Era il 1986 quando venne pubblicato come singolo Through the Barricades, brano presente nell’omonimo album degli Spandau Ballet. Il pezzo è considerato da molti il capolavoro del gruppo britannico.
Scritto dal chitarrista e tastierista Gary Kemp e prodotto da Gary Langan, in Italia arrivò al secondo posto in classifica e fu uno dei 10 singoli più venduti dell’anno. Un successo clamoroso.
Gary Kemp ha raccontato di aver scritto questa canzone meravigliosa in Irlanda, in una sola serata, tragicamente ispirato dalla morte di un amico della band, Thomas Riley, che venne ucciso il 9 agosto 1983 da un poliziotto a Belfast. Il testo parla di una storia d’amore ambientata in una Irlanda del Nord martoriata dalla guerra civile in corso tra cattolici e protestanti. I protagonisti sono un ragazzo e una ragazza che si amano nonostante siano proprio di religione opposta, ma la loro storia sembra concludersi tragicamente.
Il disco del singolo conteneva anche la versione live di With the Pride, registrata nel 1985.
Godiamoci questo capolavoro della musica anni ’80, insieme al testo della canzone.
Testo:
Mother doesn’t know where love has gone
She says it must be youth that keeps us feeling strong
I See it in her face, that’s turned to ice
And when she smiles she shows
The lines of sacrifice
And now I know what they’re saying as our sun begins to fade
And we made our love on wasteland and through the barricades
Father made my history
He fought for what he thought would set us somehow free
He taught me what to say in school
I learned it off by heart
But now that’s torn in two
And now I know what they’re saying in the music of the parade
And we made our love on wasteland and through the barricades
Born on different sides of life we feel the same
And feel all of this strife so come to me when I’m asleep
We’ll cross the lines and dance upon the streets
And now I know what they’re saying as the drums begin to fade
We made our love on wasteland and through the barricades
Oh, turn around and I’ll be there
Well there’s a scar right through my heart
But I’ll bare it again
Oh I thought we were the human race
But we were just another border-line-case
And the stars reach out and tell us that there’s always one escape
I don’t know where love has gone and in this troubled land
Desperation keep us strong
Fridays child is full of soul
With nothing left to lose
There’s everything to go
And now I know what they’re saying
It’s a terrible beauty we’ve made
So we make our love on wasteland and through the barricades
Now I know what they’re are saying as our hearts go to their graves
We made our love on wasteland
Oh oh oh through the barricades.
