When I mention I will be interviewing former Spandau Ballet frontman Tony Hadley, I detect a swoon. This happened several times, coupled with declarations of love for Spandau Ballet.
I love them, too, although they have never made me swoon. But for others, the band, and Hadley in particular, are very swoonworthy. That will probably still be the case, even though the British singer is not with the band anymore, although he’s anything but retired.
The good news is he’s on his way here to perform in the Timeless Summer Tour at Rochford Wines, Yarra Valley, on January 24; Hope Estate, Hunter Valley, January 25; and Sandstone Point, Moreton Bay, January 27.
Hadley will be on the bill with Bonnie Tyler, Boy George and Starship (featuring Mickey Thomas). Hadley will also be touring as a solo act while Down Under, with shows in Adelaide, Hobart and Perth.
He’s his own man now but he was, and still is, synonymous with the iconic ’80s British band Spandau Ballet.
As the face and voice of that band he gave us such iconic hits such as True, To Cut a Long Story Short, Gold and other New Romantic anthems. Spandau Ballet disbanded for many years, reformed, then finally ended when Hadley decided to leave for good. That pretty much ruled a line under Spandau Ballet.
You might like
“Things came to a head in 2017,” Hadley says when we chat. He’s in rainy, chilly Liverpool while I’m struggling with the spring humidity in Brisbane.
“I left the band because, well, life’s too short and I need to be happy,” he says. “I didn’t need the stress and angst so I quit permanently. Sometimes you just have to choose happiness.”
He’s happy as a solo act with a tight backing band of “the most incredible musicians”. He’s also pleased to be in such good company on the Timeless Summer Tour. He and Boy George have been friends for decades. Hadley is now 64 and has just been told he’s going to be a granddad.
“Time has a way of just running away,” Hadley says. “My older sons came to Dublin to see me and we had a beer in the dressing room. They are proud of me and that I have managed to survive this long. When you start out you desperately hope to be around in the years to come. Now here I am, 44 years later and still making music and having fun. And I keep getting more and more work . I’m working harder than ever in the UK, America and soon Australia.”
He has loved Australia since Spandau Ballet first toured. They did TV’s Countdown, of course – “we love Molly,” Hadley says. He was also here just before Covid.
“The last time were were there we went on a winery tour and got very drunk,” he says. “I love Australia and I always look forward to the beautiful seafood restaurants. The food is brilliant and the audiences are fantastic.”
He may not be the svelte, brooding romantic figure of the early days of Spandau Ballet, but he has still got it. Jump on YouTube and watch him perform. He’s a kind of pop Sinatra with a wide range vocally and musically. And he wants to assure everyone that he will be doing all his major Spandau Ballet hits.
“You have to do the hits,” he says. “Artists over the years who haven’t done that, well, it’s like career suicide. People want to hear those hits because they got married to that song, fell in love to that song. They have great memories associated with the music, so I do as many hits as possible.
“We plays some of them in a slightly rockier fashion but remain true to the original. I tend to stick to the original arrangement with True.”
Hadley mentions he has recently done a swing album and we’ll hear some of that when he’s here.
“I grew up listening to Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald,” he says. “I love singing swing.”
Nowadays he lives in Buckinghamshire with wife Alison and their two children. (He has three children from a previous marriage.) I was told before my interview that he likes to chat and that makes an interviewer’s life so much easier. Some stars favour pregnant pauses and clipped answers but Hadley enjoys yarning. His distinctive North London accent is quite engaging.
Timeless Summer Tour promoter Glenn Meikle says he is excited to be bring Hadley and the others to Australia.
“All of the artists performing are iconic musicians who have paved the way for many,” Meikle says. “Even though they were introduced to the world in the ’70s and ’80s, their music is just as impactful today.”
Hearing Hadley singing True again will take us back and may still incite a little bit of swooning, just for old times’ sake.