Spandau Ballet have unearthed another gem ahead of the release of their definitive early-years collection, “Everything Is Now – Vol 1: 1978-1982”, on October 10 through Parlophone.
Today they unveil a live version of ‘Glow’, unheard since it was first broadcast on 8th May 1982 as part of a BBC In Concert recording at the Paris Theatre, Regent Street on 17th April 1982. The song was written around the time their first album Journeys To Glory was being finished. It was too late to be included and the original studio version, was released as a double-A side with “Musclebound” in early 1981 and made the top 10 in the UK chart and was a hit internationally. It appears on the new box set, which contains the full Paris Theatre, ‘BBC In Concert’. It received a positive critical reception and marked a change in direction for the legendary band.
Songwriter Gary Kemp had experienced a surge in DJs playing funk in Soho clubs in late 1980 / early 1981. He had reference points of US artists Fatback Band and Dr. Buzzard in mind when composing “Glow”. Wanting to remain at the forefront of club culture, the song acted as a ‘bridge’ stylistically to ‘Chant No. 1 (I Don’t Need This Pressure On)’.
There is another blistering live version of “Glow” closing the set on the band’s US debut show at the Underground Club, New York. The film of this set appears on bluray in the boxset
Spandau Ballet – Tony Hadley (lead vocals), Gary Kemp (guitar, songwriter), Martin Kemp (bass), Steve Norman (saxophone, percussion) and John Keeble (drums) – influenced generations of artists following the punk explosion, not only with the New Romantic movement but in the aesthetic of the pop music that would follow.
The 10th October release of the comprehensive 9-disc “Everything Is Now – Vol 1: 1978-1982”, features their groundbreaking first two albums alongside a wealth of previously unavailable material.
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