Spandau Ballet to be First Band to Perform in Space

Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic signs 80's British band to perform outside of our atmosphere.

Spandau Ballet Photo courtesy: Corbis

(LONDON Daily Mail) - As only six passengers and two pilots are permitted to be on board for the flight, cameras, microphones and equipment for the performance will all be automated and operated from earth.

Sir Richard's company Virgin Galactic has been developing commercial space travel over the past five years and unveiled Enterprise, its first mothership, just last week at a star-studded ceremony that included California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and our own Princess Beatrice.

Around 300 people are said to have already paid the hefty $200,000 - £120,000 - price tag to guarantee a seat into space, while another 82,000 have registered their interest on the Virgin Galactic website.

But the band will be among the first passengers to take to the skies with their performance apparently scheduled for 18 months time.

Perry Wilson, founder of Insure & Go, who will be sponsoring the flight, said: 'Perhaps this will open new markets for us in space travel.'

This latest celebrity space travel report comes after John Travolta admitted he had been asked to take part in a commercial space flight but had to turn it down as he could not take time out from work to complete the training.

Sir Richard Branson

Wannabe astronauts who can stretch to the pricey experience first receive intense training over several weeks.

They will then be flown 50,000ft into the air before a rocket blasts them 65 miles above the Earth's surface to experience several minutes of weightlessness.

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