Perdita
26-03-2009, 06:17
IF you had put SPANDAU BALLET in a room ten years ago and locked the door, they would probably have ripped each other’s ears off.
They were embroiled in such an ugly court case over royalties, it seemed hell would have to freeze over before they would ever speak again.
But now TONY HADLEY, STEVE NORMAN, JOHN KEEBLE, GARY KEMP and his brother MARTIN, have stunned loyal fans by kissing and making up to reform for a comeback tour.
The manband, who had huge hits with True and Gold, made the announcement on HMS Belfast yesterday — the scene of the gig that made their name in 1980.
Nearly 30 years on and the former new romantics were laughing about The Sun’s “Spandau Belly” headline on a story about frontman Tony’s expanding waistline.
The singer, 48, joked: “I’m a big guy and widescreen TVs are a nightmare for a bloke like me.
“Whoever invented it should be shot. And HD too for that matter.You do pile on a few pounds. I love real ale, good wine and food.
“I do have to watch my weight. The thing is, I run my own brewery now which is doing really well. It’s all real ale but I have to sample it all. Then I have to run five miles to burn it off.
“The latest addition kid-wise to my family is a beautiful little two-year-old girl Zara so I have to keep fit for her. I want to be around for a while.”
Judging by the buoyant mood around the captain’s table on HMS Belfast they will be around for a good few years to come — but it is still hard to believe they have settled their differences.
Tony, John and Steve lost a court case against songwriter Gary in 1999 after they had claimed they were owed £1million in unpaid royalties.
The tragic loss of Gary and Martin’s parents, Frank and Eileen, in the space of only 48 hours in January played a huge part in getting the band back together.
Former EastEnder Martin, 47, said: “Things happen in life which are a lot bigger than a court case.
“We have all had experiences which are bigger. We’ve all had kids, we’ve lost parents and suddenly everything is put into perspective. We only have one go at it so let’s make the most of it.”
The boys had been in talks for some time about reforming, but it was only finalised after the death of the Kemps’ parents.
Gary, 49, said: “It was very sad and I can’t bring myself to go into it because it was so shocking at the time.
“I don’t think my mum wanted to stay around after my dad died.
“They had been together all those years, but in a way it made us want to do this all the more for them.
“My dad was obsessive about Spandau Ballet. He was so thrilled when we told him it might be happening. He would have been here on HMS Belfast today if he was still around.
“Dad wanted to see Spandau again so much. It was very important to them both. It’s certainly a driving force for us.”
Martin agreed: “Gary and I had just lost our parents when we finally managed to get everyone under the same roof for a week’s rehearsal. It was a nice thing for me. It was perfect timing.
“It was like walking into a second family with that support system there. It was a lovely week.”
Tony added: “Frank and Eileen were huge fans and they were so pleased that we made up our differences. They were over the moon. So when they passed away I was really upset.
“I knew them when I was a kid. We’d go round for a cup of tea. It made us think life is too short which is a big cliche, but it’s a terrible tragedy that has brought us all closer together.”
The idea to reform first came to Gary four years ago when he was working on the sound for a Spandau Ballet live DVD. He was so excited by the old memories he rang Martin and invited him to watch the finished product.
An enthused Martin then flew to Ibiza to speak to Steve Norman, 49, to let him soak up the footage and discuss a comeback.
Meanwhile drummer John Keeble, 49, was beavering away behind the scenes making phonecalls trying to patch up the differences between Tony and Gary.
Eventually, after a year of diplomacy, Tony agreed to meet Gary in a north London for explosive clear-the-air talks.
And it culminated in yesterday’s announcement — watch the press conference by clicking on the Multimedia Component to the right of this page.
Gary said: “Men have big egos, men in bands have even bigger egos. When we all stopped being in Spandau Ballet, we all had a feeling that we could make our lives just as important creatively and in business.
“But Spandau was too big for that. That shadow just followed us all everywhere.”
Gary also joked about the old rivalry with DURAN DURAN playing a part in the peace talks, adding: “I went to see Duran Duran play and that wound me up even more about getting back together.
“There’s still something competitive there. I bumped into NIK KERSHAW in Soho and he demanded to know when the dates were so they wouldn’t clash with his tour.
