Tony Hadley

Tony Hadley was the voice of Spandau Ballet in the 1980s. Their hits such as Gold, True and Through The Barricades, jostled in the upper reaches of the singles chart with tracks from Wham!, Duran Duran and other bands embracing the New Romantic movement.

So where's he been? He may not have seen much chart action lately but he has been recording, touring and generally having quite a nice time - with the exception of a couple of hiccups and the much-publicised Spandau court case - doing what he does for the past couple of decades. As he says, "I've been doing this for 22 years now. I've been up and down like a yo-yo, but survived and still working and still doing pretty ok. That's pretty rare."

Anyone who watched Reborn In The USA will admit that Tony Hadley appeared to be a thoroughly nice bloke and was genuinely enjoying the opportunity of touring the States. The early starts were beginning however to take their toll. "We've been up since 5 o'clock this morning doing TV and stuff. It's been good fun but getting at that early is a bit rough."

Although he was missing his family (wife Leonie, sons Thomas and Mackenzie and daughter Toni), Mr Hadley is quite comfortable Stateside and even visited a couple of new locations. "Nashville was fantastic, a really good town. The only places I hadn't been to (previously with Spandau) were Memphis and Nashville. I'm due to tour the States later this year. I lived in LA for four months and spent a lot of time in New York, so I'm pretty OK with the American thing," he explains.

Since his success last Saturday, things are about to go into overdrive for Tony. A new album entitled True Ballads was released on Monday and a big UK tour - which will be interrupted by a charity trek to Machu Picchu - is already in full swing. Tony's distinctive vocals will obviously feature in the Reborn compilation album, but he has his own third studio album due for release later this year too.

"It's very very very busy," he confesses. "It was busy before this (Reborn) and is even busier now. I've got an album coming out Lobsters and Limousines and I got a 42 date tour, I'm going to Peru, there's a hell of a lot there. I'm genuinely enjoying it though."

Speaking of his new album, Tony says, "I think it will surprise a few people. I'm really pleased with it. All you can do is be honest, put it out and see what people think. I think they're very intelligent songs, it's obviously pop, but some of it's very orchestral, some of it's kitchen-sink, but some of it's also quite tender and quite thoughtful. I think it's just a very honest album and I hope people will think 'this guy can really cut it' with great lyrics and great melodies."

Tony finished his live performance on Saturday's prime-time TV with a rendition of Through The Barricades, his favourite Spandau song. "I think it's the best and most complete track we ever did. I think it's a cool tune and I never get tired of singing that one. It's a very simple story, a Romeo and Juliet-type song," he elaborates.

When that track charted originally Spandau Ballet had a penchant for highly coiffured hair and an alternative wardrobe. Although still impeccably turned out, his dress sense is a little more tame these days. "I was at the Rock 'n' Roll hall of fame yesterday and I qualify for induction in 2006, which means I'll have been in the business for 25 years. I was talking to them about one of the outfits I've kept (from his New Romantics wardrobe) my Live Aid outfit - a big leather coat I wore when it was 90-odd degrees.

As for the rest, he says, "I know I've still got my cloak from Musclebound. To be honest most of it's gone, there might be some at my mum's house. A lot of it's gone to charity and auctions. It was all good fun... but I can't do it now. That whole fashion thing. Leave it to the young kids, leave it to the 20 year olds. Saying that I do spend quite a lot of money on clothes. But a bit more subdued, you can't have a 42-year-old guy going round in New Romantic gear. You have to grow old gracefully. I'm 42 but I'm 28 really and I still have a good time. I go out and party and enjoy myself and just enjoy life really. But in terms of the fashion, I think I'll leave that to one side."

Musically his tastes have very much moved with the times, citing among his favourite bands of the moment Wheatus, Bloodhound Gang and Queens of the Stone Age. "I like a lot of American college grunge rock," he explains. "Trouble is my 12-year-old nicks it now, he likes all that skateboard stuff. I really like a lot of that stuff, I suppose in a sense it reminds me of the punk era. I was a big fan of punk, so I like it from that point of view."

Like many established artists, though, he is understandably concerned about the state of the music business. "The biggest problem at the moment is that record companies have to realise how they are pursuing music is not the right way," he explains.

"I went to the Rock 'n' Roll hall of fame yesterday and the one thing that hits you is who the hell is gonna be the next generation of Eric Claptons, Queen, Led Zeps, Beatles, Stones. Where are they? There's no development of artist any more. John Cougar Mellenkamp, before he got to the Jack and Diane album, had had eight albums out and he'd slowly been building up a reputation before he had a big hit. Those days do not exist any more. If it carries on we won't have any future generations of big musical stars."

Tony made his acting debut on TV last year in the BBC drama Down To Earth, for which he also recorded the title theme. He's not averse to further thespian pursuits, although music will always be his first love. "A friend of mine has written a script, a superb tale based on a true story," he explains. "That's at Pinewood at the moment so we're looking for investors. But if someone comes along and offers me a film part and it's decent I'd do it definitely. It would be a challenge. I love Star Wars and Aliens and Goodfellas - I don't know about comedy somehow. I'd like something a bit mean and moody where you get to pose a lot."

Back to the music, what can audiences in the south expect from Tony's current tour? "I'll be doing some songs from the TV show," he says. "A mix of that, some Spandau stuff, new material from the album and a couple of songs we're gonna work on the road. We've got a couple of ideas we're going to develop and throw in as we go along, I quite like the spontaneity of it all. The main thing is that we're gonna have a great time, and hopefully the audiences will as well."

Tony Hadley is back in the spotlight, seemingly indestructible.

Tony plays the Anvil, Basingstoke on Thursday, May 8 (Box office: 01256 844244), Southanpton Guildhall on Monday, June 9 (Box office: 023 8063 2601) and City Hall, Salisbury on Wednesday, June 25 (Box office: 01722 327676).