CityLife

Hairspray alert! Spandau to play city

SHIP AHOY!: Spandau announce their return 1 / 2 images

IT may not be the reunion news many wanted after hearts were sent a fluttering following idle talk of a Stone Roses reformation - but one 1980s outfit who have reunited are Spandau Ballet.

Famed for their soft-pop ballads, lacquered hair and frilly shirts - the stars of the New Romantic movement who soundtracked many a school disco last dance announced their return on HMS Belfast in London.

An eight-date UK arena tour has now been booked, culminating with a show in Manchester on October 28.

The five-piece scored a string of top 10 hits during the decade that fashion forgot including Gold and True, but suffered an acrimonious split that ended in the High Court.

Lead singer Tony Hadley told a national newspaper: “The boys are back in town and we can’t wait. It’s going to be brilliant, we’re very excited, but it will be very different.”

He promised a “new take” on the Spandau Ballet idea.

After the band split in 1989, two members - brothers Martin and Gary Kemp - went into acting, starring as east end gangsters Ronnie and Reggie Kray in the 1990 film The Krays.

Martin Kemp also starred as villain Steve Owen in EastEnders in the late 1990s.

Original drummer John Keeble and saxophonist Steve Norman will also join them on tour.

Spandau Ballet are the latest in a series of groups to reunite - Take That, The Police, and most recently Blur, have all re-grouped in recent years.

Alas, the clammering for our very own Smiths and the Roses to follow suit appears to have fallen on deaf ears.

Spandau Ballet play the M.E.N. Arena on Wednesday, October 28. Tickets are £45, £60.