Spandau Ballet has been one of the UK’s most beloved pop acts for decades now. Formed in London in the late 1970s, the band found success with hit singles like ‘True’, ‘Gold’, and ‘Through The Barricades’. Despite their success, the band split up acrimoniously in 1989 and did not reunite until 2009.
The rift between Spandau Ballet can be traced back to 1986, when founder and songwriter Gary Kemp left the group after a disagreement with his brother Martin Kemp over musical direction.
Gary Kemp wanted to move the band away from its synth-pop sound and towards a more guitar-driven rock style. Martin Kemp, however, was against this idea and wanted to stay true to their original style. This disagreement divided the group and eventually led to Gary leaving.
The other members of Spandau Ballet did not take kindly to Gary’s departure, believing that he was selfishly pursuing his own interests over those of the band. This caused a huge rift between them which only widened when it came time for royalties to be shared out after their hits began selling well. This led to a bitter legal dispute between Gary Kemp and his former bandmates which lasted for several years.
The animosity between Spandau Ballet continued until 2009 when they announced that they were reuniting for a world tour. Surprisingly, this reunion was amicable with all members saying they were looking forward to playing together again. Since then, they have continued performing as a band with occasional fallouts but nothing on the same scale as before.
Conclusion:
What happened between Spandau Ballet? They experienced an acrimonious split due to disagreements over musical direction which resulted in a long-running legal dispute over royalties. However, after two decades apart they managed to reunite amicably in 2009 and have since continued performing together.