SXSW – ➢➢ Shapers of the 80s ➣➣ (original) (raw)
Tag Archives: SXSW
➤ Another emotional gem on Spandau’s long walk to freedom
Spandau Ballet’s post-gig interview at SXSW in Texas: Steve Norman finds the humour in St John Keeble’s healing homilies
❚ NOT TO BE MISSED! Freshly posted at YouTube is yet another heart-on-sleeve prequel to Spandau Ballet’s promised Reconciliation and Redemption tour. A group interview on video unexpectedly becomes a very moving and positive expression of the band’s solidarity as friends. Famously “sticky moments” from the kamikaze wrecking of the band at the height of its success and the atomic fall-out during the 90s are glancingly referred to in the spirit of mild self-flagellation. The five musicians who defined Britain’s New Romantic movement are discussing Soul Boys of the Western World, their warts-and-all documentary biopic premiered last month at SXSW, the cool new-media festival at Austin in Texas.
“The film is pretty honest and hard for us to watch at times,” says songwriter Gary Kemp. “You can see in the film I was a bit precious.”
“That Kray twin moment [_a reference to the Kemps making a feature film about the Krays in 1990_]: for me that’s really embarrassing cos me and Gary’s answer is really conceited, but that’s who we were at the time,” says brother and bass player Martin. “The film lets us examine where we went wrong.”
SOUL BOYS SET FOR CANNES
The Spandau Ballet documentary that proved a hit at SXSW in March, is to be screened to buyers at the ➢ Cannes Marché next month, handled by UK sales company Metro International
“We’re human, we didn’t always get it right, we were young kids thrust into the limelight,” says singer Tony Hadley.
“We went through that terrible time facing each other in court at one point,” says instrumentalist Steve Norman. “It was awful. I put my saxophone on the top shelf and didn’t want anything to do with it for about four or five years cos it was symbolic of Spandau.”
Throughout the interview St John of the Drums emerges as the Kentish Town savant with a healing prayer for the sins that destroyed lifelong friendships between the five soulboys. “You can’t be revisionist,” Keeble observes. “It was a major thing when we got back together five years ago. You cannot unknow stuff that’s gone on but I think everyone felt in their hearts that it was now better to focus on the future. The whole world’s still in front of us.”
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Lori Majewski chairs Spandau Ballet’s post-gig interview in Austin last month. Screengrabs from SXSW video
Tony Hadley says: We didn’t aways get it right
Steve Norman tells how he put his saxophone out of reach
That Kray twin moment for Gary and Martin Kemp
➢ Why the trailer for Soul Boys of the Western World stops you in your tracks
What’s sad from a fan’s perspective is that the live gig in Texas which followed the film’s screening was the first and only time Spandau have played together since their year-long Reformation tour ended in 2010. That comeback tour was a sensational success, just as this gig has proved to be. The video interviewer, writer Lori Majewski, called Spandau a formidable live band: “I was surprised how tight you guys were, how great the live show was!” Entertainment Weekly reported the gig exuding “a rare atmosphere for a very youth-centrict fest, and a truly inspired musical moment – not bad for a bunch of fifty-somethings”.
The documentary has received keen reviews for its sole use of vintage footage and director George Hencken’s intelligent deployment of the band’s hit tunes from the 80s. The SXSW interview also reveals that at the 1985 Live Aid concert Steve Norman shot some under-cover footage backstage where cameras officially weren’t allowed. John Keeble remarks on the amount of original footage in their movie which the band themselves had never seen before – much shot by Martin Kemp as a Super8 enthusiast – while there’s plenty more footage that didn’t make the cut. So come on, lads. Let’s stage a premiere for the Spandau out-takes.
Click on video title above, then scroll to No 7 in the playlist
❏ This meeting of travellers at a crossroads in Austin has all the signs of a mystical resurrection sent from heaven, yet we’re told a Spandau tour is unlikely to happen this side of New Year. How patient must fans be? They had to wait three years for this film to be finished, having evolved naturally from a gifted film-maker recording the Reformation tour.
Two superb books on Spandau have been in preparation for years: one, a smart limited edition photobook, still awaits a strategic publication date to support a career jump-start.