“There was no anger when we met up. No one comes out of court cases unscathed — everyone feels a bit grubby and only the lawyers win.
“Every relationship has moments where there’s a punch-up but this is our gang.
“We want to do more with our gang. If people want to hear more, then we’ll do more.
“Even if there hadn’t been any comebacks like TAKE THAT, we would still have done this.
“It was just far too much fun not to do it again. Some of the most exciting things that have ever happened to me in my life was in Spandau Ballet.
“This tour isn’t driven by money where we’ll pretend to be friends for the duration of the tour by keeping our mouths shut.
“It’s true people would say that, but this is our trade. We’re just lucky we have these songs that are still getting played.”
Tony added: “If we had been in a room together after the court case there would have been a punch up. Everyone will be expecting a punch-up on stage but that is not going to happen.
“I ain’t gonna deny that I am not partly doing it for the money. I’m not not going to be paid am I? But it’s not just about the money. You start to realise that people do want the band back together again especially the fans.
“I couldn’t do it if there was any animosity between us. It is for the music and because we are friends again looking to have fun on stage.
“We should have done this a long time ago, but that’s life and you live and learn. I wouldn’t be doing this unless we were pals again.
“It has taken time but it has been great. We were all a bit apprehensive in rehearsals but it has been bloody brilliant. We are playing better than we have ever before.”
A new generation of Hadleys and Kemps have had their say too.
Tony’s eldest son Mac and Gary’s son with SADIE FROST, Finlay, both 18, tried to concoct a plan to force their dads to bury the hatchet.
The army of kids between the five stars of Spandau are all in support of the tour. But they have issued strict warnings about their parents reviving any embarrassing new romantic outfits.
Tony boomed: “Oh no chance of big flouncy shirts. There’s nothing worse than 48-year-old guys trying to look like 18-year-olds. Let them take over the world, we’ll just play the music.
“It’s really embarrassing when you see older bands and they are still wearing the same suits they wore 30 years ago. Grow old gracefully, or a bit disgracefully sometimes.”
Tickets for the tour, which kicks off in Dublin at the O2 Arena on October 13, are available from spandauballet.comfrom 2pm today.
I have met Tony Hadley once and he is very nice but I have never been too keen on their music.
They were embroiled in such an ugly court case over royalties, it seemed hell would have to freeze over before they would ever speak again.
But now TONY HADLEY, STEVE NORMAN, JOHN KEEBLE, GARY KEMP and his brother MARTIN, have stunned loyal fans by kissing and making up to reform for a comeback tour.
The manband, who had huge hits with True and Gold, made the announcement on HMS Belfast yesterday — the scene of the gig that made their name in 1980.
Nearly 30 years on and the former new romantics were laughing about The Sun’s “Spandau Belly” headline on a story about frontman Tony’s expanding waistline.
The singer, 48, joked: “I’m a big guy and widescreen TVs are a nightmare for a bloke like me.
“Whoever invented it should be shot. And HD too for that matter.You do pile on a few pounds. I love real ale, good wine and food.
“I do have to watch my weight. The thing is, I run my own brewery now which is doing really well. It’s all real ale but I have to sample it all. Then I have to run five miles to burn it off.
“The latest addition kid-wise to my family is a beautiful little two-year-old girl Zara so I have to keep fit for her. I want to be around for a while.”
Judging by the buoyant mood around the captain’s table on HMS Belfast they will be around for a good few years to come — but it is still hard to believe they have settled their differences.
Tony, John and Steve lost a court case against songwriter Gary in 1999 after they had claimed they were owed £1million in unpaid royalties.
The tragic loss of Gary and Martin’s parents, Frank and Eileen, in the space of only 48 hours in January played a huge part in getting the band back together.
Former EastEnder Martin, 47, said: “Things happen in life which are a lot bigger than a court case.
“We have all had experiences which are bigger. We’ve all had kids, we’ve lost parents and suddenly everything is put into perspective. We only have one go at it so let’s make the most of it.”
The boys had been in talks for some time about reforming, but it was only finalised after the death of the Kemps’ parents.
Gary, 49, said: “It was very sad and I can’t bring myself to go into it because it was so shocking at the time.
“I don’t think my mum wanted to stay around after my dad died.
