"Round and Round" is a song by English new wave band

Spandau Ballet Spandau Ballet ( ) were an English new wave band formed in Islington, London, in 1979. Inspired by the capital's post-punk underground dance scene, they emerged at the start of the 1980s as the house band for the Blitz Kids (New Romantics), ...

, released as the fourth single from the 1984 album ''

Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...

''. In their native UK, the song reached number 18 on the UK Singles Chart, and reviews were mixed.

Release and commercial performance

Recorded in spring 1984, "Round and Round" was released in the UK on 26 November of that year and peaked at number 18 there. It also reached number 9 in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, number 11 in Italy, number 14 in Spain, number 16 in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. and number 37 in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Critical reception

Lesley White of ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand ...

'' summed it up as "slick, polished and confident. A hit—with me at least." In a review of ''Parade'' for ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper published between 1954 and 1991, aimed at pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after ''New Musical Express'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK Album ...

'' in which she finds little to recommend, Betty Page admitted the song had a "neat turn of melody". '' Number Ones Phil McNeill, however, wrote that band guitarist/songwriter

Gary Kemp Gary James Kemp (born 16 October 1959) is an English songwriter, musician and actor, best known as the lead guitarist, backing vocalist, and principal songwriter for the new wave band Spandau Ballet. Kemp wrote the lyrics and music for all 2 ...

"seems so obsessed with crafting his little pop gems, he doesn't notice how boring they are" and dismissed "Round and Round" as "well-crafted tedium". When the band reunited for their comeback tour in 2009, Dave Simpson commented on the song in his review for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'': "Other songs have aged badly – the power ballads sound like they're stuck in an '80s suburban wine bar. However, 'Round and Round'… is hugely poignant."

Music video

The concept for the song's music video is the presentation of a school play by children in

Key Stage 2 Key Stage 2 is the legal term for the four years of schooling in maintained schools in England and Wales normally known as Year 3, Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6, when the pupils are aged between 7 and 11 years. England and Wales Legal definition The ...

. The video begins in the classroom as individual students daydream about the characters in the play: one sees the school headmaster as a vampire; another imagines their teacher as a snow queen. Other scenes involve rehearsals and the parents watching the play in which the boys are mostly monsters and vampires and the girls are dressed as flowers and snow princesses. Spandau Ballet were filmed separately from these scenes on a mostly bare stage with minimal set decoration. Members are shown sporadically throughout as they sing and play instruments alongside various school- and play-related props such as student desks, folding chairs, stacks of books and a blackboard. The entire video was filmed in black and white.

Track listing

*7-inch single :A. "Round and Round" – 4:34 :B. "True" (live) – 6:34 *12-inch single :A. "Round and Round" (long version) – 5:27 :B1. "True" (live) – 6:34 :B2. "Gold" (live) – 5:03

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes for ''

'': Spandau Ballet *

Tony Hadley Anthony Patrick Hadley (born 2 June 1960) is an English pop singer. He rose to fame in the 1980s as the lead singer of the New wave music, new wave band Spandau Ballet and launched a solo career following the group's split in 1990. Hadley retur ...

– lead vocals *

– guitar and backing vocals *

Martin Kemp Martin John Kemp (born 10 October 1961) is an English musician and actor, best known as the bassist in the new wave band Spandau Ballet and for his role as Steve Owen in ''EastEnders''. He is the younger brother of Gary Kemp, who is also a ...

–

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

Steve Norman Steven Antony Norman (born 25 March 1960) is an English musician who plays tenor saxophone, guitar, percussion and other instruments, for the English New wave music, new romantic band Spandau Ballet. Biography Early years Steve Norman was born in ...

– saxophone and percussion *

John Keeble John Leslie Keeble (born 6 July 1959) is an English pop and rock drummer. He is best known for his membership of the 1980s new wave band Spandau Ballet. Early years Keeble was athletic as a child, playing both football and cricket. He bought ...

– drums Additional musician * Jess Bailey – keyboards Production * Tony Swain – producer, engineer *

Steve Jolley Steve Jolley (born October 15, 1975) is a retired American Defender (association football), soccer defender, who spent ten seasons in Major League Soccer and one in the Premier Development League. Today, Jolley provides color commentary for the ...

– producer *

– producers * Richard Lengyel – engineering assistance * Pete Hillier – equipment * Nick Sibley – equipment * David Band – illustration * Mixed at Musicland Studios (Munich)

Charts

References

{{authority control 1984 songs 1984 singles Spandau Ballet songs Chrysalis Records singles Songs written by Gary Kemp Song recordings produced by Jolley & Swain Black-and-white music videos