◇ image via WikipediaSpandau Ballet
Spandau Ballet is an act on the Starverb influence map. Their sound grew out of Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Sex Pistols, The Beatles and The Animals. Those roots explain a lot about how Spandau Ballet arrange songs and choose their tones. They run in the same orbit as ABC, Ultravox, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Thompson Twins and Eurythmics, sharing audiences, venues and reference points rather than a straight line of influence. Their influence carried into Royal Blood, Latino, Duran Duran, Culture Club and Wham!, where the same ideas turn up rearranged for a later generation. Altogether the chart holds 35 connections around Spandau Ballet, reaching back through Frank Sinatra and forward to Royal Blood. Follow any of those threads to keep travelling the influence between bands and genres on Starverb.
Background
Spandau Ballet were an English pop band formed in Islington, London, in 1979. Inspired by the capital's post-punk underground dance scene, they emerged at the start of the 1980s as The Applause, playing "European dance music" as the house band for the "Blitz Kids" club night. They became one of the most successful groups of the New Romantic era of British pop, were members of the new pop movement, and were part of the Second British Invasion of the Billboard Top 40 in the 1980s, selling 25 million albums and having 23 hit singles worldwide. The band have had eight UK top 10 albums, including three greatest hits compilations and an album of re-recorded material. Their musical influences ranged from punk rock and soul music to the American crooners Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett.
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Spandau Ballet connections
Spandau Ballet grew out of Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Sex Pistols and The Beatles, shares an orbit with ABC, Ultravox, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark and Thompson Twins, went on to shape Royal Blood, Latino, Duran Duran and Culture Club. 35 connections mapped across roots, kindred and legacy.
Who influenced Spandau Ballet
Sounds and acts that shaped Spandau Ballet.
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