Through the Barricades


Through the Barricades is the fifth studio album by Spandau Ballet. It was released in November 1986 by Epic Records. The album reached number seven and remained on the UK album chart for 19 weeks. It produced three UK hit singles: "Fight For Ourselves", "How Many Lies" and the band's final top ten hit, "Through the Barricades".
The song lyrics were inspired by love prevailing over the Troubles in Northern Ireland and the death of a member of the crew in the Troubles.

Reception

In a mainly critical retrospective review for AllMusic, Dan LeRoy claimed: "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." However, he praised the title-track, which he said "became a deserved hit."

Track listing

Personnel

Spandau Ballet
Additional musicians
Album
YearChartPosition
1986UK7

Singles
YearSongChartPosition
1986Fight For OurselvesUK15
1986Through The BarricadesUK6
1987How Many LiesUK34

Certifications