| Smash 4 |
| Tony Swain (Producer): It was the combination of Gary's writing, the lyrics, and the sound of Tony Hadley. I mean Tony's got such a distinctive voice, I mean it's just immediately recognisable on the radio or anywhere. That is Tony Hadley. There's a real drama in his singing. Martin Kemp: Going to number 1, there's nothing like it. That is some ways is the end of the dream because once you've been there, that's the bit you've always aimed at. Gary Kemp: True did change our lives. It was, you know, obviously it was a big success in Europe, but the success in America obviously allowed us to go and travel there and play there. What made True most successful was that it crossed into black radio. American rap group PM Dawn made True their own and took it back to the top of the U.S. charts. Quite an accolade for Gary Kemp who has grown up on black soul music. [PM Dawn - Set Adrift On A Memory Bliss - video] Attrel Gordes and Jarett Gordes (PM Dawn): (singing True) "I bought a ticket to the world..." Gary Kemp: True has just kind of gone on. I mean it's got 3 million plays now on American radio. To have made one record that can achieve that much, I mean that's enough really to be proud of. |
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| Despite their chart topping success Spandau soon had a fight on their hands from Simon Le Bon and the wild boys of Birmingham. Video Clip - Pop Quiz: We've got two great bands playing against one another, they are Spandau and Duran Duran. Gary Kemp: There was a lot of competition to sell the most records, to have the biggest show, to drink the most. Martin Kemp: The rivalry was always between us and Duran Duran. We had to beat them. That was the thing. Steve Dagger: What resulted was that the two bands and then other band joined in, making these increasingly exotic quasi-movie type videos. [Rio-Duran Duran - video, and Highly Strung-Spandau Ballet - video] Along with exotic locations went a rock star lifestyle that quickly gained the band a worldwide reputation for excess. Gary Kemp: The whole of the '80s were very hedonistic. We were working class lads who had just made a lot of money. And we were allowed to have no responsibilities outside of the group, and the responsibility in the group was to really party as hard as we could. Martin Kemp: Yeah, the parties became more important than the gigs to be honest! You know, if you weren't falling off Lear jets at 8 O'clock in the morning with a bottle of champagne and four of your best mates then you wouldn't have lived! We took our music seriously and would always go on stage straight. But yeah, this was an opportunity that we couldn't say no to. |
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