Doubtful that a Spandau Ballet reunion would ever become a reality, Tony Hadley was surprised to learn that his ex-bandmate Gary Kemp would like to do another tour.
Due to “circumstances beyond my control,” the now 65-year-old lead singer quit the iconic UK band in 2017, and in recent interview with Classic Pop magazine he said:
“Really? That’s news to me.” “I don’t think it would work. I haven’t seen Gary, Martin (Kemp) or John (Keeble) in eight years. Steve (Norman) is the only one I’m vaguely in contact with.” “We had some good times, but unfortunately there were some bad times as well. That’s just life. We had some good laughs on the last tour, then unfortunately John fell ill and it wasn’t the same without him. That was difficult.”
Now happy to be focus on his solo career now, Tony doesn’t want animosity amongst his former Spandau Ballet bandmates, adding “I wish Gary, Martin and John well, but I’m happy doing what I’m doing. I love the freedom I have now, the fact I can go from a bit of swing to a bit of rock. You can’t do that within the confines of a band.”
In 1983, Spandau Ballet had a massive hit with ‘Gold’ and Tony believes that the track continues to be popular thanks to its sing-a-long smoothness. “You can’t fail with Gold. There are times I get distracted singing it. I will suddenly come to and think: ‘God, what’s the second verse?’ I get round it by going: ‘Right, you lot can sing it…’ said the British-born singer.
Still confused as to why the group chose not to perform ‘Gold’ during their 1985 set at Live Aid, Hadley said “My one issue with Gold is, why didn’t we play it at Live Aid? I think it’s because we didn’t think we could reproduce the orchestral touches at Wembley. Whatever, it didn’t make any sense to me why we didn’t do it.”
Involved in music for more than four decades, Tony believes that his distinctive voice has been pivotal to his success, explaining “I’ve always had a big voice and it’s always sounded like me. That gives me an identity, whether you like my voice or not.” “My influences are all brilliant voices, but I’m not interested in technicality. Loads of singers can do more vocal twiddles than me and are technically better, but that’s not what I’m interested in.”
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Author: Al Denté
Photo: giogioerriquez