Secrets behind the split between singer Tony Hadley and band Spandau Ballet
Tony Hadley is the voice of Spandau Ballet. However despite two reformations, he left the band after another bitter split. Here he tells his side of the story ahead of a solo tour of Australia.
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To cut a long story short — time does not heal all wounds.
When Spandau Ballet toured in Australia in 2015 they were on their second ‘comeback’ jaunt.
The fact the British five piece managed to re-form in 2009 at all was a miracle.
They’d split bitterly in 1990, after a decade that started with New Romantic funk-flavoured hits To Cut a Long Story Short, Chant No. 1 and Instinction before ballad True became a global No.1. Gold, Only When You Leave, Highly Strung, Communication, I’ll Fly For You and Through the Barricades kept them atop the charts.
Behind the scenes, however, the fact that guitarist Gary Kemp wrote all the songs would lead to a classic feud over royalties.
After the break-up, frontman Tony Hadley, sax player Steve Norman and drummer John Keeble started touring without Kemp and his brother, bassist Martin, then launched legal action to get a slice of the band’s royalties. They lost and had to pay extensive legal fees.
Gary Kemp tried to stop Hadley even playing Spandau Ballet songs in his solo career.
All seemed forgiven for their 2009 reunion, which launched a lucrative world tour that ran through 2010 and an album where Hadley and Norman were even able to write songs.
By 2014 the original line-up were back together for a candid documentary on their career — Soul Boys Of the Western World, that launched another extensive world tour through 2015.
All seemed forgiven. Until July 2017 Hadley when tweeted he was no longer a member of Spandau Ballet, cryptically “due to circumstances beyond his control.”
Now, Hadley admits that the documentary, which dived deep into the egos and battles behind the band’s split, was “a pretty hard watch”.
“You could see even before the band broke up again that people were thinking ‘Oooh, it was pretty bad wasn’t it?,” Hadley says.
“When I got back in the band in 2009, I’d been a solo artist longer than I’d ever been in Spandau. So rejoining took a lot of soul searching. That was months of me thinking ‘Can I do this emotionally after everything that had gone on?’ We did a very successful tour. It was a big relief. Then we went off and did our own things, which is how it should be.”
Hadley says his desire to continue his solo career, as well as being in Spandau Ballet, was a constant issue with some band members.
“We did another successful tour in 2015. I thought everything was OK. Then the wheels came off all over again. Things went from bad to worse. They’re trying to paint this picture of ‘Hey, everything’s nice in the band now’ and that wasn’t the case at all. You don’t resign from a band like Spandau Ballet just because someone put too much sugar in your tea.”
Hadley has never revealed the exact reason he left, and politely declines to do so.
“I might never say why. But it was a very specific reason affecting me, my family and my management as well. It just wasn’t very pleasant any more and I just didn’t want to be a part of it. So I resigned. They know why. If you ask them they won’t tell you what the truth is though.
“You get to a point in life where I’m blessed with five beautiful children, a beautiful wife, great friends, great management, I just don’t want any angst. I’m loving music, I just want to have a nice life without grief.”
The other four members replaced Hadley with singer Ross Wild in 2018 and started a short tour, despite many fans suggesting Hadley was irreplaceable. In March this year Wild tweeted he was no longer in Spandau Ballet.
“I saw clips on You Tube, Ross is a good singer,” Hadley says. “Very capable. At least with Queen, I love Freddie Mercury, but I’m not dead yet. So it’s a weird one (being replaced). Adam Lambert has an amazing voice but I knew Freddie personally, I’d feel disloyal going to see Queen without him. I think a lot of Spandau fans felt the same way about me not being in the band which was sweet.”
Gary Kemp has recently stated Spandau Ballet will not reform without Tony Hadley.
Hadley is not interested in going back.
“Nope. Why didn’t you think about that guys before you did what you did? It’s crazy Spandau Ballet now have two former lead singers. Ross was effectively sacked on TV. Martin (Kemp) went on TV and basically said they wouldn’t be working as Spandau Ballet again unless I rejoined. That’s how Ross found out. Then Steve Norman apologised on behalf of Ross. (Norman said in May “I was neither involved in nor informed of any discussions or decision-making regarding the future of my band, least of all Ross’s position in it.”) What a mess. I think a lot of fans realised there was more to what I was saying than they first thought. Maybe they need to find a third singer?”
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2020 marks the 40th anniversary of the release of Spandau Ballet’s first single, T o Cut a Long Story Short.
“No one in Spandau had the foresight to think about that. I thought we’d do a tour to mark that and have some fun. So I’ll celebrate the 40th anniversary myself!”
Hadley, 59, not only continues to tour as a solo act, he released his first original album in decades, Talking To the Moon, this year, scoring major BBC Radio 2 airplay.
“I know a lot of artists aren’t bothering to make albums these days because albums don’t really sell any more. But I think it’s important to at least write new songs.”
The album, which features a song co-written with former bandmate John Keeble, is more in line with Coldplay and the Killers. He’s already working on new material.
“Most people thought it would be a wishy-washy ballads album and it’s not, it’s anthemic. It’s important to do new music, otherwise you’re just doing the same stuff all the time. I love singing True and Gold. Absolutely love it. But it’s nice to do some new stuff too.”
Hadley still plays Spandau Ballet’s biggest hits live, including his favourite Through the Barricades. However he admits it’s a constant battle with his former bandmates.
“If I’m honest, if they could stop me singing them they would. I’ve got a permanent lawyer on call, put it that way. But I never get bored of singing them. I’ve seen artists that deny their parts or change the arrangements of songs. People want to hear the songs the way they remember them. You have a certain responsibility.
“I think there’s a generation out there where their kids have grown up, the mortgage is nearly paid off and they’re having fun, they’re still married and they want to go out and have a party. When you go out on stage and play the songs they grew up with, it’s just a brilliant feeling.”
Talking to the Moon out now. Tony Hadley, The Gov Adelaide February 25, The Tivoli Brisbane February 27, Metro Sydney February 28, Forum Melbourne February 29, Astor Perth March 2
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