Through the Barricades

Through the Barricades is the fifth studio album by English new wave band Spandau Ballet, released on 17 November 1986 by CBS Records in the United Kingdom and by Epic Records in the United States. The album reached number seven and remained on the UK Albums Chart for 19 weeks. It spawned three commercially successful singles in the UK: "Fight for Ourselves" (No. 15), "How Many Lies" (No. 34) and the band's final top-10 entry, "Through the Barricades" (No. 6).[4]

Through the Barricades
Studio album by
Spandau Ballet
Released17 November 1986
RecordedSeptember 1985 – Summer 1986
Studio
Genre
Length40:00
LabelCBS
Producer
Spandau Ballet chronology
The Twelve Inch Mixes
(1986)		 Through the Barricades
(1986)		 Heart Like a Sky
(1989)
Singles from Through the Barricades
  1. "Fight for Ourselves"
    Released: 14 July 1986[1]
  2. "Through the Barricades"
    Released: 27 October 1986
  3. "How Many Lies"
    Released: 2 February 1987[2]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]

The lyrics to the title track were inspired by love prevailing over the Troubles in Northern Ireland and the murder of a member of the crew in the Troubles, by a British soldier.[5][6]

Reception

In a mainly critical retrospective review for AllMusic, Dan LeRoy wrote, "Rocking up Spandau Ballet's smooth white-boy soul, Through the Barricades manages to avoid utter disaster via the tuneful creations of songwriter/guitarist Gary Kemp." LeRoy argued "the production and mix prove the undoing of this effort. Most of the tunes demand guitar and drum bombast; instead, the riff-rocking 'Cross the Line' and 'Fight for Ourselves', in particular, are undercut by the polite-sounding rhythm section." He praised the title-track, which he said "became a deserved hit."[3]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Gary Kemp

No.TitleLength
1."Barricades ‒ Introduction"1:17
2."Cross the Line"4:07
3."Man in Chains"5:40
4."How Many Lies?"5:21
5."Virgin"4:23
6."Fight for Ourselves"4:22
7."Swept"4:53
8."Snakes and Lovers"4:36
9."Through the Barricades"5:58
2017 remastered edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
10."Fight For Ourselves" (Extended Remix)7:27
11."Fight... The Heartache"4:12
12."Through The Barricades" (Extended Version)7:09
13."Cross The Line" (Extended Version)6:17
14."How Many Lies?" (Instrumental)5:24
15."Fight The Heartache" (Alternate Version)3:17
16."Through The Barricades" (Original One Track Gary Kemp Vocal Guide Demo)4:52

Personnel

Spandau Ballet

Additional musicians
  • Toby Chapman – keyboards, synthesizers
  • Ruby James – backing vocals
  • Shirley Lewis – backing vocals
  • Helena Springs – backing vocals

Technical
  • Spandau Ballet – production
  • Gary Langan – production, engineering
  • Stephan Wissnet – engineering assistance
  • Andy Pearson – drum technician
  • Catherine Bell – project coordination
  • Jackie Vickers – project coordination
  • Zoe Vickers – project coordination
  • Gary Movat – design
  • Assorted Images – design
  • Nick Knight – sleeve photography

Charts

Certifications
Certifications for Through the Barricades
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Netherlands (NVPI)[25] Gold 50,000^
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[26] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[27] Platinum 300,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. "Spandau CBS debut set" (PDF). Music Week. 12 July 1986. p. 3. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  2. "News digest". Record Mirror. 31 January 1987. p. 14. Retrieved 7 April 2022 – via flickr.com.
  3. LeRoy, Dan. "Spandau Ballet: Through the Barricades > Review" at AllMusic. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  4. David Roberts British Hit Singles and Albums, Guinness World Records Limited
  5. "Gary Kemp: When we played Through the Barricades in Belfast the reaction was incredible". Belfast Telegraph. 13 February 2015. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  6. "British soldier sentenced to life". United Press International. 15 December 1984. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  7. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 286. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  8. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0798". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  9. "Dutchcharts.nl – Spandau Ballet – Through the Barricades" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  10. "European Hot 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 4, no. 3. 24 January 1987. p. 21. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  11. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  12. "Offiziellecharts.de – Spandau Ballet – Through the Barricades" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  13. "Ísland (LP-plötur)". DV (in Icelandic). 5 December 1986. p. 51. ISSN 1021-8254 – via Timarit.is.
  14. "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 31 May 2022. Select "Album" in the "Tipo" field, type "Spandau Ballet" in the "Artista" field and press "cerca".
  15. Okamoto, Satoshi (2006). Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005. Oricon. ISBN 978-4-87131-077-2.
  16. "Charts.nz – Spandau Ballet – Through the Barricades". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  17. "Norwegiancharts.com – Spandau Ballet – Through the Barricades". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  18. "Swedishcharts.com – Spandau Ballet – Through the Barricades". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  19. "Swisscharts.com – Spandau Ballet – Through the Barricades". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  20. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  21. "Top 100 Albums (January to December 1986)" (PDF). Music Week. 24 January 1987. p. 25. ISSN 0265-1548 – via World Radio History.
  22. "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1987" (in Dutch). Dutch Charts. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  23. "European Charts of the Year 1987 – Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 4, no. 51/52. 26 December 1987. p. 35. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  24. "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts – 1987" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  25. "Dutch album certifications – Spandau Ballet – Through the Barricades" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved 20 September 2019. Enter Through the Barricades in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 1986 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
  26. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  27. "British album certifications – Spandau Ballet – Through the Barricades". British Phonographic Industry. 6 May 1987. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
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