Five boys from the same north London school. One of the defining soundtracks of the 1980s. And in 2026, five separate lives that have gone in directions nobody would have predicted when Gold was echoing around Wembley at Live Aid. The members of Spandau Ballet haven’t shared a stage since 2018, and the question of whether they ever will again is one none of them seem in any hurry to answer.
- Spandau Ballet started back in 1979 in North London; four of the founding members actually went to Dame Alice Owen’s School together, while bassist Martin Kemp came from Central Foundation Boys’ School
- The classic lineup: Tony Hadley singing lead, Gary Kemp on guitar and writing most of the songs, Martin Kemp on bass, Steve Norman on sax, John Keeble behind the drums
- “To Cut a Long Story Short” shot straight to number 5 on the UK charts back in 1980
- “True” is the big one though, hit number 1 in 1983, racked up over four million US radio plays, and it even picked up a BMI award in 2011
- Tony Hadley walked away from the band for good in July 2017 and has been doing his own solo touring since
- The band played their last live show on October 29, 2018, and there’s been no word of a reunion as of 2026
- Ross Davidson, who performed under the name Ross Wild and briefly fronted the band’s live shows in 2018, was convicted of rape and sexual assault and sentenced to 14 years in prison in April 2026
The School That Started Everything
Gary Kemp and Steve Norman were already close friends and both students at Dame Alice Owen’s School in Islington when they decided to start a band in October 1976. The catalyst was watching the Sex Pistols at the Screen on the Green that summer. John Keeble joined on drums. Michael Ellison came in on bass before eventually being replaced by Gary’s younger brother Martin. Tony Hadley was brought in when the school moved to Potters Bar.
They spent lunchtimes in the school music room playing sped-up Rolling Stones and Beatles covers. By the early 1980s they were on the front cover of every music magazine in Britain. That kind of trajectory either binds people together for life or pulls them apart in spectacular fashion. With Spandau Ballet it did both, at different times.
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Tony Hadley
Born in Hampstead on 2 June 1960, Tony Hadley is the former lead singer in Spandau Ballet and the most immediately recognisable face from the band to most British audiences. His voice was the thing. Music journalist Dave Rimmer described it as like a foghorn trying to emulate both Sinatra and Bowie, which sounds like an insult and reads as a compliment once you hear what he does with it.
True, number one, that’s him. Gold became part of British sporting tradition somewhere along the way too. In 1984 he sang on Band Aid, fifth voice in, coming after Paul Young, Boy George, George Michael, and Simon Le Bon. Live Aid at Wembley followed in ’85. Then the band split in 1990. Solo albums came out, didn’t sell much. He sued Gary Kemp in 1999 over royalties and lost. 2009 brought a reunion everyone hoped would stick; it didn’t. He was out for good by 2017, and by 2020 he was telling anyone who’d listen that being happy on his own beat was better than being back in that band. Hardly a diplomatic way to leave.
In 2026 he’s doing well by any measure. Touring with his Fabulous TH Band, mixing Spandau hits with big band swing material, performing at venues like the Royal Albert Hall, and working on a new contemporary solo album, following his eighth studio album If I Can Dream. He was named in the New Year Honours list for his charity work with Shooting Star Children’s Hospice, officially receiving his MBE medal from Princess Anne in 2020. He met the late Queen separately in connection with the same charity and later described driving through the night from Germany to make sure he didn’t miss the appointment.
Gary Kemp
Without Gary Kemp, Spandau Ballet has no legacy. He wrote everything. Every hit. Every album track. True was his. Gold was his. Through the Barricades was his. He was playing guitar in the band he’d helped form as a teenager and simultaneously writing songs that would log four million US radio airplays and win BMI awards decades later.
After the original 1990 split, he moved into acting. He starred alongside his brother Martin in the acclaimed British film The Krays, and played a major role in The Bodyguard with Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner. He was doing things that had very little to do with synthesisers and New Romantic haircuts. In recent years he’s returned to performing his own material alongside the Spandau catalogue, and has spoken in interviews with real thoughtfulness about what it means to have written all those songs and then watched the band around them fracture.
Martin Kemp
Gary’s younger brother came in on bass and became one of the more striking visual presences in the band during their peak years. After the 1990 split he and Gary landed the roles of Ronnie and Reggie Kray in The Krays, earning widespread critical acclaim for their performances. That opened a door Martin Kemp walked through decisively.
