REVIEW: Spandau Ballet, Boston, April 30, 2015

Spandau Ballet, one of the standout acts of the New Romantic movement of the early 80’s, returned to Boston for the first time in over three decades to a near full house at the House of Blues on April 30, 2015.

With the success of such nostalgia laced time warps as the 80’s Rewind Festival – the emergence of bands from the 80’s pounding the road and pumping out the old tunes is not new in this day and age (and it is hard to admit that a lot of once cutting edge New Wavers and New Romantic song staples are now really golden oldies) as we see many one or two hit wonders dusting off their synthesizers to please those yearning to return their long-over younger days.

While it is east to lump a lot of the bands of the “New” movements together, due to the overuse of the synthesizers, Spandau Ballet always stood out. While many have felt that New Wave songs were distant and lacking real feeling, Spandau Ballet’s catalog is anything but that, as they were more in the category of a blue eyed pop-soul than their peers (save for Culture Club) at their peak .

The band, which reunited in 2009 with its classic full-lineup intact, is doing their first American jaunt in eons and are touring under the banner of “Soul Boys of the Western World” – which is also the name of a first rate documentary on the bands career.

Sans an opening act, the quintet opened with a well-received trio of “Soul Boy” (a new track),” Highly Strung,” and 1984’s “Only When You Leave,” the bands last top 40 American hit singe.

For a band of blokes in the AAPR age bracket, the members look fantastic. Singer Tony Hadley (a sinfully underrated vocalist) look as Beau Brummellish as he always did in his well cut, and now doubt wildly expensive, suit, and sounded as smooth as he did back in the day/ He has miraculously not lost a bit of his vocal range.

Not willing to ever be considered an oldies act, Hadley and company pulled out all the new cuts the band recorded for the 2014 compilation CD, “The Story – The Very Best Of Spandau Ballet,” which included the show opening song, “Soul Boy,” the ballad filled “This Is the Love,“ and an outstanding soulful tune, “Steal.” If not for the sad state of modern Top 40 radio, “Steal” might have become a huge comeback single for band.

While Hadley is the front many, he was surrounded by a myriad of talent with his cohorts in Spandau: Steve Norman (percussion/saxophone), John Keeble (drums) and brothers, and twins, Gary (guitar) and Martin (bass) Kemp.

The Kemps are also well known for their acting resumes as they received tons of praise for the roles in the 1990 film The Krays. Gary, who has not made as many films as his twin, had the distinction of a supporting role in the 1992 mega smash “The Bodyguard.”

At the Boston show, Gary awed the crowd with his slick guitar stylings and polished leads, while Marin and Keeble kept the sound anchored and were a most impressive rhythm section.

Norman, who looks as if he truly found the fountain of youth, was, as Hadley said, “a one man show.” Bouncing all over the stage and changing instruments as a pace that would make most men half his age pant.

A brief mid show acoustic semi-solo set from Gary and Hadley focused on 1989’s”Empty Spaces”, giving the song a bare bone treatment, which led to a sing along snippet of “Gold.”

The near two hour show ended with the 1982 chestnut “Lifeline” and the bands signature ballad, “True.” Just hearing Norman recreate his iconic sax solo on “True” was, for some, worth the price of admission alone.

After a brief break, Spandau returned for an encore of “Through the Barricades” and a proper, and show ending performance of “Gold”.

Spandau Ballet setlist, Boston, 2015

Soul Boy (from The Story, 2014)
Highly Strung (from Parade, 1984)
Only When You Leave (from Parade, 1984)
How Many Lies (from Through The Barricades, 1986)
Round and Round (from Parade, 1984)
This Is The Love (from The Story, 2014)
Steal (from the Story, 2014)
Chant No 1 (from Diamond, 1982)
Blitz Medley:
Reformation (from Journeys To Glory, 1981)
Mandolin (from Journeys To Glory, 1981)
Confused (from Journeys To Glory, 1981)
The Freeze (from Journeys To Glory, 1981)
To Cut A Long Story Short (from Journeys To Glory, 1981)
Raw (from Heart Like A Sky, 1989)
Glow (b-side, 1981)
Empty Spaces (from Heart Like A Sky, 1989)
Gold (acoustic) (from True, 1983)
Once More (from Once More, 2009)
I’ll Fly For You (from Parade, 1984)
Instinction (from Diamond, 1982)
Communication (from True, 1983)
Lifeline (from True, 1983)
True (from True, 1983)