The Story: The Very Best of Spandau Ballet is a greatest hits album by English new wave band Spandau Ballet, released on 13 October 2014. The compilation included three new songs that were produced by Trevor Horn. It reached number eight on the UK Albums Chart.
| The Story: The Very Best of Spandau Ballet | ||||
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| Greatest hits album by | ||||
| Released | 13 October 2014 | |||
| Recorded | 1980–1989, 2009, 2014 | |||
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| Spandau Ballet chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Story | ||||
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Background
editSpandau Ballet reunited for a tour in 2009 after being apart for almost thirty years. The success of the tour led to the re-recording of their hits for an acoustic album titled Once More. Two new songs were included,[1] one of which, the title track, reached number 82 on the UK Singles Chart, making it their first chart appearance there since 1990.[2]
On 31 July 2014 the band announced on their website that they were "working on new material with Trevor Horn", with whom they had last worked on the 1984 charity song "Do They Know It's Christmas?"[3] Horn also remixed Spandau Ballet's Diamond track "Instinction" in 1982.[4] On 18 August of that year, a post on their website explained that the new material consisted of three tracks to be released in October on a compilation titled The Story: The Very Best of Spandau Ballet.[5]
On 1 October 2014 a documentary telling the story of Spandau Ballet, which was titled Soul Boys of the Western World, had its premiere at the Royal Albert Hall in London.[6]
Release and commercial performance
editThe Story: The Very Best of Spandau Ballet was released on 13 October 2014.[7] It debuted on the UK Albums Chart on 25 October and spent 14 weeks there, during which time it peaked at number 8.[2] It also got as high as number 9 in Scotland,[8] number 13 in New Zealand,[9] number 22 in Australia,[10] number 24 in Italy,[11] number 26 in Ireland,[12] number 54 in Spain,[13] number 102 in Belgium[14] and number 281 in Japan.[15]
Reception
editTimothy Monger of AllMusic said, "The real draw here is the addition of three new songs recorded with legendary producer Trevor Horn", who, in his opinion, returned the band to its "classic, soulful" sound on these tracks.[16]
Track listing
editAll tracks are written by Gary Kemp, except where noted
| No. | Title | Original album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "To Cut a Long Story Short" | Journeys to Glory (1981) | 3:22 |
| 2. | "The Freeze" | Journeys to Glory (1981) | 3:32 |
| 3. | "Muscle Bound" | Journeys to Glory (1981) | 3:58 |
| 4. | "Chant No. 1 (I Don't Need This Pressure On)" | Diamond (1982) | 4:08 |
| 5. | "Instinction" | Diamond (1982) | 3:36 |
| 6. | "Lifeline" | True (1983) | 3:34 |
| 7. | "Communication" | True (1983) | 3:40 |
| 8. | "True" | True (1983) | 5:40 |
| 9. | "Gold" | True (1983) | 3:54 |
| 10. | "Only When You Leave" | Parade (1984) | 5:10 |
| 11. | "I'll Fly for You" | Parade (1984) | 5:36 |
| 12. | "Highly Strung" | Parade (1984) | 4:11 |
| 13. | "Round and Round" | Parade (1984) | 4:33 |
| 14. | "Fight for Ourselves" | Through the Barricades (1986) | 4:23 |
| 15. | "Through the Barricades" | Through the Barricades (1986) | 5:23 |
| 16. | "Once More" (Kemp, Steve Norman) | Once More (2009) | 4:08 |
| 17. | "This Is the Love" | The Story (2015) | 3:44 |
| 18. | "Steal" | The Story (2015) | 4:28 |
| 19. | "Soul Boy" (Tony Hadley) | The Story (2015) | 3:48 |
| Total length: | 1:20:48 | ||
| No. | Title | Original album or single | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Confused" (*) | Journeys to Glory (1981) | 4:39 |
| 2. | "Toys" (*) | Journeys to Glory (1981) | 5:48 |
| 3. | "Mandolin" (*) | Journeys to Glory (1981) | 4:07 |
| 4. | "Age of Blows" (*) | Journeys to Glory (1981) | 4:11 |
| 5. | "Glow" (7" Version) (*) | 7" single (1981) | 3:49 |
| 6. | "Chant No. 1" (Re-mix) (*) | Diamond (1982) | 8:03 |
