“When music doesn’t become fun, that’s the time to give it up.”
Gill Sherry
I’m sure Tony Hadley won’t mind me saying that he looks a little dishevelled when our Zoom call connects one Tuesday morning in July. Travelling can do that to you, and having just arrived in Venice after his Sunday evening gig in Valencia, it’s perhaps no surprise he’s feeling slightly weary.
But despite the jet lag, the former Spandau Ballet frontman remains enthusiastic about touring.
“At the end of the day I do a job, and it just happens to be a job that was a dream. I’m still doing it to this day, and I still love it. When I look back… how did I get to 66? That’s gone really quickly. I can remember the day I recorded the vocals on ‘To Cut a Long Story Short’. It was the day we signed the record deal… 10th October 1980. I can’t remember what I did yesterday, but I remember that!”
‘To Cut a Long Story Short’ peaked at number five in the charts in 1980 and was the first of ten top ten singles for Spandau Ballet, their one and only chart-topper, ‘True’, following in 1983.
I ask what he remembers about those early days.
“When I was younger I wanted to be an orthopaedic surgeon. I had microscopes and scalpels and books on spare-part surgery, but I just couldn’t cut it with the maths and chemistry. Luckily, I discovered music!”
Apparently, we have a certain holiday camp to thank for this discovery.
“My mum and dad used to take us to Pontins and I went in for a competition and won it. Then I did it again and won a weekend away. And the girl I’d fancied all week, we went out for a while.” He smiles at this particular memory. “So, I thought it was pretty cool… and then when I was 14 or 15, I thought, that’s what I want to do, I’m gonna be a singer.”
Tony was just 16 when he formed his first band The Cut, which then became The Makers.
“We were like a power/pop/punk band, like Generation X, and we were doing quite well at that point.”
So well, in fact, the band almost signed with a record label.
“I’m glad we didn’t,” he says. “We needed more time to develop as a band. And then Martin [Kemp] joined the band, then we found the synthesizer and the whole musical scene changed. At 20, we had our first hit record.”
How did it feel to be catapulted into fame at such a young age?
“The essence of it is not to take it too seriously. As a band, we were good mates together. We also had parents who were all friends. My friends from when I was a kid are still my friends to this day, so even though I might have dressed up like Robin Hood, I was still down the pub. They used to take the p**s out of me because they weren’t really into that kind of thing.”
It makes me smile to remember those new wave and new romantic days. Although my memories of the young Tony Hadley always see him dressed in a suit and tie, a quick internet search reminds me of the frilly shirts, baggy trousers and oversized scarves.
“When we hit the teen-scream thing, it was crazy, but we just used to laugh. We used to think it was hilarious that girls used to chase us down the street!”
As a Spandau Ballet fan myself, I’m enjoying chatting about the band’s early years. But I’m also curious to know how Tony handled going solo.
“It was pretty terrifying because I’d been with the band since I was 16, and to start doing the solo thing was kind of weird. As time goes on, you surround yourself with great musicians… but there’s a lot of pressure on you. The first album I made was not the right album in retrospect, so I found myself going back to basics and then slowly just building and building. Now I’m at the point where we sell out the Royal Albert Hall and tour all over the world.”
The one thing that has remained constant throughout his 50-year career, is his voice.
“When I was about 18, I spent two years with a Canadian opera singer called Pamela Dodd. It was absolutely incredible. She said, ‘You’ve got a very distinctive voice, and I don’t want to change it, but I want to give you the tools to still have a voice in 40-45 years’ time’. She was true to her word.”
Tony still does the exercises that Pamela taught him all those years ago and urges any young singers out there to find a reputable singing teacher.
“And don’t go to a nightclub till four o’clock in the morning shouting. You won’t have a voice the next day, no matter how good you are.”
Tony’s powerful voice lends itself really well to the Great American Songbook which is why his Big Band Tour has been so successful, and why he’s returning to Glasgow Royal Concert Hall in November as part of his 2026 Christmas Big Band Tour.
“I’ve grown up with my parents listening to the likes of Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Jack Jones, Ella Fitzgerald, Sammy Davis… so I’ve always loved that kind of music. I feel comfortable singing that style of music. I really enjoy it.”
The tour takes in 19 different venues including Edinburgh’s Usher Hall on 23rd November and Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall on 29th November.
“Glasgow… it’s a beautiful venue and you’re always assured of a good welcome with a Glaswegian audience. They like music, they’re fantastic and they respond brilliantly.”
Of course, it helps that most of the brass players are mates, rather than musicians just drafted in.
“We’ve worked with them constantly over the years. They’re excellent. We’re really lucky that we have a great comradery when we’re on the road. It’s good fun. When music doesn’t become fun, that’s the time to give it up.”
That comradery continues on stage, but if you were lucky enough to see them perform together last year, don’t be put off by thinking this year’s show will be exactly the same. Although the chemistry will still be evident, the set list will throw up a few surprises.
“We’re changing it slightly,” Tony confirms. “We’re taking a couple out that we’ve done a few times and putting a couple of new great big band swing songs in. We’re extending the Christmas bits as well. We’re our own support so it’s a game of two halves – first half, second half, and then on with the Christmas songs.”
Does he have a favourite song he likes to perform, be it a Spandau Ballet hit or a swing classic?
“My favourite Spandau Ballet song of all time is ‘Through the Barricades’ without a doubt. That’s the one that gets me every time. But there are so many great songs. The song I do really enjoy singing is ‘The Summer Wind’. I love that song; I love the sentiment of it”
And from favourite songs to memorable highlights… does he have one stand-out moment from his lengthy career?
“There are so many… Band Aid, Live Aid, all that kind of stuff. But for me, last year, just before we went on stage at the Royal Albert Hall, I said to the band, ‘guys, thank you, we’ve all worked really hard to get to this point… this is a moment’. I got quite emotional actually. It still means a lot to me.”
Is there still a career dream that he’d like to fulfil, a certain someone he might like to sing with, for example?
“Well, it would have been Frank Sinatra… but I’m a massive Daryl Hall fan, as well as Steve Perry [Journey]. Wow, what a voice!”
He pauses for a moment before continuing: “If you’re ambitious you certainly want to carry on and do better and better all the time. That seems to be happening. We’re in demand, myself and the band, and just want to do better and bigger things. I’m not into the fame and celebrity thing… my thing is to sing and to perform and if I can carry on doing that for the rest of my life until the day I die, then that will be a fantastic sense of achievement.”
In the meantime, 2027 is set to be a busy year. The band is returning to America next year and hopefully, there’s a new album on the cards.
“We’ve done a couple of big band albums, and I’ve got a contemporary album in the bag, I’ve just got two more songs to record.”
I’m glad Tony wasn’t cut out to be an orthopaedic surgeon. I’m also pleased that his passion and enthusiasm for music is unwavering and, thankfully, set to continue.
“I never want to give this up,” he confirms. “I don’t envisage myself retiring. So many of my mates who are 50 or 60 say, ‘I’m going to play golf for the rest of my life’. I can’t think of anything worse! I never want to give this up.”
His fans will be delighted to hear that! Does he have a message for those fans?
“If you’re coming along to the concert, just have fun. Enjoy some wonderful, beautiful, lovely old songs that are going to make your gran happy, and make you happy too!”
For tickets, visit www.myticket.co.uk
