Spandau Ballet: Soul Boys of the Western World: DVD Review

Spandau Ballet: Soul Boys of the Western World: DVD Review

Released by Madman Home Ent

One of the best musical docos from last year, Spandau Ballet: Soul Boys of the Western World is essential home viewing material for anyone who experienced the 80s boom of the UK music scene.

New romanticism was at its heights but even more than that, Spandau Ballet: Soul Boys of the Western World is a look at the journey of five working lads from the UK who became global sensations thanks to songs like Gold and True, as well as anthem Through The Barricades.

Expertly weaving together a plethora of archive footage as well as commentary from Tony Hadley and the rest of the band, Spandau Ballet: Soul Boys of the Western World is a riveting watch.

Simply told, and with an energy that catches a music scene in gestation and a band in ultimate birth, this doco should have broader appeal than just what you will know about the group. The only time the film stumbles slightly is when it concentrates on the cracks and fall-out within the group over writing, but it's a brief falter before a final musical flourish.

Director George Hencken's to be commended for this - Spandau Ballet: Soul Boys of the Western World should have had a wider audience than it did. Now here's hoping a small screen release will prove as infectious to the masses as Spandau's greatest hits.

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