❚ Breaking news from PopJustice: “We haven’t quite figured out exactly what’s going on in it yet but Lady Gaga’s You & I video, which has appeared online this evening a few days ahead of its intended debut, has exceeded expectations almost as much as the Edge Of Glory video failed to meet them, and makes us just as happy as The Edge Of Glory made us sad…
➢ Read on for PJ’s killer verdict on how this Gaga video changes, er, everything!
Posted in Europe, Media, Pop music
Tagged 2011, Born This Way, Lady Gaga, Popjustice, Video, You & I
Glamour to the hilt: at the Albert Hall in 2010 Grace Jones changed costumes for almost every number — here she is crowned with her Treacy glitterball hat. Photographed © by Shapersofthe80s
❚ GRACE JONES’S HURRICANE-DUB went live today with the track This Is Dub free to hear at Soundcloud. On Sept 5 Wall Of Sound releases a double CD Hurricane-Dub. It comprises nine-track disc 1 containing the original version of Hurricane from 2008, which was Grace’s first album since 1989, wittily textured with collaborations from Tricky, Brian Eno, Sly and Robbie, guitarist Leo Ross and percussionist Tony Allan. The 2011 package adds a 10-track disc 2 featuring newly created dubs by producer Ivor Guest with fewer vocals but extra mixes of outtakes and unused riffs. They are said to bring “a new, deep, darker side to the already wicked bass-lines”.
A onetime member of Andy Warhol’s entourage, the 63-year-old Jamaican-born supermodel established herself as the eccentric queen of disco divas with hits throughout the 70s and 80s, her gamechanging album being the sleek and timeless Warm Leatherette which led to a tour performing her bizarre One Man Show and a Grammy nomination. She also invested in a movie career, but returned to music in 2007. Over the past two years her savage and passionate soul has been the elemental force powering the Hurricane stage tour. This renewed a creative partnership with her former lover, Jean-Paul Goude, to establish her new brand image in the spectacular glitterball hat by Philip Treacy, not to mention a galaxy of OTT costumes by Japanese designer Eiko Ishioka. Grace’s visually glamorous show returned for a second visit to fill London’s Royal Albert Hall to its 5,500 capacity in spring last year, and saw her son Paulo Goude in the band playing bongos. In recent years Grace has made her home in England with her producer who is also the fourth Viscount Wimborne.
➢ See coverage of Grace’s London 2010 concert at Shapersofthe80s for links to performance videos
Posted in Fashion, London, Media, Pop music
Tagged album, Grace Jones, Hurricane Dub, Ivor Guest, Jean-Paul Goude, Philip Treacy, Video
Chant No 1 by special request: Tony Hadley onstage last night in New York with Richie Barrett on guitar (verbalalchemy video)
❚ LAST NIGHT AT IRVING PLAZA IN NYC Tony Hadley rattled through a 17-strong set list on which seven were Spandau Ballet hits, and this reviewer, The G, was impressed with the rockiness of the other numbers he covered …
John Keeble: laying down the tempo last night in NYC (verbalalchemy)
“ I had a blast seeing Tony Hadley’s first ever solo show in the United States! The former lead singer of Spandau Ballet has just launched his first solo tour of America and it kicked off at New York’s Irving Plaza on August 13, 2011.
“ Tony Hadley looks and sounds great. He hits all the high notes and sounds as great as he did in the 1980s when Spandau Ballet ruled the airwaves. Over the course of his show, he played quite a few covers of some of his favorite songs, performed some beloved Spandau Ballet songs and also performed a new song called My Imagination. As Tony promised in a recent interview with According2g, the song is a rocker.
“ In between, the crowd was shouting “We love you Tony” and there was a lot of love in the room… ”
➢ VIEW ♫ HD video of Chant No 1 live by Tony Hadley last night in NYC (by verbalalchemy)
❏ At Tony’s Facebook page Hoory Kajajian-Yeganeh writes: “Great show @ Irving Plaza last night. What a voice! What a fabulous performance! Thank you :) ”
❏ Terry Hunter writes: “He was BRILLIANT. No one like Tony…anywhere, EVER.”
❏ Tony Thomas writes: “Tony knocked it out of the park that night. Great show.”
