Communication is True Gold
Hello hello silver bloggers, music lovers and Hello hivers!
One of my favourite days because it means a post on Hive will be written by me, and I get to hear other music that Hivers and Hiveians enjoy. Well for the select band that participate in ttt anyway!
Picture by me ... Sunset .. pure gold ... What do you think?
We are going back to my Silver Chronicles post of a few months ago My Soundtrack for the 80s my favourite decade
Quite a self-explanatory title and it is my inspiration for the next few posts on ttt!
The year is now 1983 and we are listening to a band that remind me a bit of the Kray twins ...
The lead image takes inspiration from the first song today.
3 tunes from 1983 by Spandau Ballet.
It is Tuesday and that of course means that it's #ttt or #threetunetuesday and so it's time to share some tunes with you!
@ablaze started #ttt 272 weeks ago! Go check out what it is all about on his latest post RIP Glen Hansard funeral for Three Tune Tuesday - Week 271 - win some HBI
Do go support @ablaze as without him we would not have this mental fun musical activity that you can win HSBI from! I am happy to be one of the SIX sponsors and it is kinda fun checking out music from all over this global village of ours!
He has just released some winners posts, so go support his posts, he gets no support from any whales or even curation trails for these posts that he does. 272 weeks is an incredible amount of time, and I for one love that he runs this, and I appreciate the time and dedication that he puts in, when he could be doing something else.
Long live #ttt 😁🎼 and #threetunetuesday
Spandau Ballet
For this week’s ttt, we are back with some of London's gangstas alebit in a New Romantic way!
Who the fluff were Spandau Ballet?
The band originally started out in North London around 1976 under the name Roots. Now Roots was formed by Gary Kemp (guitar) and Steve Norman (guitar/saxophone), alongside schoolmates John Keeble (drums) and later Tony Hadley (lead vocals). Gary's younger brother Martin Kemp joined on bass in 1979 to complete the classic line-up. They became central figures in the London club scene, particularly Steve Strange's famous Blitz Club in Soho, which launched the New Romantic fashion and music movement. The Kemo brothers will always remind me of old school East End gangsters and read on and you will foinf out why!
How did the name Spandau Ballet come about?
Some of you that have been to Berlin or know your history will know about Spandau Prison...
The boys their name from Roots to Spandau Ballet after radio DJ and friend Robert Elms spotted the phrase written as graffiti on a bathroom wall during a trip to Berlin. The phrase was a piece of dark military slang referencing Spandau Prison in Berlin.
However they felt it sounded sleek and edgy, and aptly fluffing European for the synth-pop aesthetic they were building at the time.
The Kemp Brothers & The Kray Twins Connection ..i.e. the fluffing Gangsters bit!
Gary and Martin Kemp played East End gangster brothers Ronnie and Reggie Kray in the 1990 film The Krays. Their real-life sibling dynamic gave the film a terrifyingly authentic vibe, and to this day, it's hard to look at the pair on stage without thinking of the Kray firm, innit!
Here are three amazing tunes from Spandau Ballet's third studio album, True, which was released in March 1983.
Tune 1 - Spandau Ballet - True
We have to start with the title single from the album!
And an appearance on Top of The Pops! One of our staple shows! Mind you Siousie and the Banchees were class too...
Written by Gary Kemp at his parents' house in Islington, London, this smooth soul-pop track reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart in April 1983.
Kemp wrote it about his unrequited crush on Altered Images singer Clare Grogan. The famous line "Listening to Marvin all night long" is a direct nod to Marvin Gaye.
I had a crush on wee Clare Grogan too! And they sang Happy Birthday which I have back in my head again as it is my birthday on Monday!
Tune 2 - Spandau Ballet - Gold
Now this was from the Old Grey Whistle Test, another staple for watching music!
Released as the follow-up single in August 1983, Gold reached No. 2 in the UK chart. It was produced by Steve Jolley and Tony Swain, who pushed the band towards a James Bond theme-song brassiness. The music video was filmed in Carmona, Spain.
Tune 3 - Spandau Ballet - Communication
WOW! Just look at all the devices we had. Kids today don't know how easy they have it with communication!!!
Released in February 1983 as the lead-in single for the True album, Communication landed at No. 12 on the UK charts.
So there you have it, 3 songs released in 1983 from Spandau Ballet and their True album with my 80s Soundtrack post as the inspiration!
Which was your favourite tune? Or have you never heard of them?
Note: The 3 YouTube videos that I have shared are not owned by me, I am simply spreading great music on Hive.
I wish that you all have a brilliant happy fun and terrific Tuesday until we meet again enjoy your tunes 🎶🎵🎶
Thanks for visiting!
The images and ramblings are from me, with some assistance from gemini on the verbage and the lead image, the mad Scotsman TengoLoTodo unless otherwise stated.
@tengolotodo August 11th 2026
Wonderful photo Ed!
I remember hearing that first song before, but just never knew the band name.
hehe now you know Joe and thank you, nature to the rescue!
!WEIRD
!MMB
!INDEED
!HOPE
!PIMP
Good memories ...
Great tune too!
I like "True". So it’s your birthday this coming Monday! 😅 I’ll try to remember, but my little head is a bit all over the place… haha. Ablaze hasn’t posted, but you’re right, we should all support him.
