The transition of Spandau Ballet from the stark, synthesizer-driven shadows of the Blitz club scene to the sunlit uplands of global pop stardom is one of the most compelling narratives of the early 1980s New Romantic movement. At the absolute pivot point of this transformation sits a single track that frequently gets overshadowed by the monolithic success of True and Gold, yet remains the sonic blueprint for their subsequent triumphs. Instinction, specifically in its radically overhauled remix version released in April 1982, represents the exact moment Gary Kemp and his bandmates figured out how to weaponise their art-school pretensions for the mainstream charts.
To understand the impact of the Instinction remix, one must first look at the state of the band in early 1982. Their sophomore album, Diamond, was an ambitious but fractured affair. Produced by Richard James Burgess, the record leaned heavily into atmospheric, rhythm-heavy club tracks and experimental textures. Instinction was chosen as the fourth single from the album, but the original LP version was deemed too cluttered and avant-garde for radio play. It was a dense, somewhat muddy concoction that threatened to stall the band’s chart momentum. Sensing a crisis, the band’s label and management made a high-stakes decision to draft in Trevor Horn, a producer who was rapidly becoming the architect of eighties pop futurism through his work with Dollar and ABC.
Horn did not merely tweak the track; he completely dismantled and rebuilt it from the ground up, creating what became known as the definitive single remix. Where the original album track felt bogged down by its own self-conscious funk experimentation, Horn injected a sense of cinematic urgency and theatrical grandeur. The remix begins with a dramatic, explosive introduction—a cascade of electronic drums, sharp horn stabs, and an instantly memorable, stuttering vocal edit that signals a departure from standard club fare into something altogether more thrilling.
The brilliance of the Instinction remix lies in how it balances the band’s organic musicianship with Horn’s cutting-edge studio wizardry. Martin Kemp’s bassline, previously buried in the mix, was brought forward, transformed into a muscular, driving pulse that anchors the track. John Keeble’s drumming was enhanced with digital reverb, giving the rhythm section a massive, stadium-ready footprint. Steve Norman’s saxophone and guitar work were sharpened into precise, funk-infused accents that cut through the arrangement like glass.
Crucially, Horn understood how to showcase Tony Hadley’s voice. In the original version, Hadley’s baritone often fought against the dense instrumentation. In the remix, Horn carves out a vast sonic space for the frontman. Hadley’s vocals are delivered with a soaring, almost operatic intensity, leaping effortlessly into a falsetto during the bridge. The lyrical content, typical of Gary Kemp’s early writing, deals in abstract imagery of desire, primal urges, and nocturnal energy. Under Horn’s direction, phrases like Stepping out of the freezing rain and Stepping into the warm terrain are delivered not just as lyrics, but as a manifesto of a band moving out of the cold post-punk underground and into the warmth of commercial success.
The track’s bridge and chorus are masterclasses in pop dynamics. Horn layers cascading female backing vocals, provided by the duo Beggar and Co, alongside bright, chiming synthesizer hooks that mimic the melody line. The result is a dense but perfectly separated wall of sound that feels incredibly kinetic. It is a song that constantly moves forward, building tension through its verses before exploding into a joyous, cathorphic chorus that demands movement.
Released as a single, the Instinction remix completely vindicated the gamble to re-record. It rocketed into the UK Top Ten, peaking at number ten and rescuing the Diamond album campaign from commercial disappointment. More importantly, the recording process was an educational epiphany for Gary Kemp. Working with Horn taught the band the value of clarity, arrangement, and unapologetic pop hooks. The lessons learned during the creation of the Instinction remix directly paved the way for the band to hire producers Tony Swain and Steve Jolley for their next album, True, which would make them international superstars. The Instinction remix stands as a monument to the power of production, a track that rescued a band’s career and redefined their identity, capturing a legendary group at the peak of their youthful, innovative energy.
The song peaked at No. 10 on the UK Singles Chart on 15th May 1980.
Lyrics
Cheap bed, in the red
Sleep the words out of your head
Cold floor, nice and raw
Eat the meat that’s on the floor
High tide, some disguise
Loving makes the cream taste nice
New shore, final score
On fresh demand, I’m wanting more
This might not last too long
So always take it
This might not last too long
So take it
Reasons, reasons were here from the start
It’s my instinction, it’s my instinction
Reasons, reasons were part of the art
It’s my instinction, it’s my instinction
You cry, justify
But deep beneath the feelings lie
Photo, looking old
Memory makes the day feel cold
They’ve gone, sing your song
Walk the flow, ah, too slow
Post boom, second doom
Stealing cake to eat the moon
This might not last too long
So always take it
This might not last too long
So take it
Reasons, reasons were here from the start
It’s my instinction, it’s my instinction
Reasons, reasons were part of the art
It’s my instinction, it’s my instinction
It’s my instinction, hey
Cheap bed, in the red
You cry, justify
Post boom, second doom
Stealing cake to eat the moon
Reasons, reasons were here from the start
It’s my instinction, it’s my instinction
Reasons, reasons were part of the art
It’s my instinction, it’s my instinction
It’s my instinction, ohh
Stealing cake to eat the moon
Written by Gary Kemp