➢ US-preview on Tony and tour dates here at Shapersofthe80s
➢ “We want to show people what we’re made of” — Tony interviewed by the North County Times ahead of his band’s San Diego gig on Aug 18
➢ Spandau Ballet, the Blitz kids and the birth of the New Romantics
❏ At Tony’s Facebook page Heather Ann Cummings writes: “Hi Tony, Saw your WONDERFUL concert at North Halsted Market Days, Chicago, Sunday afternoon. The best! Your group was so good too. Thank you for taking the time to sign your photo and interview that appeared in this week’s Windy City Times. Your song choice was amazing and Through the Baricades had me with tears in my eyes. I’ve also adopted your song Live, Let Live and Love as my mantra and am passing it on.”
❏ Heidi Herman writes: “Tony, you were scorching in Chicago today. Your voice is so beautiful and powerful and the same time — amazing! I still can’t believe I saw you perform after all these years of being one of your most adoring fans. My friend and I were impressed with your charm, wit, and sincerity. You are classy gentleman and so very humble for someone so talented and well-known. Thank you, Tony.”
❏ At Tony’s Facebook page Glenisha Jones writes:“Iam floating on a cloud after seeing Tony Hadley perform for the first time! It was amazing, fun, brilliant & it will be in my heart forever :) Tony hasn’t changed. He is still handsome & his voice is even more beautiful. Thank you Tony for coming to LA.”
Setlist for Tony Hadley at House of Blues Los Angeles, Aug 16 (posted at Facebook by Rissa Dodson)
❏ Kedric Hubbert writes: “Saw u last nite in Los Angeles. U were amazing. I got my 2 fave songs To cut a long story short & Lifeline. My friend marc were in the front singing all the words. Come back soon & bring john (again) & maybe even steve, martin & gary along for the ride… brilliant show. Thank u!”
❏ Jill Bonnell writes: “Fabulous show last night at House of Blues Sunset Strip”
❏ Richard Peacock writes: “Thank you again for coming back to the States to spend a night with your true fans. I can’t believe I had the honor of seeing one of my teen idols live on stage… for me it was exactly like seeing Elvis live and in person. Only in a very English way. We love ya Tony.”
❏ Cleo Dla writes: “You definitely rocked tonite at the HOB show in LA. Loved the set but wished you could have played another hour. You still sound incredible after all these years. I hope you return soon. Have a kick ass rest of the tour” =)
➢ Breakfast TV interview and acoustic version of True
at KUSI San Diego, August 18
❏ Sean Duggan writes at Facebook: “Great show tonight. Small crowd, but that just made it all the better.”
❏ Liz Witkowski writes: “Tony, John and the band, thank you, gentlemen, for a fantastic concert. What a beautiful gift.”
❏ Phonecam-video above by patiently88: “That’s right Tony, I’m publishing your concert via YouTube, as he pointed out near the end of the song.”
➢ Upcoming interview with Tony, August 21 with J J Buchanan on FM 88.5 KSBR in Southern California — The Eighties Experience radio show starts at 8pm PST (GMT -8 hours).
Tony Hadley in Las Vegas: wowing them at the Fremont Experience on his US tour, Aug 20. Picture from T’s Facebook album
❏ Wendy Chouinard writes at Facebook: “Thank you for such a great show in downtown Las Vegas, Tony. Remember to use a humidifier when you come back into town.”
❏ Michael Vigil writes:“Tony, thanks for your fantastic, heart-felt performance in Las Vegas last night. You were amazing. Good to see John Keeble as well. You guys didn’t disappoint despite the Las Vegas heat. A memorable hot August night. Thanks so much.”
JK signing after the Vegas show: video grab by patiently88 who also shot the Suspicious Mind vid in Ramona
❏ Nils Arvidsson writes: “Thank you for a fantastic show in Vegas last night. Tony, you are the man. You kept your suit on in spite of the temp being right around 100 degrees. You sir, are one debonair guy! Next time you come to Vegas I hope it’s a bit cooler for you. Cheers.”
❏ Anna Prado-Frias writes: “Amazing show in Vegas. Thank you so much for the chat w/my husband and I. Also for the picture. Can’t wait for the next performance and CD. Best of luck on your future shows.”
