News

“Chant No.1” - Diamond’s First Single by Steve Dagger

Thu, October 01, 2026

“Chant No.1” - Diamond’s FIrst Single

In late 1980, the musical soundtrack in London’s cutting-edge, post-Blitz clubs in Greek Street, “ Le Kilt “ and then Le Beat Route”, shifted from electro to funk.

And Spandau Ballet’s musical style shifted with it.

First, with “ Glow “ the acclaimed and hugely popular raw funk dancefloor hit and double “A “ side to “ Musclebound “, the band’s third single released on March 27th 1981. “Chant No.1” was written around this time and was first performed live by Spandau Ballet at the Exeter Bowl, Bournemouth, on 20th April, Easter Bank Holiday and then again in their NY debut a few weeks later.

By then, Spandau had met Beggar +Co at TOTPs and asked them to be the brass section on the recording, which began at Utopia Studios on 23rd April.

By this time Ollie O’Donnell and Steven Mahoney’s Friday Night at Le Beat Route had become the hottest club night in the world, with Steve Lewis’s carefully curated DJ set of rare grooves and new funk. The club had “reunited “ under one roof the 2 close cousins of London Club Culture, the Soul Boys and Girls and the Billy’s / Blitz crowd, to give birth to London’s new “ Club Culture “, as it was referred to going forward.

“Chant No.1” epitomised it and celebrated it, quite literally. Its driving, infectious funk coming from the Blitz “house band “ with a black London soul horn section was groundbreaking at the time. And the rap at the end, literally giving the listener a set of directions to Le Beat Route, sealed the deal! If only they could get in!

The promotional video was shot there, and director Russell Mulcahy delivered a claustrophobic, sweating glimpse of this now famous club to the world just in time for MTV’s debut in August 1981. It was in stark contrast to his video for the band’s previous single “ Musclebound “ in which the band romped in epic “ Highlander “ meets “ Game of Thrones “ fashion across some mythic midcontinental steppe. For “Chant”, the band could not have looked more different, with their sleek low rider/zoot suits.

All the components of “Chant No.1” add up to an almost perfect moment when subculture and pop culture, at their most dynamic, collide. The inspiration, the song, the band’s performance, the production from Richard Burgess, the sentiment, the location, the video, and the artwork from Graham Smith. Everything is dead on the button. Magic.

Steve Dagger

‘Diamond’ is available to order now on transparent vinyl. ‘Journeys To Glory’ has also been reissued on white vinyl. Both albums are also released on softpack CD.

Click here to order @ https://spandauballetstore.com