Synopsis

Spandau Ballet's "Lifeline" unfolds as a stylized, cinematic journey through rural and urban spaces. The band perform inside a stark industrial setting while a vivid red beam of energy travels across rooftops and utility wires, linking the video's separate locations. Three girls appear on a footbridge, adding a mysterious human presence to the otherwise symbolic imagery. The visual narrative builds toward the beam's final burst through a window at Java Wharf, where the band's performance reaches its conclusion.

Factoids & Trivia

• "Lifeline" was released on September 24, 1982, as the first single from Spandau Ballet's third album, "True."

• The video was filmed on September 7, 1982. Its rural sequences were shot in a hayloft, contrasting with the urban opening and closing images.

• The first establishing shot shows buildings along Shad Thames in London. The band's performance was filmed inside the Java Wharf building.

• The red beam of energy is the video's central visual motif. It moves along utility-pole wires and eventually bursts through the window of the building where the band is performing.

• The bridge sequence featuring three girls was filmed on the footbridge over Laverstock Road at Godolphin School in Salisbury.

• Gary Kemp later criticized the band's clothes in the video as drab. Spandau Ballet felt caught between their earlier New Romantic identity and the more polished pop image they were developing for the "True" era.

• The band's dissatisfaction with their appearance in "Lifeline" helped prompt a change in styling. Before the next major videos, they sought advice from Soho fashion figure Chris Sullivan and adopted the coordinated suit look that became strongly associated with the group.

• The song's production partnership with Tony Swain and Steve Jolley proved important for Spandau Ballet. After working on "Lifeline," the band continued with the pair for much of the "True" album.