Spandau Ballet’s Tony Hadley remains true to his music

MANILA, Philippines - Tony Hadley, lead vocalist of the ‘80s new wave band Spandau Ballet, believes in giving the audience what they want.

Which was why during his concert at the Solaire Resort and Casino on March 28 — despite having written new material as a solo artist — the British pop singer-songwriter performed the songs he is known for.

“I was told by someone, and she was saying that artists do not want to sing from the past. I’m like, ‘That’s kind of stupid,’” he told journalists in a media gathering for his concert. “I’m obviously aware that people know me because of Spandau Ballet. They would want to hear me sing particular songs. You wouldn’t want to disappoint the fans.”

Tony added, “I’m always a greater believer of giving the people what they want.”

The 53-year-old artist obviously knows not to turn his back on his past. As part of Spandau Ballet, Tony — along with John Keeble, Martin Kemp, Steve Norman, Gary Kemp — became one of the more prominent and most influential figures in the pop-culture movement known as the New Romantic era, which spawned bands and artists such as Duran Duran, Visage and Simple Minds. The biggest hits during their heyday in the ‘80s include True, Gold and Round and Round.

Spandau Ballet’s unsuccessful 1989 album Heart Like a Sky led to the band’s break-up. But in 2009, 20 years since disbanding, Spandau Ballet did a reunion tour in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Since then, both Spandau Ballet and Tony have been busy. The British band recently performed in the popular arts festival South by Southwest in Austin, Texas — their first performance in the United States in 28 years. They group also premiered Soul Boys of the Western World, a documentary about the “triumphs, madness, complete disintegration” and the comeback of Spandau Ballet.

“It’s very honest because you’ve got to be honest. We don’t want to sugarcoat everything like, ‘Hey, we love each other all the time.’ No, we didn’t,” Tony said of the documentary.

On the personal front, Tony is busy making a solo album, a project he described as going back to the early roots of Spandau Ballet. “All you can do is pour your heart and soul to the album and it’s for the people to decide if they like it or not,” he said.

Tony has been to the Philippines four times already. He enjoys every visit he makes to the country.

“I’ve always had a fantastic time here,” he said. “The audience is always good, the audience is always fantastic. We always have a great time. You’re very good at singing, which is cool. You always sing along. Everyone’s really lovely and kind.”

What Tony finds interesting is seeing audience members who are obviously too young to have listened to their songs on the radio when they perform during concerts and music festivals.

“What we find there is a lot of kids coming along because their mom and dad are listening to us. A lot of kids are singing to True and Gold. I’m like, ‘You’re too young.’ But it’s good, it’s nice,” he shared.

It goes without saying that Tony — with or without Spandau Ballet — remains passionate and true to his music.

“I still love what I do. Tony Bennett is 87 and he’s still singing and he’s still great. So hopefully, if I live that long and I could still sing, I would do the same.”