EastEnders came calling in 1998. He played Steve Owen and introduced himself to an entirely new audience, most of whom had no idea he’d spent the previous decade in one of Britain’s biggest bands. Still on television regularly in 2026, still talking about the Spandau years like someone who actually enjoyed them.
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Steve Norman
Steve Norman’s actually one of the two guys who started this whole thing after seeing the Sex Pistols play in 1976. He’s all over the catalogue too, sax, guitar, percussion, wherever the songs needed him. After the band split in 1990, he ended up in Ibiza, spent years making Balearic and chill-out stuff with local producers out there. Pretty far from New Romanticism, but from what people say it was intentional, not some kind of identity crisis. He came back for the 2009 reunion and stuck around until 2019. When the Wild situation broke, Norman put out a statement saying flat out he knew nothing about it and hadn’t been consulted on anything happening with his own band.
John Keeble
Keeble kept the rhythm going from 1979 right through to the final concerts. After the original split he carried on as a session player and performed alongside former Sigue Sigue Sputnik guitarist Neal X in Tony Hadley’s solo backing band. Later he toured with The Troggs and played alongside guitarist John McGeoch in Pacific. Back in 2009, like the others, he stayed until the end.
The Ross Wild Chapter
When Hadley made clear in 2017 that he was finished, the remaining members found Ross Wild, a singer whose real name is Ross Davidson, to front a run of European tour dates and a one-off show at the Hammersmith Apollo in 2018. Wild left in May 2019, tweeting that he was off to pursue his own music. Martin Kemp said publicly there were no plans to go out without the original lead singer of Spandau Ballet.
That should’ve been the end of the story. It wasn’t. Wild was arrested in March 2021, charged with sexual offences dating back to 2013. By 2024 he’d been convicted of voyeurism, rape, and sexual assault. Then in January 2026 came another rape conviction. On 30 April 2026, he was sentenced to 14 years in prison.
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Where Things Stand in 2026
As of 2026, there’s nothing to report, really. No announcement, no tour on the horizon. Just five people who grew up together, made something bigger than the decade it belonged to, broke up, reunited, broke up again, and are now off living separate lives. Hadley’s out there touring and looks happy doing it. Gary Kemp’s performing. Martin Kemp’s on television. Norman and Keeble, quieter paths, doing their own things away from the spotlight.
Another show together someday? Nobody’s saying never. Nobody’s saying yes either.
FAQ
Who are the members of Spandau Ballet?
Five guys. Hadley singing, Gary Kemp on guitar (and writing nearly everything), Martin Kemp on bass, Steve Norman on sax, John Keeble on drums. Funny thing, four of them went to the same school in north London. Martin went somewhere else nearby.
Who is the lead singer of Spandau Ballet?
Tony Hadley. If you’ve heard True or Gold, that’s him. Left in 2017, and didn’t hold back about it either; told people in 2020 he’d rather be happy solo than back in that band.
Are Spandau Ballet still together?
No. Hasn’t been a show since 2018. No reunion talk, nothing. Everyone’s just doing their own thing now.
What is Tony Hadley doing in 2026?
Touring right now with his Fabulous TH Band, big band swing mixed in with the old hits. Word is there’s a new solo album coming too, after If I Can Dream, which was his eighth.
Who wrote Spandau Ballet’s songs?
Gary Kemp, mostly all of it. True, Gold, Through the Barricades- the songs that actually mattered, those were his.
What happened with Ross Wild?
Stepped in as touring vocalist in 2018 when Hadley left. Later convicted of rape and other sexual offences. Sentenced to 14 years in April 2026.
What was Spandau Ballet’s biggest hit?
True. Number one in the UK in 1983, over four million US airplays since. Though honestly Gold’s the one people still hear the most, it’s everywhere at sporting events even now.
Sources and References
- Wikipedia – Spandau Ballet
- Wikipedia – Tony Hadley
- Contact Music – Tony Hadley Christmas Big Band Tour 2026
- The Rockpit – Tony Hadley Australia Tour 2026
- Great British Life – Tony Hadley Interview 2025
- Destroy All Lines – Tony Hadley Tour 2026
