Burning The Ground Exclusive 1986
“Fight for Ourselves” is a song by English new wave band Spandau Ballet, released as the lead single from their 1986 album Through the Barricades. In the UK, the track reached number 15 on the Singles Chart, but it was met with largely negative reviews.
Background
While touring to promote their 1983 album True, Spandau Ballet noticed a newfound synergy in their live performances and sought to replicate that energy in their next studio effort. However, their attempt to achieve this with True co-producers Tony Swain and Steve Jolley on 1984’s Parade left the band dissatisfied. Guitarist and songwriter Gary Kemp later admitted, “We were afraid to take a big leap after True. The problem was that Parade didn’t reflect the live energy we had. People were disappointed with the record.” Kemp emphasized, “We’re a rock band now.”
Determined to evolve their sound, the band decided to part ways with Swain and Jolley. They brought in recording engineer Gary Langan, whom they had met while working with Trevor Horn, to co-produce a single track as a test before committing to him for the full album. The chosen song, originally titled “Everybody (We’ve Got to Fight for Ourselves)”, was recorded at Musicland Studios in Munich during the winter of 1986. The experiment proved successful, and Langan co-produced the entire album.
Release and Commercial Performance
“Fight for Ourselves” was released in the UK on July 14, 1986, and peaked at number 15 on the UK Singles Chart, marking the band’s first lead single from an album to miss the top 10. The track fared better internationally, reaching number 5 in Italy, number 7 in Ireland, and number 10 on the European Hot 100. It also charted in other countries, including Spain (11), Australia and the Netherlands (16), Belgium (20), Switzerland (23), West Germany (32), and New Zealand (33).
Despite its moderate success, lead singer Tony Hadley reflected in his 2004 autobiography To Cut a Long Story Short that the single’s performance “hardly squared with our hopes of global success.”
Music Video
The music video for “Fight for Ourselves,” directed by Simon Milne, features a playful storyline in which two young women—one played by Paul Young’s then-girlfriend Stacey Smith—sneak into a Spandau Ballet concert. Using powers of invisibility, they interact with band members during the performance. Chroma key effects were employed for the disappearing and reappearing sequences. The exterior shots of the concert venue were filmed at 43 King Street, Covent Garden, London.
+De-notes vinyl-only
SIDE A:
Fight For Ourselves (Extended Remix) 7:30
SIDE B:
Fight For Ourselves 4:22
Fight … The Heartache+ 4:12
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Reformation – TA7264, Reformation – TA 7264, CBS – TA7264, CBS – TA 7264
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Single, Stereo
Country: UK
Released: Jul 1986
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop
CREDITS:
- Design [Packaging By] – Assorted Images, Movat*
- Engineer – Gary Langan
- Photography By [Group] – Stevie Hughes
- Producer – Gary Langan, Spandau Ballet
- Written-By – Gary Kemp
NOTES:
Packaging by Movat/ Assorted Images
Made In England
Buy the 12″ at DISCOGS
VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net
THE GEAR:
Turntable: Technics SL-1200MK7
Cartridge/Stylus: Ortofon 2M Black PnP MkII
Turntable Isolation Platform: ISO-Tone™ Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro Spin Acrylic Mat
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp: Pro-Jec Tube Box DS2
Tubes: Genalex Gold Lion 12AX7 ECC83/B759 Gold Pins Vacuum Tube – Matched Pair
DAC: Alpha Design Labs GT40a USB DAC
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner
SOFTWARE:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 25 (Recording)
Down Sampling/Dither: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator
RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi
**24bit FLAC Only Available For Seven Days!
Password: burningtheground
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Totally, completely new to me (with the exception of maybe catching the video back in the day)! I’m sure I’m not the only one stateside, lol. I echo what Jeff said. Definitely more of a rock edge, in keeping with the times. In retrospect I suspect it’s the double-edged sword of having such massive success with True, having the world over recognize them as crooners wearing tailored suits. Suddenly they want to rock out! Not so fast said the world. Pigeon-holed is every true (pun intended) artist’s frustration. At the same time, they got to see success most artists only… Read more »
Thanks Paul! Now if you could rip the missing gem from your Spandau collection, “Chant No 1”, I would be delighted!
Hey Paul, many thanks for this Spandau Ballet track. I wasn’t aware of this track by them. After “Gold” and “Only When You Leave”, I seemed to forget about them. I know it’s kind of sad, but I’m happy I have you to further educate me about their discography and other songs I may have missed. Great that Gary Langan is involved, but the sound is very different to other Spandau tracks. It’s more of a “rock” sound than their crooning from hits before. I’m really excited to hear the extended remix. Paul, I depend on you for all the… Read more »