David’s new book on Spandau Ballet

[Abby Normal]

Just finished it. Great work as usual DAVID! Fascinating and informative and highly recommended.
Congrats!

[Scott Nelson]

But was there anything about it you didn't like?

[martin wilson]

Ah, the Spands, kilts and all. Those were the days. The number of young ladies who rejected me to the sound of 'True' is quite extensive.
They seem a suitable study for a Ripperologist. The Kemps played the Krays, and Martin was George Joseph Smith, the brides in the bath murderer.
The accusation that Tony Hadley also committed GBH against the musical scale is one of opinion. Personally I've always thought tv's
didn't come with a mute button until he showed up.
This has set me off musing over real life villains played by musicians.
So far I've got Mick Jagger as Ned Kelley, Roger Daltrey as John Mcvicar and Phil Collins in Buster.

All the best.

[Sam Flynn]

Does the book reveal whether the lyric "Why do I find it hard to write the next line" was a cop-out? I often thought it was.

[Robert]

I once wrote a book about Spandau Ballet. It was a rather slim volume :

Page 1 : This is the story of Spandau Ballet.
Page 2 : To cut a long story short I lost my mind.

It fell deadborn from the press.

[Svensson]

Ah, the Spands, kilts and all. Those were the days. The number of young ladies who rejected me to the sound of 'True' is quite extensive.
They seem a suitable study for a Ripperologist. The Kemps played the Krays, and Martin was George Joseph Smith, the brides in the bath murderer.
The accusation that Tony Hadley also committed GBH against the musical scale is one of opinion. Personally I've always thought tv's
didn't come with a mute button until he showed up.
This has set me off musing over real life villains played by musicians.
So far I've got Mick Jagger as Ned Kelley, Roger Daltrey as John Mcvicar and Phil Collins in Buster.

All the best.

The Goblin-king by David Bowie and Gene Simmons as an excellent scumbag lawyer Horrible Bosses 2

[drstrange169]

Small world!

I grew up in the village Ampthill and saw plenty of bands at the Hope and Anchor when I moved away to London in the 1970's. Sadly, the book's not available over here in Oz, but I'll keep my eye out.

[Abby Normal]

But was there anything about it you didn't like?

Hi Scott
No, not really, but I thought the section on the what, where when who and why of the term the New Romantics was too detailed and overly long, but of course david is very detailed, so I ended up skimming and skipping a lot of that section. The rest was very interesting, especially the controversy and mystery of how they got their name and the personal and legal drama among the members.

Full disclosure, I’m not even a big SB fan but I find musician/band band biographies and history fascinating.

Some of my favorites are queens of noise about the runaways, Keith Richards autobiography, Belinda Carlyle of the go gos biography, and the magnus opus and best band history I’ve read so far is no one here gets out alive about Jim Morrison and the doors.

If you or anyone else can recommend any others it would be great!

[Abby Normal]

Small world!

I grew up in the village Ampthill and saw plenty of bands at the Hope and Anchor when I moved away to London in the 1970's. Sadly, the book's not available over here in Oz, but I'll keep my eye out.

Did you see the original and first spandau ballet?

[David Orsam]

Hey, I've just seen this thread (I don't normally "do" pub talk!) and thank you Abby, I'm very glad and relieved you enjoyed it, or at least most of it!

[Herlock Sholmes]

Congratulations David. It must have been hard work researching and writing that book whilst at the same time writing and researching your secret new JTR book

[Abby Normal]

Hey, I've just seen this thread (I don't normally "do" pub talk!) and thank you Abby, I'm very glad and relieved you enjoyed it, or at least most of it!

Your welcome! And congrats again!
I polished it off in two days!

[Magpie]

The Goblin-king by David Bowie and Gene Simmons as an excellent scumbag lawyer Horrible Bosses 2

Gene Simmons was also a pretty decent baddie in Rutger Hauer's "Wanted: Dead or Alive"

[Magpie]

Some of my favorites are queens of noise about the runaways, Keith Richards autobiography, Belinda Carlyle of the go gos biography, and the magnus opus and best band history I’ve read so far is no one here gets out alive about Jim Morrison and the doors.

If you or anyone else can recommend any others it would be great!

Gary Numans "Praying to the Aliens" is pretty good
Neil Peart's (Rush) "Ghost Rider" is fantastic

[martin wilson]

I vaguely remember a story about Jim Morrison. He was drunk and crudely propositoning Jimi Hendrix at his concert.
This went on until Janis Joplin, tired of the spectacle, smashed a bottle of whisky over his head.
It sounds apocryphal, a certain wish fulfilment to have those three tragically doomed sixties legends all together. I'd love it if it was true though.

I'm sure David's book is immaculately researched and I heartily recommend it to anyone interested in that period, the New Romantics emerging after a time when bands who either were, or should have been, on medication dominated.
I like the quote by Paul McCartney, irritated by critics interpretation of John's song, which was something like "They say he meant this or that, no he didn't, and I should know, I was in the bloody room with him when he wrote it!"

Anyway, all the best with the book.