Spandau Ballet has to be one of the coolest band names ever devised - but it actually has a rather morbid meaning.
The chart-topping boyband were a group of school pals who were put together in 1976, consisting of brothers Martin and Gary Kemp along with frontman Tony Hadley, saxophonist Steve Norman and drummer John Keeble.
They had eight UK top 10 albums and ten UK top 10 hits with tracks like Gold, Only When You Leave and True - but soon they were involved in one of pop's messiest public break-ups and a subsequent feud.
During their first few years they went under a number of different monikers before settling down on the one that would become known around the world.
Gary's original track 'I've Got Roots' inspired their first name, Roots, which they used for their first gig at their school's Christmas party in 1979.
They changed their name to The Cut, which then transformed into The Makers, before switching to The Gentry when Martin joined in 1978.
The following year they finally settled on the name Spandau Ballet, but perhaps didn't contemplate what it really means.
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During a weekend trip to Berlin, friend of the band and writer Robert Elms saw the phrase 'Spandau Ballet' written on a toilet wall and suggested it as their new name.
They tested the reaction of the name at a small performance with key influencers on the scene, then rolled it out for their first gig at the Blitz's Christmas party in December 1979.
There are two possible meanings behind the name Spandau Ballet, which are both as equally grim as each other.
During World War II, it was used to describe the final jerky moments of Nazi prisoners of war being hung for their crimes.
The 'Spandau Ballet' was the nickname given to the swinging, twitching movement of the hanging bodies.
The graffiti that Elms had seen read: "Rudolf Hess, all alone, dancing the Spandau Ballet."
Hess was Adolph Hitler's deputy from 1933 until 1941, when he was taken prisoner after flying to Scotland to try to negotiate with the UK.
The leading Nazi Party member assisted Hitler with Mein Kampf, appeared on his behalf at rallies and speaking engagements and was second in line to be his successor behind Hermann Goring.
Hess signed much of the government's legislation into law, including the Nuremberg Laws of 1935, which stripped the Jews of Germany of their rights in the lead-up to the Holocaust.
He made a solo flight to Scotland to arrange peace talks but was immediately arrested and sent back to Germany for the 1946 Nuremberg trials.
Hess was serving a life sentence in Spandau Prison in west Berlin when he hanged himself in August 1987 aged 93, hence the graffiti.
There is another possible meaning of the term which originated earlier in the war, as Spandau was the manufacturer of Nazi machine guns.
The 'Spandau Ballet' referred to the movement soldiers made to dance around to avoid bullets being rapidly fired at their legs, or for the twitching done by victims of machine gun fire in their final moments.
Either way, it's perhaps an odd name to give an upcoming boyband, but it stuck and they went on to have great success.
Their debut single, To Cut A Long Story Short, reached fifth in the UK charts in 1980 and their popularity peaked in 1983 with album True, with the single becoming a No. 1 hit.
They were the first act to be approached by Bob Geldof to join the original Band Aid line-up and they received a Brit Award for technical excellence in 1984.
After playing the final date of their 10th anniversary tour to pursue other acting and solo projects, the band decided to take a break for the first time in March 1990.
Tony recorded his first solo album in Los Angeles, while Gary and Martin played East End gangsters Ronnie and Reggie in The Krays film.
But it became a full on split due to a heated row over loyalties - with Tony, John and Steve unsuccessfully trying to sue Gary in a High Court Battle.
They claimed they were entitled to a share of the songwriter's earnings from the publishing rights of hits as they had a "verbal agreement" to 1/12 of all the song royalties.
"We had an arrangement between ourselves, and we were schoolmates. We weren't cynical, we just did things on trust. Besides, we were playing in the Hope and Anchor, in small pubs at that time. The idea of sorting out a serious contract didn't cross our minds," John told The Guardian.
The judge said they had made "impress and excellent" contributions to the recordings, but they did not alter the song enough to make them joint authors and found in favour of Gary.
The judge found it "unconscionable" that they had tried to lay claim to hundreds of thousands of pounds they knew that Gary regarded as his own.
Admitting he was very disappointed after the ruling, Hadley said: "Let this be a serious lesson to any up and coming artist or band. No matter how good mates you are or whether you were at school together, get a contract."
“We did try to sort out the whole thing amicably many, many times," he added.
"In my heart of hearts I was hoping that someone would tap me on the shoulder just before the court door opened and say, ‘Come on lads this is stupid; let's go out to the pub, let's have a drink and sort it out.’
"But it didn't happen. I don't think anyone can take pleasure in going to court to fight it out with their old best mates."
While Gary simply said: "I see this as a victory on behalf of all songwriters."
They reformed in 2009 for a world tour but Tony dramatically quit the band in 2017 and they haven't performed since 2019.
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