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Instinction (song)
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Wikipedia article
"'Instinction'" is a song by Spandau Ballet whose original version was included on their second album 'Diamond' as produced by Richard James Burgess. A remix of the song by Trevor Horn was released on 2 April 1982 as the last single from the album and reached number 10 on the UK Singles Chart. This new version received good reviews but constituted a shift into pop music that did not interest the patrons of trendy London nightclubs that Spandau Ballet originally intended to represent. The band tried continuing their work with Horn on the songs for their next album but came to an impasse with him and moved on to a successful relationship with producers Steve Jolley and Tony Swain.
Background
Following the disappointing chart performances of "Paint Me Down" and "She Loved Like Diamond", Spandau Ballet manager Steve Dagger felt they needed another single from their just-released 'Diamond' album so that it would sell.: "Look, 'Diamond' has just come out; it can't survive without another single from it." He thought "Instinction" would be the best choice but thought it needed to be remixed,: "I'm worried it wont be enough just to release 'Instinction'. We need something else. A remix maybe." Remix was a business euphemism for SOS. But Dagger was right and Kemp agreed on his selection, acknowledging that "the song had more pop in it than anything we'd ever done". The band wanted a new producer to rework the song because of their dismay over how 'Diamond' turned out in the hands of Richard James Burgess. Producer Martin Rushent was fresh off his success with the album 'Dare' by the Human League, but Kemp explained to 'New Sounds New Styles' magazine in 1982 that the band felt they "couldn't" have him do the remix because it "would have been such an obvious thing to do". Bucks Fizz mastermind Andy Hill was also considered for the job, but they settled on Buggles founder Trevor Horn based on the work he had done with the UK pop vocal group Dollar. Transitioning to a more mainstream sound worried Kemp since Spandau Ballet initially intended to create music that represented the trendy club scene in London.: Every seminal moment in British youth culture had had a band or artist that represented it: skiffle Lonnie Donegan punk the Sex Pistols. We knew, even then, that Blitz and all it entailed and encouraged was going to be an important chapter in the story of London youth and their street-found fashions; and so, in a basement studio on Islington's Holloway Road, the Angel boys were busily trying to create a band who'd embody this latest twist in the tale. He wondered what the Blitz crowd would think of their shift to "outright pop", but Dagger said to him, "You cant be a cult band and sell millions of records, can you? What would you rather?"
When Dagger contacted Jill Sinclair, Horn's wife and manager, she immediately agreed to his participation. Horn later said he thought Spandau Ballet's two previous singles were "very ugly", noting, "I thought that, with Tony Hadley's voice, the way the records were mixed hadn't done him any favours at all." When Kemp and Hadley met with Horn to discuss the project, he told them it was a good song, adding, "It's just not produced," and Hadley agreed to Horn's request to re-record his vocals.
Meanwhile the One Liners column in the 27 February 1982 issue of 'Record Mirror' magazine reported that "the next Spandau Ballet single will not be produced by Landscape bod Richard Burgess..." That column in the next issue explained that "an unusually calm and polite Steve Dagger called last week to deny that Spandau are dumping producer Richard Burgess."
Recording
Some band members were especially displeased with the original recording of "Instinction", which was included on the album. Hadley found the production on that version to be "abysmal" and wrote that Spandau drummer John Keeble "reckons it is possibly the worst thing he has ever been associated with." Horn described it as "half-baked" and "in bad shape", theorizing that the criticism that Hadley already endured and the strain from working with Burgess had taken a toll on him and affected his singing. Hadley appreciated working with Horn, who made him feel as though what he had to say was being heard and brought out the best in the band members by focusing on their strengths.
According to Kemp, Horn "tore 'Instinction' down and rebuilt it bar by bar." In addition to Hadley's redo, Kemp did more work on backing vocals, guitar and piano, Steve Norman did percussion, and Anne Dudley was brought in to do some additional keyboards as well as harp accompaniment. Horn had Hadley and Kemp assist him with the final mixing of the tracks and later said, "I would have liked 'Instinction' to have been a little more economical, but unfortunately I didn't record it. I just remixed it and overdubbed it. I felt that it needed bringing to life, but in the process I had to busy it up too. I think I achieved that if you compare it to the other version."
Critical reception
Ian Birch of 'Smash Hits' predicted that Horn would improve Spandau Ballet's situation with his addition of "all those magical ingredients like synthesised drum cracks and chattering percussion." Sunie Fletcher of 'Record Mirror' confirmed that "the difference he makes is beyond measure". She added, "There's a feeling of space about it, too, a Horn trademark, as are the breathy backing vocals" and noted that Hadley had toned down his performance, all contributing to make this the "best Ballet 45... to date."