| 7. | "Pharaoh" (*) | Diamond (1982) | 6:40 |
| 8. | "Paint Me Down" (*) | Diamond (1982) | 3:45 |
| 9. | "She Loved Like Diamond" (*) | Diamond (1982) | 2:53 |
| 10. | "Code of Love" (**) | True (1983) | 5:12 |
| 11. | "Pleasure" (**) | True (1983) | 3:34 |
| 12. | "I'll Fly for You" (Glide Mix) (*) | Parade (1984) | 7:18 |
| 13. | "How Many Lies?" | Through the Barricades (1986) | 4:36 |
| 14. | "Man in Chains" | Through the Barricades (1986) | 5:41 |
| 15. | "Be Free with Your Love" | Heart Like a Sky (1989) | 4:41 |
| 16. | "Raw" | Heart Like a Sky (1989) | 3:49 |
| Total length: | 1:18:46 | ||
*2010 Remastered Version
**2003 Remastered Version
Personnel
edit- John Keeble – drums, percussion, backing vocals
- Gary Kemp – lead guitar, keyboards, synthesizers, piano, backing vocals
- Martin Kemp – bass guitar, guitar, backing vocals
- Steve Norman – saxophone, guitar, percussion, keyboards, backing vocals
- Tony Hadley – lead vocals, keyboards, synthesizers, percussion
Charts
edit| Chart (2014–2015) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[10] | 22 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[14] | 102 |
| Irish Albums (IRMA)[12] | 26 |
| Italian Albums (FIMI)[11] | 24 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon)[15] | 281 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[9] | 13 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC)[8] | 9 |
| Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[13] | 54 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[17] | 8 |
Certifications
edit| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[18] | Gold | 100,000‡ |
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‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
edit- ^ Sullivan, Caroline; Hadley, Tony (1 October 2009). "Spandau Ballet's reunion: Once more with girdles". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 24 June 2024.
- ^ a b "Spandau Ballet | Full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
- ^ "Spandau Ballet: News". Archived from the original on 8 May 2015. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
- ^ "Spandau Ballet: A Girl's Best Friend". New Sounds New Styles. No. 11. May 1982. p. 27.
- ^ "Spandau Ballet: News". Archived from the original on 1 May 2015. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
- ^ Gittins, Ian (1 October 2014). "Spandau Ballet review – return of the shoulder-heaving soul boys". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 22 August 2024. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
- ^ "Spandau Ballet: News". Archived from the original on 1 May 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
- ^ a b "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
- ^ a b "Charts.nz – Spandau Ballet – The Story - The Very Best of Spandau Ballet". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
- ^ a b "Australiancharts.com – Spandau Ballet – The Story - The Very Best of Spandau Ballet". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
- ^ a b "Italiancharts.com – Spandau Ballet – The Story - The Very Best of Spandau Ballet". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
- ^ a b "Irish-charts.com – Discography Spandau Ballet". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
- ^ a b "Spanishcharts.com – Spandau Ballet – The Story - The Very Best of Spandau Ballet". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
- ^ a b "Ultratop.be – Spandau Ballet – The Story - The Very Best of Spandau Ballet" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
- ^ a b ストーリー～ザ・ヴェリー・ベスト・オブ・スパンダー・バレエ(初回限定盤) | スパンダー・バレエ [The Story – The Very Best of Spandau Ballet (First Press Limited Edition) | Spandau Ballet] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
- ^ Monger, Timothy. Spandau Ballet – The Story: The Very Best of Spandau Ballet: Review at AllMusic. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
- ^ "British album certifications – Spandau Ballet – The Story – The Very Best Of". British Phonographic Industry. 18 October 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2022.