What goes around: One on one with Tony Hadley

In Australia recently for a series of solo gigs, Spandau Ballet’s Tony Hadley spoke to Garrett Bithell about the relationship between fashion and music, youth-rebellion subcultures in the 80s, and Lady Gaga. 

In their heyday, Spandau Ballet were huge. It was the era of Duran Duran, Tears for Fears, Culture Club, Ultravox and Gary Numan; heady, flamboyant post-punk new romantics ruled supreme. Spandau Ballet sold more than 25 million albums worldwide, and ‘True’, their biggest hit, topped the UK charts for four weeks in 1983.

Sartorially, they were trailblazers. Flouncy fop shirts, pirate boots and tartan flourishes defined their first incarnation in the late 70s, but by the time their ballad period arrived it was all droopy, exaggerated fringes and shiny double-breasted suits, a look that today is the fashion textbook for Russell Brand and Essex boys everywhere. But compared to acts like Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet were cutting edge, holding court in the underground clubs and being lauded by the so-hip-it-hurts style press.

“What is quite interesting is that for a lot of people, the 80s was the last decade where fashion and music were completely and intrinsically linked,” frontman Tony Hadley tells AXN. “There’s not really been a decade since where fashion and music went hand in hand. A lot of young people I meet say ‘oh you guys were so cool’!”

By the mid-80s, Spandau Ballet fell out of fashion. But the 80s renaissance means they are now very much back in vogue, and 2009 saw them headline a highly-successful national tour with fellow new romantics Tears for Fears.

“If you went back ten years and mentioned the 80s, everyone would cringe and say ‘that was a bit naff’, Hadley laughs. “But what happens is people get to a certain age and start getting nostalgic, and kids start delving into their Mum and Dad’s back catalogue and discover new things. So now of course, the 80s is considered to a really cool decade.”

One thing that seems to have changed forever, however, is way music is consumed today. In the 80s, music lovers didn’t just buy a record, they bought into a lifestyle – New Romanticism, New Wave, punk et al were not just genres, but pervasive subcultures of youth rebellion. Hadley remembers this well.

“Buying a 45 single or an album was your way of going ‘hey I’m young and I’m a bit of a rebel’,” he says. “Music is not worn like a badge anymore. In the 80s, it was like a badge of honour – I’m a punk, I’m a rocker, I’m a new romantic. And that fashion statement and the music went hand in hand.”

But there is one artist who is creating her own subculture today, according to Hadley: Lady Gaga. “Anyone who wears a piece of steak on their head has got my vote,” he laughs. “At least she’s different and controversial and adds some glamour. I get a bit fed up with bands walking around in anoraks.

“With her, you’re not just buying a song, you’re buying into Lady Gaga.”

To keep up to date with Tony Hadley and Spandau Ballet, head to www.tonyhadley.com or www.spandauballet.com.