"Heart Like a Sky" is the sixth studio album by the English new wave band Spandau Ballet, released on 18 September 1989 by CBS Records. The album’s creation was marred by internal issues and external distractions. Lead guitarist and songwriter Gary Kemp's new relationship influenced several songs, but the band was generally dissatisfied with the material. Lead singer Tony Hadley’s lack of confidence in the album's direction impacted his mental health. Tensions were exacerbated by the involvement of Kemp and his brother, bassist Martin Kemp, in a feature film project, which interrupted the recording process and delayed the album's release. Additionally, Gary Kemp's decision to take a separate production credit and halt regular payments of publishing royalties to other band members led to legal disputes.
The album was not well-received commercially, peaking at number 31 in the UK Albums Chart and spending only three weeks there. It received weak reviews from music magazines and the singles from the album also performed poorly, with the first two narrowly missing the UK Top 40 and subsequent singles barely making the Top 100. Despite some positive critical reception for the first single, "Raw," the overall response to the album was largely negative. Heart Like a Sky was the band’s final album before their disbandment and their last to feature entirely new material.
In October 1987, Spandau Ballet's lead guitarist and songwriter, Gary Kemp, reconnected with actress Sadie Frost, who had appeared in their videos for "Gold" and "Fight for Ourselves." This new romance brought a sense of freedom to Kemp, revitalizing his creativity and leading to several new songs for their upcoming album, Heart Like a Sky. However, the rest of the band was unimpressed with the demo cassette Kemp presented. Drummer John Keeble, in particular, was concerned because Kemp intended to use programmed drums for the recording.
Tensions arose over the album's recording location. Kemp preferred to stay in London to be close to Frost and because he and his brother, bassist Martin Kemp, were involved in filming The Krays, which required their presence in London. This involvement would conflict with the recording schedule, necessitating time off from the band. On the other hand, the band's manager, Steve Dagger, proposed recording in Los Angeles to strengthen their relationship with the US branch of their record label, which had shown little interest in their recent work. Lead singer Tony Hadley, who believed that recording away from England had previously yielded positive results, supported the idea of traveling. However, he was outvoted by his bandmates. In his 2004 autobiography, To Cut a Long Story Short, Hadley reflected that going away to record the album might have helped maintain better relations within the band.
