unearthed by the Spandau Ballet biopic premiering at SXSW

Posted on 3 Feb 2014 | Leave a comment

Spandau ahoy! Houseband of the New Romantics playing aboard HMS Belfast in 1980. Martin Kemp on bass, Steve Norman on guitar. (Photo by Virginia Turbett)

FEB 12 UPDATE FROM SPANDAU AT FACEBOOK:

Spandau Ballet (Official)
“Awesome Spandau meeting yesterday! 2014 and 2015 are shaping up rather nicely, I would say.”

“Look out for MORE exciting Spandau news coming very soon! This is just the start.”

❚ SEVERAL MOVIE DISCOVERIES have been made by the researchers on Spandau Ballet’s new biopic Soul Boys of the Western World, due to be premiered on March 12 in the USA at SXSW. One is footage of the band’s secret live performance aboard the World-War Two cruiser HMS Belfast. In order to emphasise the newness of their synthesised pop music, the band’s ground rule was never to appear at established rock venues. So for their seventh invitation-only date on July 26, 1980, a glittering horde of Blitz Kids descended on the warship moored in the Thames near the Tower of London.

Spandau Ballet, archive, HMS Belfast,SXSW,Blitz Kids

Precious footage of Spandau’s HMS Belfast gig, 1980: two reels of Super8 exhumed from the vaults by ex-Blitz Kid Nick Jones

Songwriter Gary Kemp says: “There are two pieces of archive that most surprised me. The first was the HMS Belfast performance from 1980. I never knew it existed until last year when our manager Steve Dagger had a vague memory that one of the Blitz Kids, Nick Jones, had a Super 8 camera. (He went on to play in the Latin-tinged dance-band Funkapolitan with Tom Dixon and Kadir Guirey, and today he’s a successful director of commercials.) It was some time before Nick could gain access to his storage and at first found nothing. Then we got sent the pic you see alongside.”

Kemp adds: “The footage is in beautiful Super 8 colour and shows the raw energy of that night inside the hot and steamy ship. It lasts eight minutes, but was enough to evoke the moment when Spandau were THE band of London, elusive, unique, magnificent.”

Peter Capaldi at 23: comic support on Spandau’s 1982 Diamond tour. (Photo by Shapersofthe80s)

He adds: “The other archive that revealed itself, 33 years after being filmed, was the entire New York gig that we did in the Underground club in 1981.” This footage emerged after painstaking inquiries only last autumn and Spandau can be seen onstage in all their glory sporting their nomadic serfs garb from the Musclebound video.

Some of us also remember the 23-year-old Scottish stand-up who was invited to support Spandau Ballet on the Diamond tour of the UK in 1982. This was Peter Capaldi who has enjoyed spectacular success in the years since then and was revealed recently as the BBC’s 12th Doctor Who.

Kemp adds: “The new Doctor Who is definitely seen in the film – on a tour bus I believe – which explains his new Tony Hadley style as Doctor Who! Come and see the movie and enjoy our history.”

ENTRY TO SXSW EVENTS CANNOT BE GUARANTEED

❏ Plan before you travel: SXSW is an industry event which charges hefty registration fees, for example, Films-only registration costs $650 for walkups. However the website says if, after delegates with badges and wristbands are seated at film events, any seats remain, “single-admission tickets will be sold for $10 starting 15 minutes before showtime”.

SXSW update after the live gig is announced, Feb 21: “For the music portion of the event, the situation is very similar. There will most likely be tickets for sale at the door but it varies from venue to venue. Tickets may be sold if capacity allows. Our best advice is to get to the venue early or contact them to see if they will be selling tickets at the door and also see how long the wristband/badge lines are to judge if you could even get in.”

➢ 1982, How Spandau put Capaldi on the road to play
the new Doctor Who

➢ Spandau together again as their ‘surprise’ movie is slated for Texas premiere – more on SXSW 2014 at Shapersofthe80s

Blitz Kids ahoy! A dazzling audience aboard HMS Belfast for Spandau Ballet’s seventh date. (Photo – Getty)

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2014 ➤ Spandau together again as their ‘surprise’ movie is slated for Texas premiere

Posted on 31 Jan 2014 | 1 comment

Spandau Ballet, Botanic Gardens, New Romantics, Blitz Kids, Birmingham.

