Soul Boys Of The Western World

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 effective-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 “have fun line”, but this much is right: the fleeting glory of jodhpur-clad youth is on vivid show here.

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