Spandau Ballet have made a rapturous return to the stage introducing their new singer Ross William Wild at a very special club show at London’s Subterania to prove that as the song goes they no longer ‘find it hard to write the next line’.
The band fronted by Ross’s sensational voice powered through a hit-strewn set featuring classics such as Only When You Leave, To Cut A Long Story Short, Through The Barricades, Highly Strung and many more as well as spine-tingling versions of True and Gold with an energy reminiscent of their earliest days playing The Blitz Club.
Singer Ross William Wild was first introduced to the group when he starred as Elvis Presley alongside Spandau bassist Martin Kemp in The Million Dollar Quartet in 2016, Martin told the band that “He gave me goosebumps every night he sang” and when the time came to re-group it was clear after one rehearsal that his voice and their music fitted together perfectly.
Of the chemistry within the revitalised band Spandau’s songwriter Gary Kemp says ‘Ross’s great talent and passion has given us the confidence to continue playing the music we love. To quote one of our own songs, “There’s power in his voice and it makes us feel so sure…”‘. Multi-instrumentalist Steve Norman commented ‘Ross not only has the technical ability to cover Spandau’s songs but he’s already introducing his artistic creativity to the fold. On top of that he’s a right nice bloke. We struck lucky’.
Drummer John Keeble ‘I bonded with Ross over our mutual love of rock music, he may have come up through the theatres but he loves bands like Tool’ and bass player Martin Kemp says that ‘I first heard Ross when We did Million Dollar Quartet together last year. He is an incredible talent, I’m so pleased his now part of Spandau Ballet! Ross is a perfect fit for Spandau, and brings a new younger energy to the band that we are all enjoying!’
On joining the band Ross William Wild says ‘Spandau’s music is so current. Having listened to it from a young age and then getting back into it recently, this stuff is still so valid. That’s why it’s important that they keep going. Spandau Ballet isn’t about one person. It isn’t just about the boys that are there now. It’s not about me. It was a movement. If it wasn’t for Spandau so much stuff wouldn’t have happened. They are pioneers. To be at the helm now with pioneers like Spandau feels just ridiculous!’
The band has announced a special one-off UK show at the Eventim Apollo Hammersmith on October 29th, a venue that the band have never played before.
Ross William Wild has carved out a diverse career as a talented singer and actor appearing in shows such as The Witches of Eastwick, We Will Rock You and The Million Dollar Quartet. He studied Musical Theatre at Glasgow Academy of Musical Theatre Arts and it was always his dream to front a rock band. Away from music is his interests include Kickboxing and Taekwondo, which he has practised at a high level since the age of 15.
Spandau Ballet are one of Britain’s great iconic bands having sold over 25 million records, scored numerous multi-platinum albums and amassed 23 hit singles across the globe since their humble beginnings as a group of friends with dreams of stardom in the late 1970s. It wasn’t long before they became fully-fledged members of the iconic Blitz Club scene and established themselves as one of the super-groups of the 80s. After two decades apart, the band reformed in 2009, embarking on two sold-out tours and documenting their story in the critically acclaimed film ‘Soul Boys Of The Western World’.
Set List:
Main Set
Through the Barricades (from Through the Barricades, 1986)
Chant No. 1 (I Don’t Need This Pressure On) (from Diamond, 1982)
Communication (from True, 1983)
Only When You Leave (from Parade, 1984)
Highly Strung (from Parade, 1984)
Once More (from Once More, 2009)
I’ll Fly for You (from Once More, 2009)
Round and Round (from Parade, 1984)
Lifeline (from True, 1983)
True (from True, 1983)
Encore
To Cut a Long Story Short (from Journeys to Glory, 1981)
Gold (from True, 1983)
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