Song · Spandau Ballet
“To Cut a Long Story Short” by Spandau Ballet
From the album Journeys to Glory (1981)
“To Cut a Long Story Short” by Spandau Ballet appears on 4 radio countdowns from 2 stations between 1981 and 2003. It was first released in 1981 on the album Journeys to Glory. Its best result is #29 on the KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1981. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #29 alternative song of 1981 and #3,488 alternative song of all time.
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"To Cut a Long Story Short" was Spandau Ballet's first single, out in late 1980 and later placed on their 1981 debut Journeys to Glory, and it's the sound of the Blitz club crowd deciding the future would be danced to in fancy dress. Gary Kemp wrote it as the band's calling card for the London nightclub's most discerning regulars, and a TV documentary and a radio DJ spread the word before any label had them signed. Richard James Burgess produced it for Chrysalis.
It's sleek, clipped new wave with a strutting beat, and the band dressed the part, turning up in historical military garb for the cheap video and on Top of the Pops. Reviews were mixed, but it reached number 5 in the UK and opened the door for a wave of club-bred pop groups.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 29 | KROQ Los Angeles, CA | KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1981 | 106 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | 371 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1988) | 496 |
| 2002 | 954 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) | 2002 |
| 2003 | 472 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) | 2044 |
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