Soul Boys Of The Western World review

Spandau Gold

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Few things scream 1984 like Spandau Ballet vs Duran Duran on TV’s Pop Quiz , a battle royale typical of George Hencken’s selective but evocative Spandau portrait. The rise/fall arc is familiar but a reliance on archive footage (no talking heads) offers an immersive plunge into Spandau’s journey from working-class London to Blitz-club epiphanies, stardom, split, royalty scraps and reunion.

The salad days thrill; after the rush has gone, the comedown is surprisingly moving. The band narration is a bit “party line”, but this much is true: the fleeting glory of jodhpur-clad youth is on vivid display here.

Freelance writer

Kevin Harley is a freelance journalist with bylines at Total Film, Radio Times, The List, and others, specializing in film and music coverage. He can most commonly be found writing movie reviews and previews at 12DOVE.