'ONWARDS and upwards' is the attitude of former Spandau Ballet frontman Tony Hadley, who is once more stepping out into the world as a solo artist.

Having started out in the music industry in the mid-1970s, Hadley was one of the prominent figures of a golden era of British music.

Even though most people will know the 58-year-old as the singer of such hits as True, Gold and Through the Barricades, it is his solo career which has actually spanned a longer dynasty than Spandau Ballet.

Speaking to The Gazette, Hadley said: “What do you do when you have been in a band like Spadau Ballet for 10 years?

“It was a bit scary at first, but you soon get used to it. You surround yourself with fabulous musicians and it makes the experience as fun as possible.

“When we first split in 1990 there was a lot of soul searching on my part, but we managed to overcome it, but the solo work has always been there.

“I like being a solo artist, I really enjoy that.”

To coincide with the release of his highly anticipated new solo record Talking to the Moon, Hadley will be heading to the Anvil on Friday, 12 October.

After leaving Spandau, what seems like for good this time, the singer has taken a fresh approach to his music.

Thirty years on, the unmistakable voice of Hadley still brims with passion and urgency as it first did all those years ago.

He added: “This feels like it is the first album that I have ever realised because I wanted people to think ‘wow’ when they heard it.

“When you do an original album you want to get it right, you revisit things and you start faffing around, but now I have done it and it has been well received I already want to move on to the next one.”

When it comes to the upcoming tour, Hadley knows there will be audience members who are anticipating the hits but insists he will be playing material from the new record as well.

“If you have a legacy and a history, they are songs that I will be singing until the day I die,” Hadley continued.

“You have to sing those songs because they mean so much to people. But you need to move forward as you don’t want to keep being a nostalgia act.”

Something that has surprised the singer in recent years is the power of reality TV.

Having appeared on I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here in 2015, Hadley has now seen a younger dynamic to his audiences.

“I keep get people coming asking for a selfie,” he said.

The turbulent nature of Hadley and Spandau Ballet’s career has always been well documented.

However, following the frontman’s exit in 2017, in his words something feels different this time around.

He added: “A lot of people thought ‘oh Tony broke up the band’. I did not break up the band. There is a hell of a lot more to it.

“The people I have told privately are quite shocked at the reasoning. It was not an easy decision and it wasn’t one that I wanted to make but I found myself in a no-win position.

“But life goes on, I’m a happy boy and I am still making music.”

Tony Hadley will be performing at the Anvil on October 12. For more information and tickets visit anvilarts.org.uk/whats-on/tony-hadley.