SPANDAU BALLET

BEC 13.05.2015

Spandau Ballet made their first, post-heyday return, to Australia about five years ago in the company of Tears For Fears. Then, the pairing made for a terrific double-header. On their own, the reformed band only half filled the Entertainment Centre. Still, those that turned up didn’t let the lack of a big name co-headliner dampen their enthusiasm.

The set opened with the new tune Soul Boy, before heading to the more crowd pleasing terrain of Highly Strung. Only When You Leave was impressive and had the room on their collective feet. Tony Hadley was in fine voice, while the rest of the band brought energy to the proceedings and never missed a beat.

As a casual fan, the gig dragged a little through How Many Lies and Round And Round. It felt as if this second quarter was missing a ‘hit’. That all changed after Steal when the band threw back to Chant No. 1 (I Don’t Need This Pressure On) and a set dedicated to the heady days of The Blitz nightclub where the whole New Romantic movement pretty much started.

Seriously, this ‘Blitz Medley’ was nothing short of brilliant. Featuring Reformation, Confused and the Freeze, the set was capped off by a sublime To Cut A Long Story Short.

After that there was a lull. How could you top the sonic bliss of the Blitz material? Gary Kemp and Hadley retired to a b-stage … more tunes were played but things only moved up a notch with the final furlong in sight.

Communication was fab. True was masterful and the whole night closed with the crowd favourite Gold. Throughout there was flashes of brilliance which waxed and waned over almost two hours. But, when they were good … they were freaking fantastic.

Sean Sennett