The other was commissioned ten years ago, yes ten, in a wishful gesture of reconciliation while band members roamed the wilderness of solo careers. The showbiz writer Paul Simper was rightly deemed the only person qualified and trusted to capture the fascinating inside story of Spandau Ballet. His manuscript was revised five years ago to boost the Reformation tour, then publication was postponed in order to embrace the selfsame Reformation tour. His gripping text is far more thorough than many rock biogs because of the extraordinary times it describes and the wide-ranging context his research has captured. Currently, Simper is re-retuning his words which could become the book-of-the-film – once the film is given a release date. “Hearing the band talk so eloquently and emotionally gives me new impetus,” he said today. “It’s thrilling to hear them looking to the future.”
For the fans camped at the tiny Oasis of Hope, the road to truth and reconciliation for the band who’ve been pals since schooldays is a long one, as it has been for post-apartheid South Africa, and for Ireland since partition. But y’know, those two were nations with histories riven by British politics. Not a chart-topping pop group. Why doesn’t somebody ask Jerry for his Final Word then we can all get back to the music?
SPANDAU BALLET LIVE AT SXSW 2014
AND AT THE LOU REED TRIBUTE AT SXSW
➢ Previously at Shapersofthe80s: Curtain up on Spandau’s rollercoaster saga of war and peace
CHEEKY CHAPPIES: THE WAY THEY WERE IN ’81
Posted in Film, Media, North America, Pop music, Youth culture
Tagged 1980s, Austin, Blitz Kids, Books, George Hencken, Interview, live concerts, movie, New Romantics, Paul Simper, pop video, premiere, Soul Boys of The Western World, Spandau Ballet, SXSW
2014 ➤ At last, Kemp reveals Spandau to tour UK and US in the fall – and tomorrow The World!
Gary Kemp scoops Spandau Ballet’s own website on March 15
Spandau Ballet reunion at SXSW: the band together onstage playing 11 of their classic numbers at the Vulcan Gas Company
❚ HERE ARE THE TWEETS Spandau Ballet fans have all been waiting for, when Gary Kemp scooped even the band’s official website following their reunion performances and film premiere at SXSW in Texas. Yes, a tour is in the offing and it will conquer the world.
Gary’s news of a UK tour also emerged on March 15 during interrogation at Twitter by Irvine Welsh, the Scottish author of the 1993 novel, Trainspotting
Two days later, March 17: Tweeter Martin Wood, an English fan from Yorkshire, engages Gary in some banter…
… whereupon Gary Kemp announces a second scoop at Twitter. Well done, Martin!
Spandau Ballet on Friday performing Satellite of Love at the Lou Reed Tribute at SXSW … Videograb courtesy Chickrock: click the pic to view her video in new window
➢ Previously at Shapersofthe80s: First review of Soul Boys of the Western World
Posted in Film, Media, North America, Pop music
Tagged Irvine Welsh, movie, pop music, premiere, Soul Boys of The Western World, Spandau Ballet, SXSW, tour news, Twitter, UK, US
2014 ➤ Curtain up on Spandau’s rollercoaster saga of war and peace
Hello America! In Austin, Texas, 28 years after their last vsit, Spandau Ballet return to play live
➢ UPDATE – First official review of SBWW from Mel Brown at Facebook:
“ I’m a very lucky girl. Got to see the worldwide premiere of Soul Boys of the Western World. Truly amazing. An emotional roller coaster. This film is not just for Spandau fans, it’s for anyone who loves a good story of friends growing up together. Can’t wait for its UK release. Thanks guys! Looking forward to the first US show in 28 years tonight. ”
❚ AUSTIN, TEXAS, IS SIX HOURS BEHIND THE UK so any minute NOW the curtain is going up on the world premiere of Soul Boys of the Western World. The documentary movie made entirely from vintage footage follows the rise and fall of the five london schoolpals who became one the the world’s half dozen pop supergroups of the 80s. And in two hours’ time we’ll know how much of a tearjerker it turns out to be. Take it away, Tone!
