Spandau Ballet Soulboys of the Western World Tour Review
Spandau Ballet
Soulboys of the Western World
Echo Arena, Liverpool
7 March 2015
Reviewed by Debbie Tasker
The Islington lads are back with their Soulboys of the Western World tour and I was more than excited to be in the audience to see these eighties stars at Liverpool’s Echo Arena last night.
My sister in law decided to drive and it took us around 50 minutes from Manchester. It doesn’t seem to be very well signposted but as we knew it was City Centre where most main attractions are we headed for there. Parking was £6 for the evening and we pre-paid to avoid the queues coming out.
We found the box office easily and were dealt with within seconds and on our way to find our seats. We had to ask a couple of times as we made our way round the arena which direction and all staff throughout the evening were helpful and friendly. We were sat City Side Lower Tier Block 1 Row B seats 15/16 and you couldn’t have asked for a better view. At one point Tony Hadley comes off stage to cool off and mops his brow – I really had to stop myself offering a hand, yes I was that close.
The place was buzzing and Spandau’s old friend DJ Rusty Egan was spinning some cool old school tunes to get everybody in the mood. From the moment they entered the stage the whole evening was pure GOLD (excuse the pun)! The first part, although there is no interval was a mixture of old stuff and pieces from their latest album. I, and it seemed the rest of the audience which were predominately 40 something’s, enjoyed listening to unfamiliar songs but I think on the whole we were there for the earlier stuff as the atmosphere tended to jump up a notch whenever this happened. From their first single 1980s To Cut a Long Story Short, Instinction Lifeline, I’ll Fly For You, Chant No1, Communication and more every song was delivered exceptionally well. My favourite Through the Barricades left me shedding a tear or two, I don’t mind admitting, as Tony Hadley sang it with such emotion and feeling. At one point the stage goes into darkness for a minute or so then a spotlight comes on right at the back of the auditorium where Tony Hadley and Gary Kemp are situated on a small centre stage and perform an acoustic version of Empty Spaces and Gold much to the audiences delight! It is well known that the pair had a major fall out resulting in a court case over songwriting credits so it was even more special to see them looking happy and relaxed together.
The band use the stage well and there are large video links at both sides. A back projector touches on Spandau’s past and I thought this was a nice idea. Tony Hadley still has a strong note perfect voice and I could happily listen to him crooning all day. Martin Kemp seems to improve looks wise with age I think I might still have a crush on him at nearly 50! Steve Normans Sax playing is still second to none and John Keeble on the drums makes up the last part of this amazing band.
True which incidentally is rumoured to be penned about Altered Images Clare Grogan in 1983 by Gary Kemp finishes the show and everybody was singing and swaying along. Of course there were whistles and shouts of ‘more’ rippling through the arena so they came back and performed Through the Barricades and Gold.
Thirty years on Spandau Ballet have still got it. I enjoyed the whole evening and am singing their songs as I write this! In my top three I would have Musclebound and was a bit disappointed it wasn’t included in the set but that is my only niggle in an otherwise perfect evening entertainment.
A great big 5/5 and a GOLD star!
Rating: 5/5 
UK Tour Dates:
08 March 2015 The SSE Hydro, Glasgow
10 March 2015 Capital FM Arena, Nottingham
11 March 2015 Brighton Centre, Brighton
13 March 2015 Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff
14 March 2015 Manchester Arena, Manchester
15 March 2015 Newcastle Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle
17 March 2015 The O2 Arena, London
18 March 2015 The O2 Arena, London
19 March 2015 LG Arena, The NEC, Birmingham
For more information or to book tickets visit www.spandauballet.com, www.ticketmaster.co.uk or www.livenation.co.uk.
