3:20pm Friday 20th August 2010
Spandau Ballet frontman Tony Hadley may be best known for singing 80s pop classics but a different side to his musical nature will be on display at the Hampton Court Beer and Jazz festival next week. He takes to the stage with his swing band to belt out big band classics made famous by Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett and other legendary crooners.
He says: “I love doing the swing stuff, I get a real kick out of it.
“When you’ve got a big swing band behind you and there is that moment when they really kick in, it is a great feeling. The thing with swing songs is that they tend to start gently and build up into a crescendo and, for a singer, that is a great feeling.”
Hadley says he has his parents to thank for introducing him to swing music and, as a teenager, his Sinatra LPs sat happily alongside the Sex Pistols albums in his record collection.
He says: “When I was growing up, especially on a Sunday when my mum was preparing lunch, we were always playing Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Jack Jones and Johnny Mathis.
“When I decided that singing was what I wanted to do, my mum and dad told me not to just think of myself as a punk rocker and dismiss classic acts. They told me to listen to these guys, the way they sing and not just restrict myself to one kind of music – that was probably the best advice that I’ve ever had.”
After last year’s Spandau Ballet reunion tour, Hadley says he is looking forward to getting back in the swing of things with his big band shows and hitting the studio to record his next solo album.
But any Spandau fans in attendance at the Hampton Court show will be in for a treat as he promises a few of the band’s most popular songs will get the big band treatment.
Hadley says: “We do a great swing version of True that Paul Anka did for his Rock Swings album and we do a nice contemporary, rhythmic version of Gold, with a big brass section, and it actually sounds bloody great.”
As the name of the festival suggests, the Hampton Court Beer and Jazz Festival is not just about the music, with plenty of ales on sale to keep festivalgoers in high spirits. Hadley is hoping he will prove a hit not only on stage but also across the bars as beers from the Red Rat Craft Brewery, which he co-owns, will be available.
He says: “We will have Hadley’s Gold barrelled up and some of our chilli beer available. It started off as a tiny brewery in Suffolk but we’ve won lots of awards and are starting to expand. I’m very hands on, particularly in terms of the tasting.”
Tony Hadley, Hampton Court Beer and Jazz Festival, Hampton Court Palace, August 29, noon (doors), £20, for more information, visit hampton courtbeerandjazz.com
© Copyright 2001-2012 Newsquest Media Group
http://www.richmondandtwickenhamtimes.co.uk/trade_directory/