Published: 7 July 2012
Spandau Ballet stinger Tony Hadley:
The prized possession you value above all others...My baby grand Yamaha piano. My wife Ali bought it for my 50th birthday, in 2010. It cost £10,000 so it was incredibly generous.
The unqualified regret you wish you could amend...I was too trusting when I was younger, especially of certain people in the music business.
The way you would spend your fantasy 24 hours, with no travel restrictions...I’d have breakfast with all the family [Tony has five children: Thomas, 28,Toni, 26, Mack, 21, Zara, five, and five month- old Genevieve] at Blues restaurant in Camps Bay, Cape Town. I’d then float over the Earth in space before landing back at my home in Buckinghamshire for a roast-rib-of-beef lunch with my family and friends.
Then Ali and I would get the deckchairs out at a villa we love in Sardinia and have a gin and tonic or two in peace. I’d end the day with tapas and rosé wine at Ramon’s in northern Majorca.
The temptation you wish you could resist...A kebab at 3am when I’m travelling back from a show. I love them but I have to watch my weight. I’m 16- and-a-half stone at the moment.
The book that holds an everlasting resonanceWhen I was eight I discovered The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe by C S Lewis and it made me fall in love with reading.
The priority activity if you were the Invisible Man for a day...I’d visit Area
51 [the secretive US air force base in Nevada] and find out if we’ve been
visited by aliens.
The pet hate that makes your hackles rise...I loathe litterbugs and I’m pretty vocal if I see someone do it.
The film you can watch time and time again...Chitty Chitty Bang Bang because it has everything – great music, magical scenery, a rags-toriches story and a car that can fly!
The person who has influenced you most...Frank Sinatra. I love his music, but more than that, I find inspiration from his life. He hit rock bottom, yet he dusted himself down.
The figure from history for whom you’d most like to buy a pie and a pint...William the Conqueror. I’d love to know what motivated him to invade England and what vision he had. The piece of wisdom you would pass on to a child... Be open-minded so you can always see the other side of the coin.
The unlikely interest that engages your curiosity...Logging! We moved into a new house last summer with two acres of land and quite a few trees, which I maintain. I bought a chain saw, a helmet and special leggings and boots. I’m a scary sight in all the kit.
The treasured item you lost and wish you could have again...An orange plastic Beatles guitar I had when I was five. It got lost along the way and I wish I’d looked after it.
The unending quest that drives you on...To succeed. I admire people who are content, but I need to keep striving.
The poem that touches your soul...In Flanders Fields by the Canadian Major John McCrae. It’s poignant and distils the horror of the First World War.
The misapprehension about yourself you wish you could erase...People expect me to be up myself because of all those moody Spandau Ballet publicity photos. But I’m really friendly.
The event that altered the course of your life and character...Signing the Spandau record deal with Chrysalis Records in 1980 when I was 20.
The crime you would commit knowing you could get away with it...
I’d break into the vaults underneath the Vatican and root through all the archives.
The song that means most to you...Sinatra’s That’s Life. It always lifts my spirits and reflects my take on life.
The happiest moment you will cherish forever...Playing the Albert Hall with Spandau in 1983. When I was 17 I had gone there with my mum to watch Frank Sinatra. I managed to get backstage and he spoke to me. I told him that it was my ambition to be a singer. He said, ‘I hope you succeed, son’, and shook my hand. I remembered that when I did the sound-check before that gig. I had fulfilled a dream.
The saddest time that shook your world...Also when I was 17, my nan Rose died of stomach cancer. I was absolutely devastated.
The unfulfilled ambition that continues to haunt you...I’d love to star in a wham-bam Hollywood action movie and get an Oscar.
The philosophy that underpins your life...Look after your family and friends and be a decent person.
The order of service at your funeral...I’d like people to dress as if they’re going to a concert, so it won’t be too sombre. I don’t believe in the afterlife, so I don’t want anything too religious, but maybe someone can tell a few anecdotes about my chaotic life. They can play Pretty Vacant by the Sex Pistols during the cremation and I’d like people to file out to Monty Python’s Always Look On The Bright Side of Life.
The way you want to be remembered...Here lies a good bloke. And he could sing a bit, too.
The Plug...Tony is supporting Cadbury Dairy Milk Postcards campaign as part of its London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games sponsorship.Visit www.cadburypostcards2012.co.uk
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