Spandau Ballet singer Tony Hadley has revealed how a couple of pints, a vodka shot and a backstage tradition help him settle his nerves before performing live. The 66-year-old, who is celebrating 50 years in music, says he still gets butterflies before going on stage, but years of experience have taught him how to manage them.
Speaking exclusively to BANG Showbiz, Hadley explained that his nerves once affected him so badly as a teenager that he would feel close to being sick before a performance. These days, the feeling disappears as soon as he starts singing.
It’s because you want to be the best you can be, and you just want it to go swimmingly well and everything to work.
The butterflies are there just before I go on, but as soon as I start to sing, as soon as I open my big mouth, I feel at ease. It’s almost euphoric.
The singer believes the key is learning to enjoy performing rather than letting nerves take over.
But you do learn to control it over the years and enjoy it. The most important thing is to enjoy it. And if you’re enjoying it, then the audience can see that. All you want the audience to do is walk out with a big smile on their face, and say, ‘Oh, wow. That was great!’
Tony Hadley’s Pre-Show Ritual Involves A Vodka Shot
Hadley has developed a light-hearted routine with his Fabulous TH Band to help everyone relax before taking to the stage. The group finds a nearby pub, shares a couple of pints and then gathers for a final pre-show tradition.
We find the nearest pub, we have a couple of pints, and then before we go on, we have what is called a 99, which is basically a vodka shot.
And then we drink it, we put the cup on our head, and someone says an anecdote, something stupid that happened during the day, and we all have a weird saying and shake hands, last-minute wee, and then we’re on!
Hadley stressed that the ritual is about easing tension, not drinking before a performance.
None of us go on drunk or anything. It just helps to kind of taper the nerves.
Why Tony Hadley Loves Touring With His Band
The singer also credited the close friendship within his touring group for creating a relaxed atmosphere before and after shows. With the musicians travelling and sleeping together on a tour bus, getting along is essential.
We’re all mates. I know all the brass boys, obviously all my band, and so there’s a really great atmosphere amongst us before we go on.
We like hanging with each other. We’re all sleeping on the sleeper bus together, so we have to like each other.
Hadley said the band rarely spends its time picking apart performances once they leave the stage. Instead, they tend to celebrate the show before winding down for the night.
We come off stage, we sit around, have a few drinks. We don’t dissect the show. To be honest, normally we come off and go, ‘Wow, that was brilliant. That was good.’
Very rarely do we ever come off and say, ‘Well, that was a bit weird.’ I can’t remember the last time we did that because we all love playing together.
Their touring routine often means a late night followed by a relatively early start.
Then we’ll sit around and get on the tour bus, probably stay up till about two o’clock in the morning and get up 10 hours later.
Tony Hadley Celebrates 50 Years In Music With Christmas Big Band Tour
Hadley’s pre-show routine will be put to use throughout his upcoming 19-date The Christmas Big Band Tour, which runs across November and December 2026.
Joined by a full brass section and his regular band, the former Spandau Ballet frontman will perform swing and big band standards alongside songs associated with Elvis Presley, Spandau Ballet favourites and seasonal classics.
For Hadley, the tour is an opportunity to revisit the music he grew up listening to, including the work of Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Jack Jones and Dean Martin.
I’m always excited to do a big band tour. It’s one of those things that’s very expensive; there’s a lot of people to take on the road, we’ve got trucks and sleeper buses and all sorts of stuff.
But it’s one of the best tours you can do because you’ve got the core band, the electric band, you’ve then got the big brass section behind you, and you’re singing all these wonderfully beautiful classic songs from Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Jack Jones, Dean Martin.
I grew up listening to that kind of stuff, as well as Sex Pistols and Queen and Roxy and Bowie, and I just love singing those kind of crooner kind of songs.
The setlist will also include a couple of Elvis songs, alongside Spandau Ballet material reworked for the larger ensemble.
We called it The Big Band Tour because it means we can incorporate – for instance, I’m a massive Elvis fan, so we’re going to do a couple of great Elvis tunes.
There’s also some Spandau numbers in there as well. We’ve done an orchestration from Lifeline, which sounds amazing with the big brass section behind it.
And we’ve got some Christmas songs, too.
So it’s a real musical journey, but primarily it’s that wonderful swing, Rat Pack kind of stuff, which is fantastic.
Tony Hadley’s The Christmas Big Band Tour Dates 2026
Tickets are on sale now through myticket.co.uk. The 19-date UK tour begins in Plymouth on 7 November and concludes in London on 4 December.
November 2026
- 7 November: Plymouth, Plymouth Arena
- 8 November: Hastings, White Rock Theatre
- 9 November: Southend-on-Sea, Cliffs Pavilion
- 12 November: Oxford, New Theatre Oxford
- 13 November: Cambridge, Cambridge Corn Exchange
- 15 November: Ipswich, Ipswich Regent Theatre
- 16 November: Bournemouth, Bournemouth Pavilion
- 17 November: Truro, Hall for Cornwall
- 19 November: Birmingham, Symphony Hall
- 20 November: Manchester, O2 Apollo Manchester
- 21 November: York, York Barbican
- 23 November: Edinburgh, Usher Hall
- 25 November: Hull, Connexin Live
- 26 November: Blackpool, The Blackpool Opera House
- 27 November: Gateshead, The Glasshouse
- 29 November: Glasgow, The Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
- 30 November: Nottingham, Royal Concert Hall
December 2026
- 3 December: Bristol, Bristol Beacon
- 4 December: London, London Coliseum
