This unofficial site features his current and recent events and tours

DAE:

What made you decide to become a singer?

T H:

An uncle of mine bought me a David Bowie record when I was around eleven. At the same time my mum and dad bought me a tape recorder and I recorded myself on tape. Previous to that I'd been in choirs at school and sang at the Guildhall as well. I've been singing since I was around eight. It wasn't until I was thirteen, fourteen that I realised I wasn't going to be a surgeon and turned to music. My interest in music became more and more and at the age of thirteen, fourteen I went in for a show and everyone said, 'for a young kid you have a good voice', so that was the start of it.

DAE:

Which artist or artists influenced you in your youth?

TH:

David Bowie, T Rex, Slade, Elton John, Sweet, Queen, Be Bop Deluxe, Roxy etc. I was into those big time, I still am.

DAE:

How did you land the lead singer's job with Spandau Ballet?

TH:

It was at school. There were a few of us mucking about in the music room and there was talk about forming a band. I said if you are looking for a singer then I'm your man. We did a song the following day, which was an old Chuck Berry song called 'Carol' and that was the start of the band - we were a school band and eventually we became Spandau Ballet and we were lucky enough to eventually sign a record deal with Chrysalis records.

DAE:

An agent spotted you?

TH:

No, not really, we just started playing in clubs. For many years we were different names until we became Spandau Ballet.

DAE:

How did the Spandau Ballet name come about?

TH: A friend of ours saw it written on a toilet wall when we were in Germany . We thought that sounds different and you are always looking for something different. As a band you are always looking for the name that will make heads turn and Spandau Ballet certainly did that.

DAE:

A bit of luck then?

TH:

Yes, a stroke of luck really - right time, right place, right scene and we were lucky enough to fulfil our dream.

DAE:

You played Billy Flynn in Chicago - did you enjoy the role and do you enjoy acting as much as singing?

TH:

Yes, there is a bit of singing in the show but a lot of it is dialogue - yes pretty scary at first, but once I got into it I absolutely loved it. I did just under three months. I got some fantastic reviews - so yes very happy, really pleased with it. Chicago tied in with my swing album 'Passing Strangers', so the whole thing worked well.

DAE:

One web site says that Spandau Ballet disbanded in 1989 and another says 1990 - what year was it?

TH:

It was in 1990.

DAE:

Where do you play after Ellesmere Port ?

TH:

I go to Norway for three weeks. I then come back to England for a few more shows and then I have a two-week holiday.

DAE:

Have you anymore acting lined up - how did you land the Chicago role?

TH:

I have now got an agent so we'll see what happens there. After doing Chicago I got great reviews and a load of agents came to see me and I finally got signed up - so you never know, you never know. I just got a phone call offering me the part.

DAE:

Do you still write songs and have you got a number of them waiting to be recorded?

TH:

Yes, I have got loads of songs I have written that are half recorded. I wrote a couple of new songs for the swing album 'Passing Strangers'. I have written loads of dance songs, loads of dance stuff that has been in Europe , and yes I still write. I enjoy writing very much. First and foremost I am a singer but I enjoy writing, I love it.

DAE:

Have you always liked people like Sinatra?

TH:

Yes, my mum and dad were big Sinatra, Jack Jones, Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett fans and when I was kid growing up in North London they used to play that stuff all the time, so I was very much influenced by their choice of music. I absolutely love it and I finally made a swing album. I'm really proud of it, actually, really proud of it. I did go down the typical Sinatra route with it, so it's not your conventional swing album as such. I'm a big fan of people such as Jack Jones and Tony Bennett. There is even a Frankie Vaughan song on it but it is a brilliant Frankie Vaughan song.

DAE:

Can you write music or do you put a tune down on tape?

TH:

Yes, I play a bit of piano a bit of guitar and sometimes I write songs of my own from scratch - other times people might bring me in to do lyrics and the melody, it just depends actually. I can play instruments well enough to write songs. In the studio I bring in people who can really play. To write songs you don't have to be a fantastic player. Apart from playing a bit of piano and guitar, I am a frustrated drummer.

DAE:

Will you stay singing and touring for several more years - do you ever get tired of it and would like to cut your workload down?

TH:

No, not at all, I like working, I enjoy being on the road, I don't get tired of it, I love singing. Remember, as a kid it was a dream and finally to make it you're career and surviving for twenty-six years is quite something. Tony Bennett is eighty, Jack Jones is seventy - they are still doing it, so if I'm still singing at that age I'll carry on too. I would be bored if I retired. I can't think of anything worse than spending the rest of my life playing golf and watching daytime television.

DAE:

If you ever retire from singing is there anything else you would like to achieve?

TH:

Music is the number one. I'd like to try more acting but music is the number one so that would definitely be a priority. Yes, I just enjoy life - I'm lucky enough to do what I'm doing.

DAE:

Why did you leave your role in Chicago - did you have other commitments?

TH:

Yes, I had touring commitments so I could only fit it in that three-month period. I only wanted to do three months anyway. I kind of figured that I wanted to keep it fresh; I didn't want to out stay my welcome. I didn't want to commit to six or twelve months - three months for me was just right, lovely.

DAE:

Who do you admire in the music business today?

TH:

I love bands like The Killers, fantastic, Chemical Romance. I really like them, The Kaiser Chiefs, big fan of the Kaiser Chiefs, those kinds of bands really.

DAE:

Your acting debut was in Down to Earth - did you enjoy acting in that - did you write the track After all this time?

TH:

Yes, it was just a walk on part with a couple of lines - you're out of your comfort zone so for me it was pretty scary. I definitely enjoyed it, fantastic. I co-wrote the theme tune. They later changed it - yes a good song that.

DAE:

Why did you decide to write an autobiography, and as your career goes on will you update it from time to time?

TH:

Yes, I suppose so. Yes, there will be a second instalment but not for another ten years - I'll be fifty-seven then, so maybe then.

DAE:

Thank you for your time Tony.