Tony Hadley, former frontman of Spandau Ballet, has responded to The Kemps: All True, a recent spoof documentary about the band.
Starring Hadley’s former bandmates Martin and Gary Kemp marking the band’s 40th anniversary, the mockumentary featured a painting of Hadley with devil horns, fangs and red eyes.
Speaking to The Sun, Hadley says he wasn’t approached to appear in the one-off special. “I would not have anything to do with it. I’m done,” he said.
“They want me back for good but it ain’t going to happen. I’d rather be happy on my own than be in that band again.
“If they want another lead singer, that’s their choice. But if you want to hear those songs sung by the original singer then you can only really see one bloke — and that’s me.”
He also criticised his bandmates for allowing Spandau Ballet’s most enduring hit ‘Gold’ to be re-used in an advert for Bold washing powder.
“Gary wrote ‘Gold’. It’s anthemic. When I sing it live, the audience sing back. To change the title is just weird. I thought it was in bad taste.”
Hadley and the Kemp brothers formed Spandau Ballet in 1979, selling 25 million albums and having 23 hit singles worldwide before their split in 1990.
They reformed in 2009, with Hadley announcing in 2017 that he was leaving due to “circumstances beyond my control.”
The rest of the band responded in a subsequent statement, saying: “Much to our frustration, Tony had made it clear in September 2016 that he didn’t want to work with the band any more. This has not changed and 2015 was the last time we were able to perform or work with him. So we have now made the decision to move on as a band.”
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