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Spandau Ballet: Through the Barricades

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: Epic Records
Released: 1986.06.15
Time:
 40:37
Category: Synthpop, New Wave
Producer(s): Gary Langan
Rating:
Media type: CD
Web address: www.spandauballet.com
Appears with:
Purchase date: 2012
Price in €: 1,00





 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] Barricades - Introduction (G.Kemp) - 1:17
[2] Cross the Line (G.Kemp) - 4:07
[3] Man in Chains (G.Kemp) - 5:40
[4] How Many Lies? (G.Kemp) - 5:21
[5] Virgin (G.Kemp) - 4:23
[6] Fight for Ourselves (G.Kemp) - 4:22
[7] Swept (G.Kemp) - 4:53
[8] Snakes and Lovers (G.Kemp) - 4:36
[9] Through the Barricades (G.Kemp) - 5:58

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


Toby Chapman - Keyboards
Tony Hadley - Synthesizer, Vocals
Gary Kemp - Composer, Guitar, Synthesizer, Vocals
Martin Kemp - Bass, Vocals
Steve Norman - Guitar, Percussion, Saxophone, Vocals
John Keeble - Drums, Vocals

Ruby James - Background Vocals
Shirley Lewis - Background Vocals
Helena Springs - Background Vocals

Gary Langan - Engineer, Producer
Nick Knight - Sleeve Photo

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


By the time Spandau Ballet's fifth album appeared in 1986, the sun had set on the synth poppers of the second British Invasion and guitars were all the rage once again. Never ones to miss a trend, the former new romantics - who'd signed with a new label, Epic, and were determined to make a big splash stateside - declared their admiration for bands like Bon Jovi and made an album that likely surprised their diminishing fan base with its AOR aspirations. Rocking up Spandau Ballet's smooth white-boy soul, Through the Barricades manages to avoid utter disaster via the tuneful creations of songwriter/guitarist Gary Kemp. Some would argue Kemp had finally evolved into a first-class hack, but while his songs never avoid a cliché if it can be helped (and occasionally offer much worse; see "Virgin"), he does a credible job of supplying his bandmates with arena-ready material like "How Many Lies." Unsurprisingly, melodramatic vocalist Tony Hadley digs in with real gusto, but the production and mix prove the undoing of this effort. Most of the tunes demand guitar and drum bombast; instead, the riff-rocking "Cross the Line" and "Fight for Ourselves," in particular, are undercut by the polite-sounding rhythm section. Given that weakness, which affects much of the album, it's unsurprising that the best song by far is the title track, a Bic-flicking acoustic ballad that became a deserved hit.

Dan LeRoy - AllMusic Guide



Through the Barricades is a studio album by Spandau Ballet. It was released on 15 July 1986 by Epic Records. The album reached number seven and remained on the UK album chart for 19 weeks. It produced three UK hit singles: "Fight For Ourselves" (#15), "How Many Lies" (#34) and the band's final top ten hit, "Through the Barricades" (#6).

The song lyrics were inspired by love prevailing over the Troubles in Northern Ireland and the death of a member of the crew in the Troubles.

In a mainly critical review for AllMusic, Dan LeRoy claimed: "Rocking up Spandau Ballet's smooth white-boy soul, Through the Barricades manages to avoid utter disaster via the tuneful creations of songwriter/guitarist Gary Kemp." LeRoy argued "the production and mix prove the undoing of this effort. Most of the tunes demand guitar and drum bombast; instead, the riff-rocking Cross the Line and Fight for Ourselves, in particular, are undercut by the polite-sounding rhythm section." However, he praised the title-track, which he said "became a deserved hit."

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