❏ Tim Mancuso writes: “Great show — caught Tony Hadley in Las Vegas — WOW, what a talented singer and performer. 1st time back to the States since 1986 with Spandau Ballet — was blessed to hear him and see the show. Thanks for giving it all you had Tony, was most excellent.”
❏ Lisette Garcia-Kohler writes: “Yes, Las Vegas really loved you. What an amazing night! One I will never forget since so many memories were relived with your songs. Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
❏ Shivaun O’Neill writes: “Awesome show at Red Devil Lounge tonight; thank you for playing in San Francisco.”
❏ Phyllis Mesquita writes: “Great show at Red Devil last night, hope you return.”
❏ Stu Sperling writes: “Saw the concert last night at Red Devil Lounge. They put on a great show. Tony has an amazing voice. Side note, my wife and I were walking around Union Square this afternoon and spotted drummer John Keeble. We walked over to tell him how great the show was. He could not have been nicer. Hope they come back to the states soon.”
❏ Nellie Jones writes: “Thank you for being so kind to your fans and letting us take pictures with you. You have barely aged — you wouldn’t be another Dorian Gray would you? Hope to see you back at the Red Devil Lounge soon. Feel free to bring the other band members as well.”
➢ NEXT STOPS — Sep 2, Rewind Scarborough UK… Sep 4, Cantazaro, Italy… Oct 26–Nov 4, various dates in Australia… Nov 12, Abu Dhabi
Posted in Media, North America, Pop music
Tagged Chicago, Concert, House of Blues, Irving Plaza, John Keeble, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New Romantics, NYC, patiently88, Reviews, Rio, San Diego, San Francisco, Somebody To Love, Somebody Told Me, That’s Life, To Cut a Long Story Short, Tony Hadley band, US debut, Video
Chavez Campbell today: “I’m an outcast because everyone is doing crime and I’m trying to stay on the straight and narrow.” (Guardian video)
❚ A WEEK BEFORE LONDON EXPLODED with the most shocking violence in memory, 18-year-old Chavez Campbell predicted the reaction to cuts in local youth services. “There’ll be riots,” he said in a video interview [below] for Guardian Online six days before they actually occurred. He and other young Londoners were describing the bleakness of their daily lives.
Campbell, who has recently left college and is struggling to find a job, does not condone rioting but does represent a voice that has been rarely heard in the maelstrom of recent days. He saw the riots explode, but went home to stay safe. Today Guardian Online publishes a second video interview in which he expresses further concern: “I don’t think it’s over. Because everyone came together and created this massive war zone, I think it will happen again.”
➢ View the July 31 Guardian video about Haringey youth club closures: “There’ll be riots”
Chavez Campbell six days before the riots: “There’ll be riots” (Guardian credits: Cameron Robertson, Alexandra Topping and Elliot Smith)
Manchester city centre: as arrests continue, police appeal for help. (BBC video)
❏ The police are asking for people to shop those who destroyed and looted stores across the country [above]… Trouble is, as witnesses point out, “there’s no worse crime than grassing” … and “They’ve given out sentences of four months and six months, it’s farcical. In four weeks’ time those people will be out on tag anyway. There’s no point sending them to prison.”
➢ BBC News video August 12: Suspects appear in court
Posted in London, Media, Politics, Social trends, Youth culture
Tagged 2011, Chavez Campbell, Interview, looting, Manchester, UK riots, Video, youth services
Tony Hadley in Rome, spring 2011: a busy year as a solo artist. Photograph by Riccardo Arena
❚ ON SATURDAY SUAVE BRITISH SINGER Tony Hadley debuts his solo show in the United States, his first professional visit since winning the British TV reality show Reborn in the USA in 2003. Otherwise American audiences haven’t seen him live since he visited in 1985 as vocalist with Spandau Ballet, onetime New Romantics turned pomp-rockers. Following a busy summer of festival appearances, the American tour represents one of the biggest and long-awaited challenges in his career. The first of his six big-city dates is at New York’s Irving Plaza, after which the divorced but happily remarried father of four then plays the Rivers Casino Stage as part of a gay street festival in Chicago.
