Tony Hadley Gives Australia A 40th Anniversary Party

This is Tony Hadley’s 40th Anniversary Tour but it covers a lot more than the last 40 years. The oldest song in the set, Frank Sinatra’s ‘One For My Baby’ goes back nearly 80 years. Chuck Berry’s ‘Carol’ is over 60 years old. Yes, it has been 41 years since that first Spandau Ballet album but Tony Hadley is putting this show in context. He is taking it back to where it all started for him.

For Hadley’s 40th Anniversary Tour show, Tony is telling the story of his journey to glory. He talked about meeting Sinatra when he was 17 and performing that Chuck Berry song in his early band. As a bookend, we also hear Tony 2022/2023 with some of the new songs we can expect to hear on an album in 2023 as part of this set. But the ones the audience was there to hear, and sing along to, were the Spandau Ballet hits, and they were in abundance.

Spandau Ballet flew for you right through the 80s. Their first album was released in 1981, the last album before they broke up came out in 1989. Tony Hadley’s voice was front and centre as a soundtrack of the 80s. The centrepiece of this show were the classics of that time.

The 80s were a time of constant change for Spandau Ballet. Unlike other acts of the era, they evolved. The first two albums had more in common with Depeche Mode and Duran Duran while the next two were marinated in America Soul. That first hit ‘To Cut A Long Story Short’ gave no indication of ‘True’ just three years later and then ‘Through The Barricades’ just a few years after that took Tony to crooner status. The various flavours of Spandau flowed throughout the 40th Anniversary setlist with Tony in shuffle mode bouncing from the funk of ‘Chant No 1’ to the soul of ‘True’, the synth pop of ‘To Cut A Long Story Short’ and back to smooth for ‘Barricades’. The variety of sounds made for a fast-paced show. The 100-minute performance flew by.

It is impossible not to enjoy this Tony Hadley show. If you are thinking ‘its not quite Spandau Ballet’, well, it actually is. The voice is there and Tony does not mess with the formula.

Tony Hadley setlist at 18 September, 2022

Instinction (from Spandau Ballet, Diamond, 1982)
Highly Strung (from Spandau Ballet, Parade, 1984)
Carol (Chuck Berry cover)
To Cut a Long Story Short (from Spandau Ballet, Journeys To Glory, 1981)
Only When You Leave (from Spandau Ballet, Parade, 1984)
Communication (from Spandau Ballet, True, 1983)
Obvious (new)
I’ll Fly for You (from Spandau Ballet, Parade, 1984)
Round and Round (from Spandau Ballet, Parade, 1984)
Lost in Your Love (from The State of Play, 1992)
Soul Boy (from The Very Best of Spandau Ballet, 2015)
Because of You (new)
Through the Barricades (from Spandau Ballet, Through The Barricades, 1986)
Tonight Belongs to Us (from Talking To The Moon, 2018)
Chant No. 1 (I Don’t Need This Pressure On) (from Spandau Ballet, Diamond, 1982)
Mad About You (new)
Lifeline (from Spandau Ballet, True, 1983)
True (from Spandau Ballet, True, 1983)

Encore:
One for My Baby (Frank Sinatra cover)
Gold (from Spandau Ballet, True, 1983)

Tony Hadley dates are:

Australia

15 September, Tweed Heads, Twin Towns
16 September, Brisbane, Fortitude Music Hall
17 September, Sydney, Enmore Theatre
18 September, Melbourne, Palais Theatre
21 September, Adelaide, Thebarton Theatre
22 September, Perth, Astor Theatre

New Zealand

24 September, Christchurch, James Hay Theatre
25 September, Auckland, Skycity Theatre

Get Tony Hadley tickets here

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