Wednesday 20 July 2011

Spandau Ballet - Chant No 1 (I Don't Need This Pressure On)

I love 1981 - pt. 14
And hail the new club culture of Thatcher's Britain with Spandau Ballet abandoning their Baltic tablecloth look in favour of the smarter, sharper zoot suits of London's trendy nightclubs.
It's the summer of 1981 and storming up the charts this week is ver Spands new single, the clumsily titled Chant No 1 (I Don't Need This Pressure On) with a new look and new sound featuring funky guitars, horn (oo-eer) section and expensive doof-doof electronic drums to boot.
Although the preceding Glow had hinted at a slightly new sound, Chant No. 1 was a sharp change of direction for the band who had obviously caught on to the fact that the Blitz style make-up and clothing, and music were out and this was what was going down, Beat Route (geddit?) 'n' all.

As with Depeche Mode's New Life there was also a 12" version with extended mixes of the A side and the B Side Feel the Chant, which, as a variation on Chant No. 1 must make it one of the first "extended remixes" of its kind. Sadly, Feel did not emerge on the recent re-releases in any form. Anyways here's the Chant video but it's Vemo you'll have to go all the way over to YouTube to see it in all its fresh-faced and horny glory.





1 comment:

John Medd said...

I, for one, enjoyed their Baltic tablecloth look.