Spandau Ballet all together on the Austin TV breakfast show: first public reunion since the Reformation tour ended in summer 2010
➢ Tony Hadley on Facebook early today:
“ A tiring but extremely successful day 2 at SXSW. We spent pretty much the entire day from 7.30am to 6pm doing promotion for the movie. The feedback from all the journalists that interviewed us was fantastic and there will be some reviews online later. In the afternoon we had a couple of hours to head out and check our back-line equipment for today’s show at a rehearsal facility here. In the room next door there was Kanye West and Jay-z rehearsing. Last night I had a chance to go and see London Grammar, Imagine Dragons and Coldplay playing at the iTunes Festival here. They all put on a great show.
“ Today is the main Spandau Ballet event…the premiere of Soul Boys of the Western World at the Paramount Theatre at 1400hrs. Very exciting! Tonight we play our first show here in the US for 28 years at the Vulcan Gas Company and we are all really looking forward to it. I’ll let you know tomorrow how it went!! ”
FIRST SNAPS AFTER THE SCREENING
After the screening of Soul Boys of the Western World: Spandau invite a Q&A from the Paramount audience… Far left, the film’s director George Hencken
Today’s Tweet from Gary Kemp @garyjkemp
– On stage with band and director @georgehencken for Q&A post screening. Thank you @sxsw, it was emotional.
Soundcheck for tonight’s live gig: Spandau onstage together for the first time in almost four years at the Vulcan Gas Company in Austin. Photo by Spandau’s first record producer, Richard James Burgess
Today’s Tweet from Spandau’s film director Henckenstein @georgehencken
– Tonight is going to be about this: #SpandauBallet #VulcanGasCompany
Another reunion! Steve Norman meets up with Spandau’s first record producer Richard Burgess today at SXSW
Today’s tweet from Spandau’s first record producer Richard James Burgess
– I haven’t seen them in a small room since 1980
After the soundcheck for tonight’s Spandau show: Tony Hadley relaxing as Steve Norman takes the snap
Today’s tweet from Steve Norman @SteveNormanReal
– The big man post sound check, pre gig madness @TheTonyHadley #SXSW
Marquee of the Paramount in Austin, Texas: Soul Boys of the Western World premieres today
➢ Today’s SXSW 2014 print interview with Spandau Ballet and their film director George Hencken
➢ Click to view the trailer of Soul Boys of the Western World
➢ Previously at Shapersofthe80s: Spandau confirms live reunion gig in Texas – for a tiny elite!
Posted in Film, Media, North America, Pop music, Youth culture
Tagged George Hencken, Interview, movie, pop music, premiere, reunion, Richard James Burgess, Soul Boys of The Western World, Spandau Ballet, SXSW, Tony Hadley, trailer, TV
2014 ➤ Tweets that tell the tale of Spandau Ballet’s road to Redemption
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
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
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’
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)
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”
Rock god and his gong: John Keeble twit-picced by sax man Steve Norman
Posted in Film, London, Media, North America, Pop music
Tagged BBC 6Music, George Hencken, Interview, Matt Everitt, pop music, premiere, redemption, reunion, Soul Boys of The Western World, Spandau Ballet, SXSW
➤ Spandau confirms one-off live reunion gig in Texas – for a tiny elite!
Parade’s 30th birthday celebration! In 1984 the fourth studio album by Spandau Ballet yielded two UK Top 10 hits, Only When You Leave and I’ll Fly for You. It introduced the imagery of artist David Band which became the band’s leitmotif
FEB 12 – UPDATE FROM SPANDAU BALLET
Spandau Ballet (Official) – “Awesome Spandau meeting yesterday! 2014 and 2015 are shaping up rather nicely”
FEB 14 – BIG TONE TO HIT THE ROAD
Tickets go on sale for Spandau singer Tony Hadley’s 10-stop UK tour in October, once again with a full orchestra, climaxing at London’s Theatre Royal Drury Lane
FEB 20 – LIVE REUNION GIG CONFIRMED
Gary Kemp says – “We’re in rehearsals next week!”
❚ SPANDAU BALLET WILL PLAY TOGETHER on March 12 – their first live date in North America since 1985. On the same day that their biopic Soul Boys of the Western World premieres in Austin, Texas, the five Angel Boys will later perform at the Vulcan Gas Company on E 6th Street, a refurbished new entertainment space named after a psychedelic venue from the hippie 60s. It will host 20 gigs during the massive SXSW new-media conference and its music and film festivals.
