I believe the term "white disco music" emanated from the Chrysalis marketing department. There was an interesting exchange of views about this controversial line of promotion in the music press of the time In her review of the album Journeys To Glory in Record Mirror, journalist Sunie, actually a big fan of the band, argued "the last thing Spandau need to do is to align themselves with some sort of Ayrian Youth". This prompted an angry response from PR Robert Elms who countered that the idea that either he or the band were Fascists was "laughable". "The idea of heroism and joy is one of pride in oneself" he continued , "rejecting the stereotype that would have the working class live in the gutter". By April 1981, however, Gary Kemp was telling Record Mirror that "we don't actually descibe ourselves as playing 'white European disco music' any more. People no sooner heard that expression than they were at us for being racist". Chant Number 1 was clearly an attempt to move on from all the controversy , with the inclusion of the horn section from Beggar & Co. designed to counter the accusations of racism.
Thanks Paul for putting it so clearly. The quote I found was from Gary Kemp, apparently. But it could as well be the marketing dept of Chrysalis. I didn't go in to the faschist connotations in my piece as I was already well over the ideal length 😃. I hadn't considered the quote of "white European disco music" as one of the reasons, but come to think about it, it probably was. What I read (and heard at that moment) was that it was also the "uniform like" clothing they were wearing on their first concerts/video. Anyway I remember having read it at the moment as one of those stories that came and went. It didn't stick and what I wanted to tell with this week's piece is that the start of Spandau Ballet was a case of very conscious and expertly executed marketing. It's a textbook case that was repeated many times and with success. They wanted to be the successful band they became and so knew probably very well that associating themselves with some sort of Aryan Youth was not the way to reach that goal. Thanks for reading & reacting Paul. Have a great weekend !
Thanks Dan. If you like this one, try the mix of the week on Mixcloud. It's as close as you can get to the sound of The Blitz in 80-81. Thanks for reading and Enjoy your weekend !
I believe the term "white disco music" emanated from the Chrysalis marketing department. There was an interesting exchange of views about this controversial line of promotion in the music press of the time In her review of the album Journeys To Glory in Record Mirror, journalist Sunie, actually a big fan of the band, argued "the last thing Spandau need to do is to align themselves with some sort of Ayrian Youth". This prompted an angry response from PR Robert Elms who countered that the idea that either he or the band were Fascists was "laughable". "The idea of heroism and joy is one of pride in oneself" he continued , "rejecting the stereotype that would have the working class live in the gutter". By April 1981, however, Gary Kemp was telling Record Mirror that "we don't actually descibe ourselves as playing 'white European disco music' any more. People no sooner heard that expression than they were at us for being racist". Chant Number 1 was clearly an attempt to move on from all the controversy , with the inclusion of the horn section from Beggar & Co. designed to counter the accusations of racism.
Thanks Paul for putting it so clearly. The quote I found was from Gary Kemp, apparently. But it could as well be the marketing dept of Chrysalis. I didn't go in to the faschist connotations in my piece as I was already well over the ideal length 😃. I hadn't considered the quote of "white European disco music" as one of the reasons, but come to think about it, it probably was. What I read (and heard at that moment) was that it was also the "uniform like" clothing they were wearing on their first concerts/video. Anyway I remember having read it at the moment as one of those stories that came and went. It didn't stick and what I wanted to tell with this week's piece is that the start of Spandau Ballet was a case of very conscious and expertly executed marketing. It's a textbook case that was repeated many times and with success. They wanted to be the successful band they became and so knew probably very well that associating themselves with some sort of Aryan Youth was not the way to reach that goal. Thanks for reading & reacting Paul. Have a great weekend !
Never heard this one before! Cool production!
Thanks Dan. If you like this one, try the mix of the week on Mixcloud. It's as close as you can get to the sound of The Blitz in 80-81. Thanks for reading and Enjoy your weekend !