“They had been together all those years, but in a way it made us want to do this all the more for them.
“My dad was obsessive about Spandau Ballet. He was so thrilled when we told him it might be happening. He would have been here on HMS Belfast today if he was still around.
“Dad wanted to see Spandau again so much. It was very important to them both. It’s certainly a driving force for us.”
Martin agreed: “Gary and I had just lost our parents when we finally managed to get everyone under the same roof for a week’s rehearsal. It was a nice thing for me. It was perfect timing.
“It was like walking into a second family with that support system there. It was a lovely week.”
Tony added: “Frank and Eileen were huge fans and they were so pleased that we made up our differences. They were over the moon. So when they passed away I was really upset.
“I knew them when I was a kid. We’d go round for a cup of tea. It made us think life is too short which is a big cliche, but it’s a terrible tragedy that has brought us all closer together.”
The idea to reform first came to Gary four years ago when he was working on the sound for a Spandau Ballet live DVD. He was so excited by the old memories he rang Martin and invited him to watch the finished product.
An enthused Martin then flew to Ibiza to speak to Steve Norman, 49, to let him soak up the footage and discuss a comeback.
Meanwhile drummer John Keeble, 49, was beavering away behind the scenes making phonecalls trying to patch up the differences between Tony and Gary.
Eventually, after a year of diplomacy, Tony agreed to meet Gary in a north London for explosive clear-the-air talks.
And it culminated in yesterday’s announcement — watch the press conference by clicking on the Multimedia Component to the right of this page.
Gary said: “Men have big egos, men in bands have even bigger egos. When we all stopped being in Spandau Ballet, we all had a feeling that we could make our lives just as important creatively and in business.
“But Spandau was too big for that. That shadow just followed us all everywhere.”
Gary also joked about the old rivalry with DURAN DURAN playing a part in the peace talks, adding: “I went to see Duran Duran play and that wound me up even more about getting back together.
“There’s still something competitive there. I bumped into NIK KERSHAW in Soho and he demanded to know when the dates were so they wouldn’t clash with his tour.
“There was no anger when we met up. No one comes out of court cases unscathed — everyone feels a bit grubby and only the lawyers win.
“Every relationship has moments where there’s a punch-up but this is our gang.
“We want to do more with our gang. If people want to hear more, then we’ll do more.
“Even if there hadn’t been any comebacks like TAKE THAT, we would still have done this.
“It was just far too much fun not to do it again. Some of the most exciting things that have ever happened to me in my life was in Spandau Ballet.
“This tour isn’t driven by money where we’ll pretend to be friends for the duration of the tour by keeping our mouths shut.
“It’s true people would say that, but this is our trade. We’re just lucky we have these songs that are still getting played.”
Tony added: “If we had been in a room together after the court case there would have been a punch up. Everyone will be expecting a punch-up on stage but that is not going to happen.
“I ain’t gonna deny that I am not partly doing it for the money. I’m not not going to be paid am I? But it’s not just about the money. You start to realise that people do want the band back together again especially the fans.
“I couldn’t do it if there was any animosity between us. It is for the music and because we are friends again looking to have fun on stage.
“We should have done this a long time ago, but that’s life and you live and learn. I wouldn’t be doing this unless we were pals again.
“It has taken time but it has been great. We were all a bit apprehensive in rehearsals but it has been bloody brilliant. We are playing better than we have ever before.”
A new generation of Hadleys and Kemps have had their say too.
Tony’s eldest son Mac and Gary’s son with SADIE FROST, Finlay, both 18, tried to concoct a plan to force their dads to bury the hatchet.
The army of kids between the five stars of Spandau are all in support of the tour. But they have issued strict warnings about their parents reviving any embarrassing new romantic outfits.
Tony boomed: “Oh no chance of big flouncy shirts. There’s nothing worse than 48-year-old guys trying to look like 18-year-olds. Let them take over the world, we’ll just play the music.
“It’s really embarrassing when you see older bands and they are still wearing the same suits they wore 30 years ago. Grow old gracefully, or a bit disgracefully sometimes.”
Tickets for the tour, which kicks off in Dublin at the O2 Arena on October 13, are available from spandauballet.comfrom 2pm today.
I have met Tony Hadley once and he is very nice but I have never been too keen on their music.