Spandau Ballet and the Philosophy of Pop
Written by Jenna Belhumeur
The only way you might not have heard of Spandau Ballet is if you, A) weren’t alive in the 1980’s, or B) aren’t British. Soul Boys of the Western World, which had it’s New York City premier at DOC NYC this weekend, is a music documentary that illustrates the rise, fall and comeback of the new wave band that came to dominate the British underground pop-rock and fashion scene in the 1980’s. Following the screening at the School of Visual Arts Theater on Saturday night, all five members of the band were welcomed on stage for a Q&A session amid gasps, praises and of course, requests for selfies. Though 20 years removed from the height of success they once enjoyed as pop icons, the reaction from fans in the audience could easily be mistaken for the kind of adoration one would typically expect at a concert from that other British boy band that’s currently at the top of the game.
“It’s nice to still hear the girls screaming,” said the band’s lead singer Tony Hadley.
Director George Hencken and the band also came to DOC NYC with some very special announcements. The documentary has officially been acquired by Sundance Selects and is expected in U.S. theaters in early 2015. The documentary’s widespread release will coincide with the “Soul Boys of the Western World Tour,” which the band announced is set to hit the U.S. in January. While the band had wildly successful reunion tour across the U.K. in 2009, this will be their first North American tour since their original inception. According to the band members, you can catch them in New York City in February at the Beacon Theatre and at the NYCB Theatre at Westbury.
The documentary presents the history of the band in an expertly constructed and creative way using solely archival footage and enlightening interviews from each of the band’s members. Hencken was entrusted with over 450 hours of film footage to construct the visual essence of not only abstract ideas like the pop culture movement known as New Romanticism that began within the underground British nightclub scene, but also the high and lows of friendship.
“Whether you’re a child of the 1980’s or not, this is about friendship,” Hencken said. “There’s no one in this room who hasn’t experienced the vicissitudes of friendship.”
The film places the band in the context of social history, unfolding a story of five working-class boys from north London amid a time that was ripe for eccentric fashion, music and art. With influences ranging from Stevie Wonder, Rod Stewart, David Bowie and the Sex Pistols, the band soon found their musical niche and escalated to the status of cult heroes by 1983. As stated in the film, it was about creating an artistic manifesto for the 1980’s. And with the advent of MTV, pop was no longer about just making a record; it was about creating a philosophy.
Before the screening Hencken stated that Soul Boys of the Western World is a film you can enjoy whether or not you know who Spandau Ballet are. And as one who only knew them as the band that was responsible for their classic song “True” that you seem to hear in every other movie or TV show, I would have to agree.
For more about Soul Boys of the Western World, visit the film page on the DOC NYC website.
Jenna Belhumeur is a current student at Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism. After graduating from UCLA in 2013, she moved to Thailand for 8 months to teach English and backpack around other countries in Southeast Asia. After Columbia, Jenna hopes to become an internationally based reporter for a major broadcast network or pursue long-form documentary production. Follow her on Twitter @jenna_bel and on Instagram @jennabel
