'I remember thinking I'll end up with a cold!' - Music legend Tony Hadley is back in Blackpool with new tour

Few voices are as instantly recognisable as that of music legend Tony Hadley.

And this Christmas he is set to bring festive cheer to Blackpool with his much-anticipated Christmas Big Band Tour at the Opera House.

Best known as the powerful frontman of 1980s chart stars Spandau Ballet, Tony helped soundtrack a generation with timeless hits including True, Gold and Through the Barricades.

Now, more than four decades after finding fame as a young man, he remains one of Britain’s most celebrated vocalists.

He remembers coming to Blackpool with Spandau Ballet in the late 1980s. I do too, I was in his audience as a star-struck 16 year old.

“Blackpool,” he said affectionately, “I’ve been up there many times. I remember performing with Spandau Ballet and I was a fitness freak at the time.

“We went for a run on the seafront and I remember thinking ‘what are you doing Tony, it's wet and windy, you are supposed be on tour and you'll end up with a cold!”

“We also did a couple of gigs at Blackpool Pleasure Beach - there was a great pub round the corner, proper ale and scrumpy it was fabulous.”

The Christmas Big Band Tour 2026 will see Tony and 18 musicians from the TH Band delivering unforgettable performances of timeless big band standards, swing favourites and 1980s athems.

“I'm looking forward to the whole tour, it's different to the festivals.

“I'm with Holly Johnson tomorrow at a festival in London, doing all the pop and rock stuff but then we'll be back to the big bands.

“The tour is full of the greats but then we'll throw in Spandau Ballet favourites and Lifeline which works brilliantly with the big band sound. There’ll be the crooney tracks and we will throw in some Christmas favourites too.

“We are all mates on the tour, it’s a true family affair, we’ll be on a party bus too.

Asked about pre-gig nerves and whether 50 years experience has put an end to them, he said: “I always get nervous, just before going on stage there's that tickly feeling inside your tummy but the minute I hit the stage, those nerves dissipate.

“I've managed to control them now. We have a duty of care to the audience, they've paid to see you and we always want to give them the best. We have to be in tip top shape but we are lucky to be surrounded by fantastic people, there's real comfort in that.

The audience at Blackpool on November 26, can expect classics from legendary artists including Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett and Elvis Presley bringing the perfect night of classic swing and festive cheer.

Touching on today’s music industry to how it was in the 1980s, Tony feels it’s much harder these days for new artists. Although there are many more platforms to showcase music, there’s also a saturation of artists making it more difficult to break through.

“I think it’s a lot harder now.

“Back in those days, record labels signed two or three bands and were mainly behind all the marketing. You had half a chance of getting there but the industry is swamped now with the amound of singles released every week.

“I know musicians that have given up, they just can't monetise it.

“There's too much out there, at least it was selective back then, sadly I don’t think music is valued as much.

“I’m still writing and still recording, I love it. I’m lucky that my voice still works and I love doing what I do.”