In a retrospective review on AllMusic, Stewart Mason criticized the first 'Diamond' single, "Chant No. 1 (I Don't Need This Pressure On)", insisting that "Instinction" was "far more successful" and "the best dance-oriented single Spandau Ballet ever managed." He wrote, "The main hook is in the Earth, Wind & Fire-style horn section, but the heart of the song is Martin Kemp's surprisingly limber, almost funky bassline, which blends with the Latin percussion to make a dancefloor-friendly groove."
Release and commercial performance
"Instinction" was released on 2 April 1982 and peaked at number 10 on the UK Singles Chart, number 20 in Ireland and number 35 in Australia. As with their other successful singles, they were invited to perform it on the British music chart television programme 'Top of the Pops'.: As 'Instinction' placed us back in the top ten, and we reclaimed our stage on TOTP, I regained my confidence and started to write.
Music video
Spandau Ballet resumed their partnership with director Russell Mulcahy for the "Instinction" music video but told him there would be no nightclub setting as they had in the clip for "Chant No. 1", no dwarfs like the ones in "Muscle Bound", no Blitz Kids creations to wear as they began doing with "To Cut a Long Story Short" and no role playing.: this time Russells brief was simple no London club, no role-playing, no dwarfs no clothes designed by ex-Blitz kids Gary Kemp described what some of them did wear as "early Alpinist/hunter chic; a sort of yodeling Elmer Fudd look", courtesy of the Army & Navy store in Camden. They wanted to just film it in a studio with a simple set and, as Kemp noted, "for the first time, we would be smiling. It was time for Spandau Ballet to make a pop video."
Aftermath
In the wake of "She Loved Like Diamond", Chris Wright, founder of Chrysalis Records, was ready to give up on Spandau Ballet.: Back in Central London Chris Wright quietly told his team at Chrysalis that Spandau were dead. In his 2004 autobiography 'To Cut a Long Story Short', Hadley expressed his certainty that "Instinction" had "persuaded Chrysalis that we were worth another chance. I have no doubt that in the current climate, where there is no room for failure, we would have been dropped." Kemp's concern about the Blitz crowd, however, became a reality as their popularity was now considered too mainstream to be of interest to London's nightclub crowd. He now felt free to write without worrying what new trends were popping up on the club scene and was eager to get started.
He immediately wanted to try another approach at incorporating the American Jewish music that had an eastern European feel like he had on "She Loved Like Diamond". The song he came up with was "Gold", which would be recorded for the next album along with another track that Horn was especially interested in, "Pleasure". Horn wanted to start working on "Pleasure" right away, but after a day of rehearsals in which drummer John Keeble was unable to meet Horn's standard of perfection, the new producer was ready to replace him. Kemp rejected the idea, and Horn decided to end his work with the band. Kemp told 'Smash Hits' magazine in 1982, "We couldn't have worked with Trevor because he was too overpowering, too dogmatic."
Dagger suggested producers Tony Swain and Steve Jolley, who had recently worked with Bananarama, so the band presented the duo with several songs Kemp had finished writing. The plan was to have them produce just one single to get a sense if they were right for the group before committing to anything more, and although "Communication" was considered, the song Jolley chose for their assignment was the "up-tempo, more obvious pop sing-along" titled "Lifeline". Spandau Ballet was credited alongside Jolley and Swain as producers of "Lifeline", which went to number 7 on the UK Singles Chart in the fall of 1982, as well as their next album, 'True', which spent a week at number 1 on the UK Albums Chart in 1983.
Formats and track listings
*'7-inch single'
# "Instinction" 3:36
# "Gently" 4:01
*'12-inch single'
# "Instinction" 3:36
# "Chant No. 1" (remix) 8:03
# "Gently" 4:01
Personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes for 'Diamond', except as noted:
'Spandau Ballet'
* Tony Hadley lead vocals and backing vocals
* Gary Kemp synthesizers, electric guitars, guzheng, backing vocals, horn arrangements
* Martin Kemp bass, backing vocals
* Steve Norman bongos, congas, timbales, tablas and backing vocals
* John Keeble electronic drums
'Additional musicians'
* David "Baps" Baptiste saxophones and flute
* Nat Augustin trombone
* Canute "Kenny" Wellington trumpet
* Beggar & Co horn arrangements
* Anne Dudley additional keyboards, harp; string arrangements
'Production'
* Richard James Burgess producer
* Trevor Horn producer
*Graham Smith sleeve design
Charts
References
Bibliography
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