Spandau Ballet release ‘Glow’- rare track live performance unheard since 1982

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)’.

Gary Kemp said: “I sat with my guitar in my bedroom, and with the sound of the Fatback Band and Dr. Buzzard in my head, I ground out a groove and made an attempt to write a song that combined funk with the stark European music that we had created already. The result was 'Glow'.

“Steve, the most natural musician in the band, took to the congas and bongos as though he’d played them in an earlier life, and within a few days we had the song’s staccato groove hammering through our rehearsal room in London Bridge. We were desperate to record it and get it out, announcing our credentials and proving that we were at the epicentre of Soho nightlife.”

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.

The meticulously curated collection captures the band's origins and meteoric rise from Blitz Club favourites to chart-topping innovators. The set includes a 44-page book with original photos from fellow Blitz Kid Graham Smith and new commentary from the whole band. It features Spandau Ballet’s seminal albums "Journeys To Glory" (1981) and "Diamond" (1982) on vinyl, plus six CDs of singles, remixes, BBC sessions, demos, and a Blu-ray of Dolby Atmos mixes, videos and rare live footage. A limited quantity are signed by all band members - only available from the band’s online store'.

The collection showcases the band's evolution through their formative and revolutionary period, from the electronic-infused new wave of early singles like ‘To Cut A Long Story Short’ and ‘The Freeze’ to the funk-influenced sophistication of "Chant No. 1" and "Instinction." They were simply the most cutting edge, futuristic band in the world, at the centre of a creative scene that defined the 1980s.

The release coincides with London’s Design Museum’s exhibition ‘Blitz: The Club That Shaped The 80s’ which opened on September 20 (tickets) to great accalim. It explores the ‘Blitz Kids’ who pioneered new music, fashion, film, design and more from the tiny Soho nightclub The Blitz, all to a soundtrack provided by a nascent Spandau Ballet (the only artist to ever play the club). At the debut show on December 5th 1979, they were offered a record contract mid set by Chris Blackwell, owner of Island Records, and the performance pushed the band “through the looking glass” and onto an accelerated ride through the 1980s and into pop culture history and global superstardom.

“The Blitz was a real sweatbox when we performed there,” recalls Tony Hadley, “but we just had this sense that things were changing. As a young person you want to create a stir. And we did.”

The band began to export their music around the world in a series of ground breaking club culture events, including making their first New York appearance in 1981, taking key Blitz Kids with them and staging a concert and fashion show, paving the way for Britain’s second musical invasion of America. Video of this whole performance is included in the box set. On another legendary night, they played new superclub KU in Ibiza, who released a bull on the night to mark the occasion amongst the 3000 fans, and were pivotal in alerting the UK to the burgeoning Ibiza dance scene.

"Everything Is Now – Vol 1: 1978-1982"

* Comprehensive collection of 7" and 12" singles, remixes and versions

* Two complete BBC concert recordings from 1981 and 1982 and a BBC Session from 1981

* Previously unreleased demos including early Gentry recordings

* Dolby Atmos remixes by Steven Wilson

* Rare live footage from NYC's Underground Club (1981)

* Original albums "Journeys To Glory" and "Diamond" on vinyl

* Includes rare set of remixes for the "Diamond" album. Previously unavailable on CD

* 44 page booklet with all new quotes from every band member and classic photos charting key moments, design and style

The box set features all the band's early classics including "To Cut A Long Story Short," "Chant No. 1," "Muscle Bound," "Paint Me Down," “Instinction” and "She Loved Like Diamond," and presents multiple versions of tracks that trace their development from initial demos to extended 12" club mixes.

The Blu-ray component includes Dolby Atmos and stereo remixes by acclaimed producer Steven Wilson, alongside original music videos, BBC TV appearances and the complete 56-minute concert from New York's Underground Club in 1981.

"Everything Is Now – Vol 1: 1978-1982" stands as the definitive document of Spandau Ballet's revolutionary early period, when they helped define the sound and style of a generation. Pre-order: CLICK