Tony Hadley will never reveal ‘exactly why’ he walked away from Spandau Ballet
Tony Hadley will never reveal “exactly why” he quit Spandau Ballet.
The 62-year-old ‘Gold’ singer sensationally walked away from the New Romantic group in 2017, saying after a royalties bust-up in a brief Twitter statement he was no longer a member, and has now revealed the group’s behaviour wasn’t “that of friends”.
But insisting he will never go into detail about the full reasons behind the bitter split, he told The Observer: “Walking away from Spandau in 2017 was tough, but I had no choice.
“The band’s behaviour wasn’t that of friends – I couldn’t do it any longer.
“I’ll never say exactly why. It’s on to them to be honourable and step forward to set out what they did. To take responsibility for their actions.”
Spandau Ballet decided to take a break in 1990 so the bandmates could pursue solo projects but it turned into a full split when Tony, drummer John Keeble, 63, and saxophonist Steve Norman, 63, unsuccessfully sued guitarist Gary Kemp, also 63 – the brother of 61-year-old bassist Martin Kemp – in a royalties row.
Despite his bitterness over the break-up Tony also has fond memories of his time with the band.
He reminisced: “Our first appearance on ‘Top of the Pops’ still feels like a dream.
“My God, it was so exciting. I’d worked day jobs right up until signing our record deal.”
He went on about how he got the music bug: “At Pontins, aged 14, I discovered music. I got on stage and sang ‘Lady Madonna’. I decided it would be my future.
“I met Frank Sinatra at the Royal Albert Hall when I was 17. I’d snuck backstage and was being pushed aside by security when he asked my story.
“He shook my hand and wished me luck. Six years later, Spandau Ballet headlined the same venue.”
