Tony Hadley
w/ Georgia Lines
Astor Theatre, Mount Lawley
Friday, March 20 2026
Tony Hadley, ex-lead vocalist of Spandau Ballet and one of the pre-eminent crooners amongst the New Romantics, returned to the Astor Theatre for the fifth solo Australian tour in a row, providing his adoring fans a powerhouse exhibition of synth-pop perfection.
To whet the appetite, support act Georgia Lines kicked off proceedings delightfully. Lines, Aotearoa-raised and currently Nashville-based, combined her soulful, vulnerable piano ballads with a wickedly understated sense of humour. Along with her outstanding original compositions, Lines covered Billie Eilish, Bonnie Raitt, and Kiwi staple Māori-language lullaby Hine E Hine—each of these evocative choices brought goosebumps to the skin and, especially during when the party’s over, near pin-drop silence.
Her first time in Perth, Lines filled the entire theatre with her exuberant personality and brought the whole audience on her all-too-short musical journey. Having conquered the Astor already, it would be intriguing to see her take on some of the city’s more intimate venues. A massive talent whose trajectory can only be up, Line’s eventual return to Western Australia surely must be sooner rather than later.
Sustained applause greeted Tony Hadley and band as they entered the stage. Even before one word was spoken or one lyric sung, multiple audience members leapt from their seats, the fans’ love and appreciation emphatic. Hadley began the evening seated with the oft-covered jazz standard, Feeling Good, before he launched to his feet with great verve and impeccable voice for the first of Spandau Ballet’s absolute classics, To Cut a Long Story Short.
The audience continued to lean in, as the sense of magnetic power Hadley held appeared undiminished after all these decades. Some members indeed proved to be over-enthusiastic and were escorted to the back of the theatre by venue staff—these moments in themselves were as much a part of the overall concert experience as what was happening musically. Not every live performance in 2026 engenders that level of passion, misguided or otherwise.
Returned on stage itself, Hadley reminisced about Spandau Ballet’s first tour of Australia in 1985 as he presented three songs from the album Parade, with I’ll Fly for You an obvious stand-out. An exquisite mixture of verses sung more lightly alongside a chorus belted out, this track, even more so than any earlier tonight, easily proved Hadley’s voice could still fill any room or any venue.
Round and Round appeared a fan favourite, as the phone cameras came out in higher numbers than for any song before to record snippets. Hadley recognised much of the front row as regular attendees—it was not immediately clear whether in Perth itself over the years or across the country on this current tour. He then also thanked his stage crew effusively, both the touring English and the local Australians, as without them the only applicable skill Hadley held was putting plugs into sockets, with not much more besides.
Luckily for tonight, he pivoted back to what he was eminently more skilled in and returned to the music with his own personal favourite Spandau Ballet track, Through the Barricades. Seated again for the slow-burn first half, this searingly heartfelt acknowledgement of The Troubles in Northern Ireland was a vividly plotted rock opera in miniature and quite possibly the emotional heart of the entire night.
The one true cover of the night, officially unreleased by Hadley but brought to life at his concerts for over twenty years, was also a nostalgic journey down memory lane, a tale of meeting one’s heroes backstage at Wembley during that frenetic summer’s day known as Live Aid. A hazy analogue memory half-remembered for most of tonight’s audience, Hadley had been there to perform that legendary piece of history, and this evening, more than four decades later, brought his cover of Queen’s Somebody to Love.
Hadley was immaculate in the joy, love, and lyrical sorrow he brought to the song before conducting the crowd like a literal orchestra in the back half of the track. Freddie would surely have been proud of this interpretation.
With the set played full through without an encore, Spandau’s two biggest hits were left until the very end. True emerged as a warm and loved audience singalong, with all the years stripped back, and an electric guitar successfully substituted in for the iconic saxophone solo, whilst with Gold, the crowd as one finally rose from their seats, danced, and gave full throat to the lyrics.
A wonderful evening, the audience appreciative of the music and the memories, Hadley in fantastic voice, and his band seeming to greatly enjoy themselves, it was also apparent how varied the musical influences that went into Spandau Ballet were. Very much of their time, yet now classically timeless, with their fans packing out venue after venue as Hadley provided peak showmanship to those loyal followers, one can almost certainly anticipate another venture down under in the not-too-distant future.