John Keeble: Spandau pal whose drums drive the Hadley band too. Photographed by Shapersofthe80s
He’s backed by his long-standing band featuring Spandau’s John Keeble (drums) plus Phil Taylor (keyboards), Phil Williams (bass guitar), Richie Barrett (guitar). In October they head down-under to Australia for seven more shows, with Go West in support at three.
Hadley split acrimoniously from his school-mates Spandau Ballet in 1990, since when the singer with the mighty and melodious voice has pursued a vigorous solo career which often involves 200 live shows a year. It has yielded six albums, the last in 2006 titled Passing Strangers moving into jazz-swing territory, though his 15 singles have seen only minimal chart success. In live concert he loves covering pop standards by Bowie and even Duran Duran. Today he’s a declared fan of The Killers and My Chemical Romance. He also enjoyed a stint in the musical Chicago in London’s West End.
In 2004 Hadley wrote an autobiography called To Cut A Long Story Short which made clear how his worldview had always been markedly different from the other members of Spandau even at their peak of success. Hadley wrote: “I’m busier now [2004] than I was then [1983]… A couple of times I suggested we bring in a more experienced manager. I just thought it made sense to have someone working with us who knew more about the business than we did. No one else saw it that way.” In describing 1988, he devoted pages to a nit-picking analysis of the many cracks splitting the band, the last straw being the Kemp brothers, Gary and Martin, absenting themselves to star in the film about The Krays (notorious London gangsters), when all Tony wanted to do was sing his heart out on a stage. Then in 1999 the old school-mates found themselves daggers-drawn in an ugly court case over royalty payments, which Tony’s side lost. For years, the feud seemed irreconcilable. In 2005 Tony told me that by then he reckoned he personally was owed “about £2 million” to include interest.
Moment of trust, 2009: Hadley and Kemp shake hands after their duet at the O2 Arena in London. Picture © by Paul Simper
Out of the blue in 2009 Spandau Ballet resolved their differences after Tony’s son Tom and Gary’s son Fin had met up in a pub and agreed to knock their dads’ heads together. The band reunited, they insisted, well, because all families have their squabbles and the old band of brothers from schooldays were really one big happy family again. It seemed just as pragmatic to assume that, as they were all approaching 50, the band knew a world tour might be their last chance to secure their pensions. What they agreed, though, was a one-year deal and it ended with an open-air show for 19,000 people at Newmarket racecourse on June 25 last year.
Hadley was always the non-Labour voter among the Spandaus and today at 51 he is a supporter of Conservative prime minister David Cameron. In recent years the singer harboured ambitions of becoming an MP. Given the horrendous violence that erupted this week on the streets of Britain, a remark he made in 2007 seems prescient. Tone was talking tough on crime to The Independent while attending the Conservative Party conference in Blackpool: “The fabric of society is torn. I walked through Blackpool and there were gangs walking the backstreets and 16-year-old pregnant women everywhere. What we need is Cameron to be like Thatcher, to say enough is enough, things have gone too far.”
This week as he packed for the States, Big Tone has given three lively online interviews, and here are some teaser quotes from him, which include news that his new solo album is now delayed …
Liverpool Empire 1982: a fan and her handbag shin up a drainpipe to gain access to Spandau Ballet’s dressing room. Photographed by Shapersofthe80s
➢ By New York blogger Geoffrey Dicker, August 8,
at According2g.com
TH There’s so many. OK. We were playing the Liverpool Empire in 1983 [Actually 1982, Tony — Shapersofthe80s]. The dressing rooms were on the second floor and there were screaming girls outside going absolutely ballistic. So all the windows were shut and we’d just done the show. Suddenly there was a strange tap on the window. We opened the window and two fans had climbed up a drain pipe and shimmied up two floors just to get to us! If they’d have fallen, they would have been killed. We invited them in, signed all of their stuff and gave them something to drink. It was pretty wild.
➢ By Jerry Nunn, August 10, 2011 for the gay website
Windy City Times
Q Leaving for the United States soon?
TH I can’t wait. For some reason it has been very difficult to get into the States. An American agent saw my band in Europe and wanted to get us over there. We want to come to the States and prove ourselves. We are doing a handful of shows, then come back next year and do 20 or 30 shows.
Q You have a new album coming out this year, right?
