Spandau Ballet sa sformovali koncom sedemdesiatych rokov v Londýne ako jeden zo zástupcov new wave a štýlu new romantic. V 80. rokoch dosiahli medzinárodný úspech so singlami ako True, Gold či Only When You Leave. V pôvodnej zostave pôsobili bratia Gary Kemp (gitara, texty) a Martin Kemp (basgitara), spevák Tony Hadley, saxofonista Steve Norman a bubeník John Keeble.
Kompilácia 40 Years · The Greatest Hits vyšla v roku 2020 vo vydavateľstve Parlophone. Toto trojdiskové vydanie prináša 46 nahrávok zahŕňajúcich najväčšie hity kapely, ale aj predtým nevydanú coververziu The Boxer od dvojice Simon & Garfunkel, ktorú skupina nahrala v roku 1990 s producentom Michaelom Kamenom. Kompilácia bola vydaná pri príležitosti štyridsiatich rokov od podpisu nahrávacieho kontraktu a ponúka ucelený prierez tvorbou jednej z najúspešnejších britských skupín 80. rokov.
Skladby
CD1
1. To Cut a Long Story Short [03:20]
2. The Freeze [03:32]
3. Musclebound [03:58]
4. Toys [05:46]
5. Glow (7" Version) [03:48]
6. Chant No. 1 (I Don't Need This Pressure On) [04:08]
7. Paint Me Down [03:45]
8. Coffee Club [05:33]
9. She Loved Like Diamond [02:52]
10. Instinction [04:49]
11. Lifeline [03:34]
12. Communication [03:40]
13. Heaven Is a Secret [04:26]
14. True (Single Edit) [05:29]
15. Gold (2003 Remaster) [04:49]
16. Pleasure [03:32]
17. Only When You Leave [05:09]
18. I'll Fly for You [05:35]
CD2
1. Highly Strung [04:11]
2. Revenge for Love [04:21]
3. Round and Round [04:33]
4. Fight for Ourselves [04:22]
5. Swept [04:54]
6. Cross the Line [04:09]
7. Through the Barricades [05:53]
8. How Many Lies? [04:35]
9. Raw [03:47]
10. Be Free With Your Love [04:37]
11. Crashed Into Love [04:43]
12. Empty Spaces [03:53]
13. The Boxer [04:27]
14. Once More [04:07]
15. This Is the Love [03:43]
16. Soul Boy [04:00]
17. Steal [04:27]
CD3
1. To Cut a Long Story Short (12" Version) [06:31]
2. The Freeze (12" Version) [04:23]
3. Glow (12" Version) [08:09]
4. Chant No. 1 (I Don't Need This Pressure On) [Remix] [2010 Remaster] [08:02]
5. Paint Me Down (12" Version) [07:05]
6. Lifeline (12" Version) [05:26]
7. Communication (12" Version) [04:27]
8. Gold (12" Mix) [07:14]
9. Fight for Ourselves (Extended Remix) [2017 Remaster] [07:28]
10. Cross the Line (Extended Version) [2017 Remaster] [06:16]
11. Raw (Extended Mix) [07:47]
