The Hadley band in Las Vegas last week: John Keeble (drums), Phil Williams (bass guitar), Big Tone, Richie Barrett (guitar), Phil Taylor (keyboards)
❚ EXACTLY WHAT SPANDAU BALLET FANS don’t want to hear! Yesterday as the 80s supergroup’s vocalist Tony Hadley was taking a well-earned rest following his American solo tour, he delivered the bombshell. Fans who want to see him singing again with his onetime schoolmates in Spandau “could be waiting 20 years”!
The shocking prospect came yesterday in an interview with TNT, the Australian backpacker magazine, anticipating his imminent tour down under. Before his US dates earlier this month he’d been much more circumspect about another Spandau reunion, using the phrase “maybe one day in the future” to American music magazine ConcertLivewire. Tony’s new forecast for a rendezvous with Spandau means the already portly singer would have passed his 71st birthday — along with many of Spandau’s original fans, ear trumpets at the ready.
Remember, an argument over royalties split Spandau asunder in 1990 and Tony didn’t speak to songwriter Gary Kemp for 19 years until their sudden reunion tour in 2009. Even so, the singer tells TNT: “It was only ever meant to be a one-off. After 20 years of squabbling we buried our differences. But after our last show in 2010, you know, I had a band waiting around for me on a retainer for six months. I’ve had no time off and I’m trying to finish the new album so at the moment there aren’t plans to do Spandau again. You could be waiting 20 years.”
Tony has pursued an active solo career ever since the split and his current band has backed him for 13 years, with John Keeble of Spandau playing drums. This month’s American tour was an investment, and Tony told Windy City Times they “want to come back next year and do 20 or 30 shows”.
His big news is about his solo album, due next year. He tells TNT: “I’m doing some writing with Barry Gibb from the Bee Gees. I went round his house and had a little cup of tea and said, let’s get together and do some songs. For me, that is a major wow.
“2012 will be busy with the Olympics. My manager has been talking to various people about an orchestral version of Gold [the Spandau Ballet hit] for the games — doing it with an 80-piece orchestra would be amazing.”
➢ Sept 11 in New York, 13h30 — Tony sings at the memorial concert for 9/11 in The British Garden, Hanover Square in Lower Manhattan, NYC, created with the endorsement of the British Consulate-General to honour the 67 British subjects lost in the 2001 attacks
➢ 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.
+++ ❚ SPANDAU BALLET VOCALIST TONY HADLEY displays his own considerable songwriting skills on video for the first time as he performs his own rocking new song My Imagination at House of Blues on Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood, Ca, on August 16. This was his third solo gig, backed by his own band that includes drummer John Keeble, during their first US tour this week. (Video by mmmmpopmuzik)
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… ”
❏ 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.”
+++ ❏ 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.”
AUG 16, THAT’S LIFE: A BLISTERING CLOSE TO TONY’S SHOW AT HOUSE OF BLUES, HOLLYWOOD
+++ ❏ 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” =)
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.”
AUG 21, RED DEVIL LOUNGE, SAN FRANCISCO
❏ 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
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.
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
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.
QLeaving 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.
QYou 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)
QWill 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.
QWhat 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.
➢ 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.
Spandau Ballet in 2009: answering our questions at their reunion press conference
❚ EVEN AS A UNIQUE CD COMPILATION of Spandau Ballet’s landmark hits is set for massive free distribution with The Mail on Sunday next weekend, Duran Duran announce a global concert live online at YouTube only days later, along with their own album release on CD. It could be the 80s all over again when the two arch-rival bands vied for the title of leaders of Britain’s New Romantics movement. So which veteran band will score the bigger hit in 2011?
Duran Duran earlier this year: US and European tours, plus a live concert stream. Picture courtesy duranduran.com
Spandau’s special-edition CD features 12 tracks — half, including True and Gold, are remastered from their originals, with six live tracks coming from their show at London’s Sadler’s Wells in 1983, including the club anthem Chant No 1. The cover-mounted disc will be delivered free across Britain with every copy of the MoS, presumably because its marketing director expects Spandau to boost the paper’s circulation well past its average of 1,924,589 copies. Last Sunday Gary Kemp recalled the 80s for MoS readers: “It was madly competitive as we were all tribal. Duran Duran wanted to be more successful than us, we wanted to be more successful than ABC, or Culture Club, or Duran themselves. We spurred each other on.”