TH No, next year; I am a little behind on it. It will be the first album that is written by me. It will be 12 tracks that are classic pop rock. A few weeks ago I was in Miami for a private show and I was introduced to Barry Gibb from the Bee Gees. We are going to write together so I have to factor that in as well. How bloody brilliant is that?
Spandau Ballet reunited 2009: their first live performance for 19 years was on the Jonathan Ross TV show. (BBC)
➢ By Andy Argyrakis for ConcertLivewire.com,
an American online music magazine
Q Will the Spandau reunion be ongoing?
TH It was only meant to be a one-off, and from my point of view, it was just a one-off. But I always say ‘Never say never’. At the moment, I’m touring Britain, the States, Australia, New Zealand and Germany before Christmas, plus with the new album, there’s a lot going on, but maybe one day in the future.
Q What would you say to more casual fans in the States that only know the softer side of Spandau Ballet?
TH In America [in the 80s], Spandau really cocked it up unfortunately. America’s a country where you have to tour and tour and tour to prove yourself and we didn’t do that. For whatever reason, whether it was management, thinking we were clever or whatever, we just didn’t play it right. I love playing live, and the thing is now I want to prove myself in America. Some people will think “This guy sang that sweet little song True” but when they see us live, they might be surprised that it’s a lot heavier than they imagined.
➢ Listen online to Tony interviewed Aug 12 by Revenge of the 80s Radio, a New York station, with his thoughts on a possible Cool Suits Tour with Martin Fry and Paul Young. Tony leads off the second hour of the show.
➢ “We want to show people what we’re made of” — Tony interviewed by the North County Times ahead of his band’s San Diego gig on Aug 18
✩✩✩
➢ Tony’s US dates 2011 — Aug 13 Irving Plaza, New York; Aug 14 Northalsted Market Days Festival, Halsted Street, Chicago; Aug 16 House Of Blues, West Hollywood, Los Angeles; Aug 18 Ramona Mainstage, San Diego, CA; Aug 20 Fremont Experience, Fremont Street, Las Vegas; Aug 21 Red Devil Lounge, San Francisco.
➢ Tony’s Australia dates 2011 — Oct 26 Hindmarsh, South Australia; Oct 27 South Morang, Victoria; Oct 28 Doncaster, Victoria; Oct 29 Chelsea Heights, Victoria; Oct 30 Rewind Australia, Wollongong, NSW; Nov 3 Coolangatta, Queensland; Nov 4 Penrith NSW.
➢ Tony’s own home-movie video wall
➢ Spandau Ballet, the Blitz kids and the birth of the New Romantics
Posted in London, North America, Pop music
Tagged 2011, Australia, Interview, John Keeble, New Romantics, Reformation tour, Spandau Ballet, Tony Hadley, tour dates, Video
✱ Deejay legend Robbie Vincent has returned to JazzFM on Sundays 1-3pm… Catch up on Robbie’s JazzFM August Bank Holiday 2020 session thanks to AhhhhhSoul with four hours of “nothing but essential rhythms of soul, jazz and funk”.
◆ Who was who in Spandau’s break-out year of 1980? The Invisible Hand of Shapersofthe80s draws a selective timeline for The unprecedented rise and rise of Spandau Ballet –– Turn to our inside page
✱ If you thought there was no more to know about the birth of Blitz culture in 1980 then get your hands on a sensational book by an obsessive music fan called David Barrat. It is gripping, original and epic – a spooky tale of coincidence and parallel lives as mind-tingling as a Sherlock Holmes yarn. Titled both New Romantics Who Never Were and The Untold Story of Spandau Ballet! Sample this initial taster here at Shapers of the 80s
✱ Jawing at Soho Radio on the 80s clubland revolution (from 32 mins) and on art (@55 mins) is probably the most influential shaper of the 80s, former Wag-club director Chris Sullivan (pictured) with editor of this website David Johnson
➢ Search for all on Bowie here
at Shapers of the 80s
✱ “I’m not a rock star” Bowie often said – No, David, you were a messiah – Obituaries and key videos about
the godlike one
✱ Prince Rogers Nelson RIP: ‘A funny cat’ and ‘sole authentic genius’ of the 1980s
➢➢ Shapers of the 80s ➣➣ 