The British band Spandau Ballet crossed over the pond to have a number one hit in 1983 with "True."
Across the way in the UK the group dominated with eight top ten albums. The lineup for this tour includes all five original members Tony Hadley, Gary Kemp, Steve Norman, John Keeble and Martin Kemp.
Spandau Ballet was part of a movement titled New Romantic that included groups like Duran Duran and Boy George, combining flamboyant fashion and new wave music together with mainstream success.
The band split up in 1990 then reunited in 2009, reforming in 2014 for a documentary about '80s culture called Soul Boys of the Western World.
We rang the friendly frontman Tony Hadley overseas to talk about the upcoming House of Blues date on a huge tour.
Windy City Times: Hi, Tony. Where in the world are you currently?
Tony Hadley: We live in Buckinghamshire, which is kind of near Oxford in the country, north of London.
I am just in rehearsals at the moment and I am ready to come over to the States.
WCT: Is everyone in the band from that area?
Tony Hadley: No, we are all from Central London originally. We all moved out years ago. I like being out in the country. It is good fun.
WCT: I interviewed you years ago and we hung out at Market Days a bit. How did you feel that show went?
Tony Hadley: It was brilliant. That is what we look forward to when you are in a band or are an artist is playing live. I don't ever come off stage and think, "I didn't like that."
The only thing that is frustrating sometimes is if the sound is not right. Very rarely does that ever happen.
We always have the audience to feed off of and end up having a great show. I'm interested to see what it will be like on this tour. I haven't been to the United States in a long time. It will be great to see what the reaction is.
WCT: You have been in this band 30 years?
Tony Hadley: Longer, actually. We were formed in 1980 so it has been 35 years but we broke up for 20! We have only really been together for 15 years.
As you know in the film Soul Boys of the Western World we had a pretty bad fall out with the court case and everything. We are all together again. Everyone is looking good and sounding good. Musically I think we sound better than we have ever sounded. We have been rehearsing but we just want to play a show. I think we are at that point now.
WCT: How is it hitting the notes of songs like "True?"
Tony Hadley: Fine from my point of view. The thing is I sing all the time. I have my own band, The Tony Hadley Band. I tour all over the world. This [Last] year, me and my band [went] to Chile, Philippines and Hong Kong. We did an orchestral tour in Northern Europe.
Over the years, I have always kept singing so in terms of my voice I am very lucky that I am blessed that I can still hit all of the notes and not drop any of the keys. We have been rehearsing for five hours today so it is a lot of strain and big singing.
WCT: Do you put different spins on past songs?
Tony Hadley: Yeah, you change the solos but keep pretty much the same arrangement and incorporate new stuff. Take "True" for example our big song, if you change it too much that people don't recognize it then there would be an uproar.
I saw David Bowie once that changed songs so drastically that they were hardly recognizable. People didn't like it. If people have a song that they connect with they like you to keep true to the original melodically and musically. I think that is important.
WCT: With making The Story: The Very Best of Spandau Ballet, was it tricky composing the new songs and trying to sound like the older music?
Tony Hadley: We had been working on the Soul Boys movie so our records had been going into the film. Because of the film that kick started Warner to want an album of greatest hits with previously unreleased stuff. They wanted a few new songs and we wound up writing half a dozen. We just picked the three that were on the album. We literally had a couple of weeks to record them. We went straight into rehearsal and recorded them. We didn't have a lot of time but it went really well. Certainly, "Steal" and "This Is the Love" sound very much like the old music but "Soul Boy" sounds a little bit different.
WCT: What did you think of Edward Norton playing Izzy LaFontaine, a fictional bass player for Spandau Ballet, on the hit television show Modern Family?
Tony Hadley: The great thing about Modern Family is that they knew our previous bassist was Richard Miller. They really did archive the band. I always think it is flattering when people sample your music or put your song on television. I love that kind of thing. Some artists have a problem with being sampled but I don't have that problem at all. If people have a bit of fun with your music then I am happy with that.
WCT: I just saw Edward Norton in Birdman last night.
Tony Hadley: I need to see that. Michael Keaton is supposed to be brilliant. With two young children we don't get out much, but I have heard it is good.
WCT: Are you bringing the kids on tour?
Tony Hadley: No, not at all. It is a lot of back-to-back shows and a lot of traveling. I have five children and three have grown up. It is not a very nice life on the road. It is hotels, tour buses and airplanes. It is pretty tiring, even when you are a grown-up.
WCT: Do you have a favorite place that you have toured?
Tony Hadley: Everywhere is a special place. If we are talking about America we haven't toured there enough. I would like to see more of it. My wife and I went to New York last Christmas and it was fantastic.
I have to say Italy is a great country. The Italians are pretty crazy and the food is amazing.
WCT: Fans are excited about you coming back to Chicago.
Tony Hadley: We are, too. I have an auntie who lives just outside of Chicago about two hours away. She is my dad's sister and will be coming to the show.
WCT: The House of Blues is just an iconic place to play.
Tony Hadley: It will be brilliant and great fun. I'm just really looking forward to it. We will be doing all of the hits with "True," "Gold," "Through the Barricades," "Communication" and "Lifeline." We have not had as many hits in the States as Europe but we certainly have diehard fans. We will be playing all of the stuff that they know.
WCT: You must have gained a lot of gay fans from playing Market Days.
Tony Hadley: Okay, cool—that was great. We are looking forward to seeing them when we play. We are hoping for a general release of the film Soul Boys of the Western World in the United States. It really documents where we came from as a band and what Britain was like in the '60s, '70s and '80s to present-day. Even if you are not a fan of Bowie or Roxy Music it is a pretty cool film.
WCT You just missed the David Bowie exhibit in Chicago.
Tony Hadley: Oh, yeah. He is a massive influence on my generation. What a clever man he is.
Spandau Ballet: Soul Boys of the Western World Tour takes on House of Blues, 329 N. Dearborn St., on Saturday, April 25, at 9 p.m. ( This has been changed from Jan. 30. ) Look for tickets at www.hob.com and www.spandauballet.com .
