Spandau Ballet - To Cut A Long Story Short

What this video is

Released 31 October 1980, this video is a primary visual document of the New Romantic movement at its commercial emergence. Spandau Ballet had cultivated their identity almost entirely within the exclusive Blitz nightclub scene in London's Covent Garden, creating mystique before a single note was publicly available. The debut single's release on Chrysalis/Reformation represented a deliberate crossover from…

Why it matters

As Spandau Ballet's debut single, this video is among the earliest promo films to visually codify the New Romantic synth-pop aesthetic for a mainstream audience. Written by Gary Kemp and produced by Richard James Burgess, the track blended synth-pop energy with art-pop theatricality and reached…

The director

Brian Grant was a leading British music video director of the early 1980s, working extensively through MGMM Studios (Music Group Media Management), one of the UK's pioneering promo production houses. He directed videos for numerous new wave and pop acts at…