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Gary Kemp, Steve Norman and John Keeble were fellow students who recruited Gary's brother Martin and Steve Norman's friend Tony Hadley to form a band, initially inspired by classic British rock bands like The Kinks and The Rolling Stones. Controversially adopting Spandau Ballet from the name of a German prison camp, they triggered a record company bidding war after a series of high profile appearances around fashionable London clubs. Their dreamily electronic first single To Cut A Long Story Short was an instant hit, placing them at the heart of a new surge of fashion-conscious British bands dubbed New Romantics. Other hits like Musclebound and Chant No 1 followed, but their biggest success came with the 1983 album True, including the smash hit Gold. By the end of the 1980s, the Kemp brothers were pursuing acting careers - both starred in the biopic The Krays whilst Martin Kemp went on to join the cast of TV soap EastEnders - and Spandau split. Legal wrangles over songwriting royalties ensued, but they buried their differences to reunite in 2009 with a new album Once More.Artist biography compiled by BDS/West 10. All rights reserved