The new Vulcan in Austin: a steam-punk interior and cutting-edge sounds
What will stymie hordes of Spandau’s hopeful American fans is that a registered Music Badge to attend SXSW costs $750 and, even then, does not guarantee admission to specific events. Platinum and Gold conference delegates are given priority admission before Music and Film Badge holders. Also, the new Vulcan with “an industrial steam-punk feel” is a modest venue – with a typical capacity of 535 – so spare tickets are likely to be thin on the ground. The Festival operates a Queue Card system with updates online, via Venue Status Boards and @sxsw on Twitter. However, before travelling to Austin, Spandau fans are advised to ensure they have secured a ticket (see the comment from SXSW, below). Hints from the Spandau team suggest there may be more news soon.
Elsewhere on the same evening the UK singer Damon Albarn is performing at one of Austin’s 100 venues that stage live music nightly – the town does claim to be the “Live Music Capital of the World”. For three years from 1967 the Vulcan Gas Company on Congress Avenue became its first successful psychedelic music venue, featuring Jimi Hendrix, John Lee Hooker, Canned Heat, Muddy Waters and other greats, then morphing into the Armadillo World Headquarters with a broader musical bill that embraced Bruce Springsteen, Bette Midler, blues and jazz.
Jimi Hendrix and Johnny Winter playing live in 1968: Google identifies this photo as being “the original Vulcan on Congress Avenue with its notorious drainpipe backdrop”. However reader Trent Lesikar believes this to be The Scene in New York City (see Comments below).
Now in the 30th anniversary year of Spandau Ballet’s fourth album, Parade, one of Britain’s iconic supergroups of the 80s returns to the States.
Tony, Gary, Martin, Steve and John will be flying in to attend the 2pm premiere of their archive-only documentary film, Soul Boys of The Western World. Songwriter Gary Kemp says: “We had the idea because we have a good story and the story has a real arc. It’s about friendship, kids who come from the shadows of the Second World War growing up in the 60s and 70s, a period of great rock music from David Bowie and glam rock. They go through the whole punk experience and then had the experience of the whole New Romantic scene of working-class kids dressing up and doing things that were outrageous against a recession.”
ENTRY TO SXSW EVENTS CANNOT BE GUARANTEED
❏ SXSW says: “As far as films go, tickets will be for sale at the door after delegates with badges and wristbands are seated, if there is room. 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. After badges and wristband holders are admitted, 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.”
➢ Previously at Shapersofthe80s: Video gems unearthed by the Spandau Ballet documentary movie
2014… Spandau Ballet’s next parade is about to begin!
FIRST REACTIONS FROM THE FANS
Jennifer Schmaltz Robbers Aw, this is so bittersweet! It would be great if you guys could add another show outside of SXSW. It will be hard for a lot of your US fans to swing the SXSW pass.
Ricky Resurreccion $795 for a music badge???? My wife and I huge fans from California and she’d die to see you guys perform. Come on, Gary, help us out here!
Molly Fanton It better be a US tour. Come on guys come to Buffalo, Boston or NYC. I so want to see you guys.
Shell Stringer When are Spandau Ballet going to tour round more local places? Come to The Dome, Doncaster please :-)))
Carlos Hidalgo Regular Sud America
Christine Turner Hopefully another tour Down Under.
Tony Baker Get your sens darn to the Echo @ Liverpool lads
Brigitte Supercan We want you in Italy very soon please
Catriona Stokes Please come to Dublin again, you were fab in 2009 xx
Gregg Daniell Toronto. Canada would live to have you.
Debbie Meyers Praying for anywhere in the USA
Cecy Blue Pax We want a Spandau Ballet concert in South America too
Cristina Martínez Queralt Barcelona waiting for you
Layne Wheeler ok, about that meeting. when are you coming over to the states, anywhere over the atlantic, the wife and I AND our friends will come see you… here is a incentive… I will cook!!
Posted in Film, Media, North America, Pop music, Technology
Tagged album, Blitz Kids, Gary Kemp, live concert, New Romantics, Parade, reunion, Spandau Ballet, SXSW, Tony Hadley, Vulcan Gas Company