It's True my birthday is next week jeje. Thanks nani and you have not posted for some time, is everything ok?
Thank you, you’re a gentleman and I appreciate your concern. Things have got a bit tough round here and I’m trying to get used to this pace. I can’t see what lies ahead, so I’m just taking it one day at a time.
One day at a time is the way to go. A bit like the first time I got lost in the African jungle, one step at a time and things clear up!
I hope things settle and improve for you, enjoy the weekend Nani!
Perdido in the African jungle 😱
Thank you so much
What a great band! They produces some beautiful songs didn't they? Great pick Ed, you always pick the great ones!
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Yeah they had some corkers, cheers Ryan
oh, I know the first song. Ive heard it many times.😄
Ohhh I was wondering if you heard or like these ....
I've heard it a lot of times and I like it 😁.
now you have me thinking of songs with i like it i like it
😂😂
🤣
Hey, Ed, that's a very nice picture of the sunset.
Vandalism is the inspiration for the name of their band. I searched for the specific graffiti, and "Rudolf Hess, all alone, dancing the Spandau Ballet" means he was the last prisoner held captive and anticipated that his fate would be a worse death by either a Spandau machine gun or hanging. Ah, dark humor.
What an interesting music post and what? The Mad Scotsman's birthday is coming right up? I hope you'll have a nice cake and pure bliss... advance happy birthday, Ed!
Ian Gillan is also a Leo.
hey Ellie, how I love your replies as you actually read posts and go researching....
Yes Hess, parachuted into Scotland on his fluffing own in 1941 allegedly to negotiate peace with the UK. So yeah he was captured and then sentenced at the Nuremberg trials after WWII in 1946.
As you say he ended up being the lone prisoner until he committed suicide in 1966 ... the day in August was 17th August ... my birthday ... and talking of Leo musicians, Belinda Carlisle was also born on August 17th
There we go... cake beer and some fun days out over the next few days. So thank you and I hope you have a relaxing and fun time too!
Oh, Ed. I'm guilty of skimming..wish i had more time to read thoroughly, but whenever I see something interesting, I am target locked, lol.
Thanks for clarifying. So the "Dancing the Spandau Ballet" was just anticipation, Hess actually committed suicide. Y'know, I'm currently reading The Tattooist of Auschwitz, so this piece of information is very interesting. Thanks, Ed and to the @topcomment team.
I am a bona fide speed reader Ellie, so have no problem reading any amount of blogs when I put my mind to. Being a projects manager I would hundreds of docs reports drawings calcs etc to read comment approve daily so speed reading comes in handy! I have been to Auschwitz and deary me the feelings I had were something else, can't describe it. Shocking and the sad thing is over here it is happening again. But enough of that, I just googled Tattooist of Auschwitz, interesting and I wonder how accurate it is.
PS You were my very first comment that I curated for topcomment.... Have a magical weekend cute dragon!
Ah... masculine energy, the capacity to read and understand things objectively, which I truly admire. Feminine energy would, read, sit, absorb, cry, read again, and relapse, haha! Men actually make good historians and history teachers.
So, I juz got my syllabus for September, and I will be teaching History and Geography. Oh hell...the chillz when I saw "World War II"! Although I am completely familiar with it, most of my knowledge is subjective, so I've started reading books about the Holocaust.. mostly true stories. Of course, we can't teach children opinions.
I'm bracing myself because they are very sharp, highly observant, and extremely opinionated, lol. I know there will be some discussion about the ongoing geno... war (they said) because, well, it's somewhat connected, which is pretty sad. Like what you said, I wish we didn't have to explain another dark period to children as objectively as I can.
What I love about my job is that it's really grounding. I can't be overwhelmed because there are little minds relying on me. Y'know, you can't intoxicate their minds just because you have this idea and you want to instill it in them.
And thank you so much for being so thoughtful, you enjoy your birthday, Ed. 🍰
That is interesting about masculine and feminine energy. What about the gay men and women who fall in the opposite category. I guess the gay man just displays feminine energy.
History is absolutely fascinating. We learn so much, of course people try to hide it and warp it. Somehow I get the impression you are pretty fair and will tell things how they are, without trying to bend kids attitudes. Were in the west, all we get now is teachers at schools and universities indoctrinating kids into their leftie views, what they are doing is morally abhorrent!
Enough of my ranting.
Geography is cool, that and biology were two of my top subjects. Then we had to pick a foreign language to learn, I chose German which meant I had to drop Geography! What a bummer!
Have a magical weekend Ellie...
Oh how my ears hurt when kids give me attitude and talk back.. lol. I remember one time there's this student who rolled her eyes at me. I seriously wanted to reach through the computer and poke her eyes out haha.I know that they are slightly building their minds and making it fit into the real world, Ed. However, I want them to improve their arguments instead of just being emotional.
I was a victim of my history teacher too, and now I want to find her and lecture her about it... lol.
Biology... Science is my favorite subject. I'd always say I will no longer go back to school even if it's free, but the irony of my job is that I never actually left. Thank goodness we have good Math teachers because that subject is an absolut- NOT for me.
Ah.. German... you've got some good Bayerische Motoren Ver-kuh and Folks-vaghun accent, huh? Haha. Ah.. that's a long and very nice conversation, Ed!
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