When Seal was about to become the lead singer of Spandau Ballet after Tony Hadley

Seal was about to become the frontman of Spandau Ballet. He tells it to Uncut the group's guitarist Gary Kemp in an interview from the “An Audience With…” series in which the artists answer readers' questions. Kemp will release his new solo album on January 31st This Destinationwhich arrives after the musician's commitment to Saucerful of Secrets, the band set up by Nick Mason to play the pre-Pink Floyd repertoire Dark Side of the Moonincluding that of Syd Barrett.

«It would be nice to see Spandau Ballet together one last time. Could it happen?” an Italian asks him. As is known, in the 90s there was a clash between the members of the group regarding royalties, a clash which was temporarily resolved in 2009 with the announcement of the reunion tour which also touched Italy. Then a new break with singer Tony Hadley on the one hand, the other four musicians on the other and intending to continue with the name Spandau Ballet. They did this by recruiting a new singer, Ross William Wild.

“I'm not against it,” Kemp says today of a Spandau reunion with Hadley. “Trying another singer was a big mistake, but we were frustrated because Tony didn't want to do it at the time. It was supposed to be Seal, but he backed out at the last minute and we ended up choosing the wrong person.”

The “wrong person” is Ross William Wild (real name Ross Davidson), who sang with the group from 2017 to 2019 and then dedicated himself to his band, Mercutio. In July 2024 the singer was found guilty of raping one woman and sexually assaulting two others, incidents that occurred starting in 2013. He was also found guilty of voyeurism.

“If we ever did,” Kemp says ad Uncut regarding the Spandau reunion whose name he holds, «it will have to be with Tony. When he wants to do it, I will be ready in the rehearsal room, 100%.”

In the same interview, the guitarist talks about the rivalry between 80s English pop bands: «There was a lot of competition, a lot of nastiness. Everyone was trying to assert themselves by elbowing their way through. The rankings were like First Division football, everyone wanted to be number one. And if you could psychologically hit your opponent, you did it. Things changed in November 1984, when we all came together for Band Aid.”

As for the experience of playing Barrett's repertoire with Mason, Kemp says that to put myself in his shoes «I did a lot of research, but I already knew him through Bowie, Bolan and Johnny Rotten, so much so that the first time I heard a Syd canon was when Bowie did See Emily Play on Pin Ups. Syd established that you could sing in that feminine, London, quirky style and everyone took after him, so I think I inherited a bit of that spirit too. I find it easier to understand Syd than Roger Waters.”