''True'' is the third studio album by English
new wave band
Spandau Ballet
Spandau Ballet () were an English new wave band formed in Islington, London, in 1979. Inspired by the capital's post-punk underground dance scene, they emerged at the start of the 1980s as the house band for the Blitz Kids, playing "European Da ...
, released on 4 March 1983 by
Chrysalis Records
Chrysalis Records () is a British record label that was founded in 1968. The name is both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders' names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis. It started as the Ellis-Wright Ag ...
. While Spandau Ballet's first two albums earned them European popularity, ''True'' made them worldwide stars and was heavily influenced by
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
,
soul
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being".
Etymology
The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...
and
R&B. It reached number one on the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...
,
number 19 on the US
''Billboard'' 200,
and charted in numerous other countries around the world. The
title track
A title track is a song that has the same name as the album or film in which it appears. In the Korean music industry, the term is used to describe a promoted song on an album, akin to a single, regardless of the song's title.
Title track may al ...
spent four weeks at number one on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
and peaked at number four on the US
''Billboard'' Hot 100. It was also Spandau Ballet's first album to be recorded outside of London (at
Compass Point Studios
Compass Point Studios was a music recording studio in the The Bahamas, Bahamas, founded in 1977 by Chris Blackwell, the owner of Island Records. The concept of the studio was of a recording facility supported by in-house sets of artists, musici ...
in the
Bahamas
The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...
).
Other singles from the album included "
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
" (number two in the UK and top 30 in the US), "
Lifeline", "
Communication
Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...
", and "Pleasure".
A remastered version of "True" was released on 3 July 2003 to commemorate its 20th anniversary. It was re-released as a single CD with the original eight tracks along with the music video for "Gold" and some home video footage of the band. The original 8-track album was also issued on the high-resolution super audio CD format as a Hybrid SACD (in stereo only). In 2008, the album was given away free with copies of the ''
Daily Mail
The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...
'' newspaper.
In June 2010, a special edition was released on 2 CDs and DVD as part of the 2010 Spandau Ballet reissues series, featuring remastered 12″ remixes and B-sides, plus a live concert.
Track listing
Personnel
Spandau Ballet
*
Tony Hadley
Anthony Patrick Hadley (born 2 June 1960) is an English pop singer. He rose to fame in the 1980s as the lead singer of the new wave band Spandau Ballet and launched a solo career following the group's split in 1990. Hadley returned to the ban ...
– lead and backing vocals
*
Gary Kemp
Gary James Kemp (born 16 October 1959) is an English singer, songwriter, musician and actor, best known as the lead guitarist, backing vocalist, and principal songwriter for the New Romantic band Spandau Ballet.
Kemp wrote the lyrics and music ...
– guitars, backing vocals
*
Martin Kemp
Martin John Kemp (born 10 October 1961) is an English musician and actor, best known as the bassist in the new wave band Spandau Ballet and for his role as Steve Owen in ''EastEnders''.
He is the younger brother of Gary Kemp, who is also a ...
– bass
*
John Keeble
John Leslie Keeble (born 6 July 1959) is an English pop and rock drummer. He is best known for his membership of the 1980s new wave band Spandau Ballet.
Early years
Keeble was athletic as a child, playing both football and cricket. He bought ...
– drums
*
Steve Norman
Steven Antony Norman (born 25 March 1960) is an English musician who plays tenor saxophone, guitar, percussion and other instruments, for the English band Spandau Ballet.
Biography
Early years
Steve Norman was born in Stepney, east London, and w ...
– percussion, saxophone
Additional musician
* Jess Bailey – keyboards
Technical
* Spandau Ballet – production
* Steve Jolley – production
* Tony Swain – production, engineering
* Richard Lengyel – engineering assistance
* Tim Young – mastering
* David Band – art direction, illustration
* Lynn Goldsmith – photography
* Stephen Horsfall – typography
* Mixed at Red Bus Studios (London)
* Mastered at CBS Studios (London)
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
References
Bibliography
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:True (Spandau Ballet Album)
1983 albums
Albums produced by Jolley & Swain
Chrysalis Records albums
Spandau Ballet albums