Tony Hadley
Bristol Beacon ★★★★✩
WE were expecting an evening of swing and that’s exactly what Tony Hadley and his amazing band delivered. Promising hits by Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald and Tony Bennett, Hadley showed his incredible vocal talent off from the first moment to the last without faltering, despite doing the show on one leg following a recent operation on his injured knee and wearing a leg brace to support it. Looking like a younger Dean Martin with his glass of “Jack” in his hand, it was like a journey through time as we heard Fly Me To The Moon, Feeling Good, The Good Life, The Mood I’m In and You Make Me Feel So Young. However, the gig really got going when he launched into one of his Spandau Ballet hits, Only When you Leave, which really got the audience going.
The magnificent 12-piece band were in full swing now and another Spandau song, Through The Barricades, saw percussionist Lily Gonzales join Tony for a stunning duet. With the band taking it in turns to showcase their skills, we really had a great show on our hands, the brass section were doing what brass sections do, dancing, swaying and grooving through the music which all adds to the fun.
Tony threw in a Paul Anka arrangement from the Rock Swings album of another Spandau hit True, which was a rather nice touch and absolutely brought the house down with Gold, a Spandau classic which Bristol City fans sing every week at Ashton Gate! It was something of a surprise to see the versatile Adam Wakeman on the piano as he was only here 10 days ago supporting his dad, Rick Wakeman, but he slotted in nicely and featured in the encore with an atmospheric version of One For My Baby just the way Sinatra would have liked it. If I Can Dream by Elvis was the closing number with the band throwing everything at it and at the end the packed audience rose to its feet as one to acknowledge a great show and a fantastic voice. Pure Gold!