Quotes

To be a pop star you've got to want it so badly that there will be nights where you'll just sob in bed over the disappointment.

I always loved Duran Duran. Especially after what's happened with Spandau Ballet since, I wish I had joined them in the first place.

For me, everything about being a singer was about rebellion. The idea was to shock the establishment - you didn't want your parents to like the same music as you. That would have been a nightmare!

I don't really care what people think any more. I do whatever I want to do now and I have the freedom to do it. I have been shafted again and again and I have learned the hard way with a lot of heartache and a lot of financial cost, too.

In the beginning, my grandad refused to sit on the same carriage as me on the train, and I quite liked that really. That was what it was all about. But even by 1983 it was all coming to an end. We wore nice clothes and people were hoping I would marry their daughters.

I was touring Australia with Spandau Ballet and heard that Queen were playing at a big open-air festival in New Zealand. I flew over and got invited to the sound check. It was very Spinal Tap - a crazy entourage and different colored Smarties all separated out in dishes. Freddie Mercury asked if I wanted a drink. We ended up polishing off a bottle of Stolichnaya at the bar. Then he said he had a bottle of port in his room. "Darling," he said as we finished the port, "you must come on stage tonight. Do you know Jailhouse Rock?" Neither of us could remember the words. At the concert I stood at the side of the stage watching Freddie, the consummate frontman. And Brian May, off on those guitar solos. They were my heroes from childhood. Then Freddie flounced across to me and hissed: "Hadley, you bastard, I'm pissed." Then we did Jailhouse Rock. We made up the words. It was brilliant. Ecstatic. One of those nights you never forget.

[on Spandau's hits] They've stood the test of time, which is good.

[on Spandau Ballet songs] They're quite grand. They're quite luvvie, really, aren't they?

I'm a frustrated drummer. I'm always trying to get on top of the drum kit but I'm not very good.

[on the 1980s] It was a very defining decade. If you look, the politics, the economics, the music, I mean, you know, really identifiable bands, and also Live Aid (1985), so that was a kind of focal point as well. But also, bands got loads of TV exposure, we were doing TV all the time and we were around for ten years. And even when we had a dip in records, unlike today where they'd drop you, that's it, sorry, you're unsigned, they would stick with you so you did have some kind of longevity as a musician. And also, some of the songs were really naff but a lot of them were really good.

Just because I'm a Tory supporter doesn't mean to say I agree with every single thing that they do.

[on his relationship with the reformed Spandau Ballet] I feel it's a bit like Phil Collins and Genesis, where we'll come together and then do our thing for a while. Now, we'll write new album and then tour again in a couple of years.

Alongside Queen, Bowie (David Bowie), Be-Bop Deluxe, I was also listening to swing.

I don't think "True" is Spandau's best song - for me, "Through the Barricades" is. But "True" had some connection, and I really don't know why.

We grew up on David Bowie and Roxy Music. "Virginia Plain" - what's that about? Half of the Bowie songs, I couldn't tell you what they're about.