Tony Hadley has claimed that his ex- Spandau Ballet bandmates are lying about why he left the group in 2017.
The former lead singer of the new romantic group, who were at the height of their fame in the 1980s with hits like Gold and True, has included photos of the band as youngsters in his new book My Life In Pictures.
Along with Tony, the group also featured brothers Gary and Martin Kemp, John Keeble and Steve Norman and the five of them had been friends since the age of 11.
Spandau did not record or tour from 1990 to 2009 during which time Tony embarked on a solo career and the Kemp brothers turned their attentions to acting – with both starring in The Krays film, portraying the infamous East End gangster twins Ronnie and Reggie.
Martin also starred as Steve Owen in EastEnders for four years from 1998 to 2002.
The band got back together after a 19-year break but Tony made a statement in July 2017 on Twitter that read: "Due to circumstances beyond my control, it is with deep regret that I am required to state that I am no longer a member of the band Spandau Ballet and as such I will not be performing with the band in the future."
In response the other band members released a statement on the Spandau Ballet website, which read: "Much to our frustration, Tony had made it clear in September 2016 that he didn’t want to work with the band any more.
"This has not changed and 2015 was the last time we were able to perform or work with him. So we have now made the decision to move on as a band.”
Ross William Wild subsequently became Spandau's new lead singer in 2018 but, in May 2019, he also announced on Twitter that he had quit the band, who have been inactive ever since.
On his allegation that his former bandmates lied about the reasons for his departure from the group, Tony told The Sun: "I thanked the boys in the book.
"I have nothing to do with Spandau at all now. I wish they would be honest and someone would ask them, ‘Why did your lead singer leave the band?’
"It’s not just, as they said in the past, ‘He didn’t want to do it any more’. That’s a lie.
"There’s a lot more to it. There’s no going back from that, which is sad for them, the fans and there’s a bit of sadness for me too.
“We had some brilliant times but something happened. It’s not my place to say, it’s for them to say and they have to be honest.”
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