Kilted leaders of the New Romantics in 1980: Spandau Ballet plus their entourage of Blitz Kids travelled to Birmingham’s Botanic Gardens to play their eighth live date. (Photograph by Shapersofthe80s)

[Updated Feb 12]

❚ WITH A TITLE AS ZEALOUS AS any of their New Romantic songs from 1980, Soul Boys of the Western World is the documentary movie about the time Spandau Ballet became the musical leaders of London’s underground clubland. For two years they were the trendiest creatures on the planet as they reshaped British music and fashion, believe it. The 102-minute biopic is to be premiered on March 12 in the 24 Beats Section of the prestige new-media conference SXSW in Austin, Texas, running March 7–16. To complete the first reunion of the whole band since their 2010 tour ended, singer Tony Hadley will be flying out to join Gary, Martin, John and Steve at the screening.

Fans who imagine they can gate-crash, however, will be seriously stymied by the price of registration for the film programme which increases to $650 the later you book. Before travelling to Austin, Spandau fans are advised to ensure they have secured a ticket. Hints from the Spandau team suggest there may be more news soon.

Spandau Ballet, New York, Underground club, 1981

1981 footage found: Spandau’s first New York performance recovered after this cameraman was traced. Photographed by © Shapersofthe80s

The film contains no present-day pontificating from the band’s famously garrulous entourage of talking heads, only through vintage film footage telling their story as it unfolds. Steve Dagger, Spandau’s manager and its sixth member since the band was created and now the film’s co-producer, is impressed and excited by the extensive research which has been fanatically pursued for the past three years. Initiated by archive producer Kate Griffith, this has turned up many true gems of previously unseen footage even of the landmark “First Blitz invasion of America” with the Axiom fashion collective in 1981 which was located in only the past three months. Offcuts from footage of the band’s followers shot in Le Kilt club for BBC Newsnight were also discovered in a box that remained unopened for 30 years. There are also clips from the band’s home movies.

Songwriter Gary Kemp is over the moon at the painstaking finesse of the production led by Scott Millaney, one of the iconic producers of 80s pop videos. Kemp said last week: “People should be really knocked out by some of the material we’ve discovered.”

Director George Hencken aims to takes audiences through the cultural, political and personal landscapes of Britain as the Swinging 80s burst from the recessionary gloom of the 70s. Soul Boys Of The Western World explores life inside the bubble of global superstardom when British pop music ruled the world. Spandau Ballet themselves believe the film to be “a brutally honest story of how friendships can be won, lost and ultimately regained”.

documentary, film, Soul Boys of the Western World, Spandau Ballet, SXSW, Texas, premiere, pop music, Swinging 80s, London, fashion, nightclubbing, New Romantics, Blitz Kids,

Nomad warriors on the streets of north London, 1981: Spandau Ballet dressed for their Musclebound video. Martin Kemp called his the Mad Monk outfit. (Promotional pic for the documentary film, Soul Boys of the Western World)

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Posted in Chronology, Clubbing, Film, London, Media, North America, Pop music, Social trends, Youth culture

Tagged Blitz Kids, documentary, fashion, film, George Hencken, New Romantics, premiere, Scott Millaney, Soul Boys of The Western World, Spandau Ballet, Swinging 80s, SXSW, Texas

➤ Martin Kemp’s Stalker set for autumn release

Posted on 26 Jun 2011 | Leave a comment

Martin Kemp, Anna Brecon, Black & Blue Films, Stalker

Martin Kemp turns manic murderer? No, just directing his star Anna Brecon on the set for Stalker

❚ WONDERING WHAT HAD HAPPENED TO Martin Kemp’s debut as a horror movie director? Keen readers of Shapersofthe80s will recall a video interview last summer in which Spandau Ballet bassist Kemp discussed his movie mogul plans for the production company Black & Blue Films. Now Variety reports that the Hammer-style psycho-drama Stalker will be the first release this autumn on B&B’s own DVD label. [Update August 25: Stalker gets two cinema premieres, Oct 7 in Manchester, Oct 15 in London, and goes on general release October 10.]

Kemp’s partner, 30-year-old producer Jonathan Sothcott who was previously head of programming for The Horror Channel, said: “I have always intended to grow Black & Blue into a mini studio.” His indie outfit recently announced a nine-film co-production deal with Soho based post-production company The Mews, and it will include the upcoming horror spoof Strippers Vs Werewolves as well as Stalker. The DVD arm is being launched in the UK with indie distributor 4Digital Media.

Stalker is about a best-selling author, played by TV actress Anna Brecon, who moves into an old dark house to get her creative juices flowing. “People start dying,” says Sothcott and Kemp adds: “All in one house. That’s a good premise for low-budget film.”

Sothcott told Dread Central: “We had an amazing cast — a bona fide Hollywood star in the brilliant Jane March, a versatile leading lady in Anna Brecon, and a really offbeat turn from Billy Murray as a slippery journalist. And Martin directed them all with real skill, drawing out subtle performances of the type you don’t often get in this genre.”