Spandau Ballet: To Cut a Long Story Short (1980) watch online HD

The song has been speculated to be about a veteran of Vietnam, who is drafted and suffers from PTSD; the lyrics are told from the man's point of view as a boy being drafted, how he gets no answers as to why he must join the war. "To Cut a Long Story Short" was Vince Clarke's inspiration to write Depeche Mode's "Just Can't Get Enough", to which the keyboard style bears a certain similarity.

It was band's first single and reached number 5 on the UK Singles Chart.

Allmusic described the single as minimalist "spiky synth pop" with a style reminiscent of early Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark material, and featuring a "dirty, over-driven synth sound and a stomping Gary Glitter-like back-beat".

The signature riff from "To Cut a Long Story Short" is used as a sample looping throughout the Freestylers track "In Love with You" on their album Adventures in Freestyle.