LOS ANGELES, CA – November 10, 2014 – Spandau Ballet, one of the most successful and influential British bands today announced their Soul Boys of the Western World Tour. The tour marks the first time the band will tour North America in nearly 30 years. All five original members – Tony Hadley, John Keeble, Gary Kemp, Martin Kemp and Steve Norman – will once again captivate fans on this long-awaited and long overdue return. The Soul Boys of the Western World tour will kick off in San Francisco, CA at the famed Warfield Theatre and traverse the continent before winding down in Red Bank, NY at the Count Basie Theatre.
“We are over the moon at rediscovering our friendship and are really looking forward to playing live in the US again,” said Tony Hadley. “Playing live is what we do best! The shows will have all the hits and more.”
From their synth pop and dance pioneering early singles To Cut A Long Story Short and Chant No. 1 (I Don’t Need This Pressure On), to the globe trotting smashes True and Gold, Spandauwill be playing the hits once again. With 25 million record sales, 6 multi-platinum albums and 23 hit singles to choose from, this is one of the most eagerly awaited reunions to hit these shores in years.
“We are tremendously excited about coming back to America to perform,” said Gary Kemp. “We have great memories of our shows there in the 80s and can’t wait re-connect with our amazing fans there.”
Last week Spandau Ballet announced they will make their U.S. late night television debut on ABC’sJimmy Kimmel Live! tonight in Los Angeles, CA. Jimmy Kimmel Live! also marks the first time the band will perform on television in the United States since 1985 when they made an appearance onSoul Train. Later this week on November 13 Spandau Ballet will stop by Good Day LA for what will surely be a “Throwback Thursday” fans this side of the Atlantic have waited years to see.
In other Spandau Ballet news, the band will show their documentary, Soul Boys of the Western World, as part of the DOC NYC film festival in New York City on November 15 at 945PM at the SVA Theatre (333 West 23rd Street). The band and director George Hencken will attend the screening and participate in a Q&A about the film afterwards. This is their first public appearance in New York City since the 1980s.
Soul Boys of the Western World is a voyage through the 80s in the company of Spandau Ballet, one of the decade’s most iconic bands. This archive-only documentary film tells the story of a group of working-class London lads who created a global music empire, but at a price none of them imagined. Using the band’s own home movies and showcasing newly discovered material, this film takes us into the heart of the era, and the cultural, political and personal landscape that formed the backdrop to the band’s story. It is a film that speaks not only to fans of the band or those who harbor nostalgia for the 1980s, but also to anyone who has ever experienced friendship and loss.
Critics rapturously received the film when it world premiered at SXSW film festival earlier this year. UK and Irish fans got their opportunity to see the film on September 30 when the European premiere at the Royal Albert Hall. This showing was beamed by satellite into over 200 cinemas across both countries along with a Q&A with the band and director George Hencken moderated by Lauren Laverne, followed by a short live performance by the band.
When Norman stepped up front to blow his scripted sax break in “True,” the crowd – which took over the chorus from Hadley and no doubt sang it in pubs up and down these isles in ’83 – received it with the kind of shouts and applause New Yorkers always gave Clarence Clemons when he took his thundering-tenor spotlight in Madison Square Garden for Bruce Springsteen’s “Jungleland.” The ecstasy in the Albert Hall was that kind of loud. – ROLLING STONE
Emerging from Soho’s ultra hip Blitz Club in 1979 during another economic depression, Spandau formed at school in North London before becoming the hottest unsigned band on the planet. From underground, fashion and music obsessed working class Londoners, to global superstars, the band set the pace, the styles and the sound of the 1980s.
Not only did their albums sell by the millions, but their look and style impacted on the fashion world and beyond. They created their own style, combining creativity with entrepreneurship and the ‘can do’ spirit of early 80s youth at a time of crisis and upheaval eerily reminiscent of 2009. Spandau Ballet are both commercially and culturally enormous.
SPANDAU BALLET’S SOUL BOYS OF THE WESTERN WORLD TOUR DATES
JANUARY
23rd San Francisco, CA Warfield Theatre On-Sale 11/14
25th Los Angeles, CA Wiltern Theatre On-Sale 11/14
27th Denver, CO Paramount Theatre On-Sale 11/14
30th Chicago, IL House of Blues On-Sale 11/14
31st Detroit, MI Masonic Temple Theatre On-Sale 11/14
FEBRUARY
3rd Toronto, ONT Massey Hall
5th Boston, MA House of Blues On-Sale 11/14
6th New York, NY Beacon Theatre On-Sale 11/15
7th Westbury, NY Theatre at Westbury On-Sale 11/14
9th Washington, DC 9:30 Club
10th Red Bank, NY Count Basie Theatre On-Sale 11/14
*All tickets on-sale at 10:00 AM local time