Meanwhile today, Duran Duran announce that David Lynch — fabled director of the movies Eraserhead and The Elephant Man — has been enlisted to direct a live DD concert to be streamed online on March 23/24 to launch the second season of Unstaged, a music series sponsored by American Express and Vevo. Amex has pushed this internet venture to team breakthrough artists with influential filmmakers using interactive social media as the outlet (full details at Billboard).
During a Facebook Live chat from SXSW John Taylor admitted that how Lynch intended to video the show was still a mystery but “we know it’s not going to look like any concert film has looked before”. Audiences around the world will be able to switch between the director’s high-definition main stream and alternate “Lynchian” artistic viewpoints when they tune into YouTube on Wednesday in the US at 10pm EDT / 7pm PDT — which is Thursday at 02:00 UTC. The concert will also be rebroadcast for the UK on YouTube at 7pm on March 24. (Check here for regions where Unstaged will be viewable live. The Los Angeles concert will then remain online for a month.)
Can Duran attract a bigger audience than Spandau’s 2million Mail readers? With their US tour starting this week, DD’s comeback album is released in the US as a physical disc next Tuesday. The video of its title track All You Need Is Now has scored 629,689 views since it was posted on YouTube on Dec 20, so it’s anybody’s guess how many fans will tune in for the live webcast. What’s yours?
WHAT THE RIVAL BANDS SAY
Talking up the imminent free CD, Spandau Ballet told last week’s Mail on Sunday what the tracks meant to them…
John Keeble: Dublin sound-check as Spandau’s Reformation tour kicks off 2009
Martin Kemp “We gave Instinction to producer Trevor Horn who really turned it on its head. It became a monster.”
Steve Norman on Lifeline “We knew we couldn’t stay an underground band for ever – the mainstream pop charts beckoned and we knew we had to deliver. Cue smiles and kisses to camera!”
John Keeble “Only When You Leave was the lead single from the Parade album as the band established a more rock-based edge. It opened doors to a new group of fans and gave me the chance to rock a bit harder on the drum kit.”
Tony Hadley “Sadler’s Wells was one of the best venues for us. It was an intimate gig and perfect to showcase tracks from our album True, such as Foundation – a slice of white soul-boy funky pop – Communication – a great upbeat number – and Pleasure, which really captures the essence of the era.”
Nick Rhodes: last November's video for the comeback single, All You Need Is Now. Courtesy duranduran.com
Over in the States, Duran founder and keyboardist Nick Rhodes discusses the David Lynch webcast with Billboard today:
“The stranger it is, the more beautiful it will be. What appeals to us very much about working with David is that we like the way he thinks about things and how he’s always gone out on a limb to make things different. He works completely outside of the system, and that’s what we try to do. I think the combustion between us and David should create something that nobody’s ever seen before, something mysterious and magical and surprising.”
➢ Choose “View full site” – then in the blue bar atop your mobile page, click the three horizontal lines linking to many blue themed pages with background article
MORE INTERESTING THAN MOST PEOPLE’S FANTASIES — THE SWINGING EIGHTIES 1978-1984
They didn’t call themselves New Romantics, or the Blitz Kids – but other people did.
“I’d find people at the Blitz who were possible only in my imagination. But they were real” — Stephen Jones, hatmaker, 1983. (Illustration courtesy Iain R Webb, 1983)
“The truth about those Blitz club people was more interesting than most people’s fantasies” — Steve Dagger, pop group manager, 1983
PRAISE INDEED!
“See David Johnson’s fabulously detailed website Shapers of the 80s to which I am hugely indebted” – Political historian Dominic Sandbrook, in his book Who Dares Wins, 2019
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A UNIQUE HISTORY
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VINCENT ON AIR 2024
✱ Deejay legend Robbie Vincent has returned to JazzFM on Sundays 1-3pm… Catch Robbie’s JazzFM August Bank Holiday 2020 session thanks to AhhhhhSoul with four hours of “nothing but essential rhythms of soul, jazz and funk”.
TOLD FOR THE FIRST TIME
◆ 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
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UNTOLD BLITZ STORIES
✱ 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
CHEWING THE FAT
✱ 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
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