Martin Kemp could tell by Tony Hadley’s body language that he didn’t want to be in Spandau Ballet anymore.
The ‘Gold’ group’s bassist has admitted he knew the former frontman – who announced he had quit via Twitter in July last year – wasn’t "happy" performing as part of the band anymore by how he acted around his bandmates.
Appearing on UK TV show ‘This Morning’ on Thursday (20.06.18), Martin said: "You know when you can feel somebody’s body language, you could see he wasn’t happy.
"I could see he wanted to go off and do his own thing, his own album.
"I wish him the best of luck, absolutely."
The ‘Through the Barricades’ hitmakers – completed by Martin’s brother Gary Kemp, Steve Norman and John Keeble – didn’t want to end the band and now they are performing with a new frontman, theatre star Ross William Wild – who is half Tony’s age.
Martin – who spent last year working with Ross in ‘Million Dollar Quartet’ on the West End – says the new vocalist keeps them "young" and adds a "rockier" element to their sound, whilst still sounding somewhat like Tony.
He said: "A lot of his voice sounds like Tony, but then he brings this younger rockier thing to it.
"It’s exciting. When I look around he makes me feel younger, so he can stay in the band."
Tony recently claimed that not seeing "eye-to-eye" with Gary was partly why he quit.
The pair had a strained relationship and the singer claims their conflicting views played a part in his exit.
He spilled: "If ever there was a rub between two people in Spandau, it was between the two of us.
"It’s just two big personalities in a small space. Politically we’ve never really seen eye to eye, so that’s an element of it."
The 58-year-old star – who released his solo album ‘Talking to the Moon’ on June 8 – also admits that the fact Spandau didn’t warm to the idea of doing solo projects in between the band, ultimately drove him out.
He said: "I thought we could have a Phil Collins/Genesis arrangement, do our own things, get back together every few years. It hasn’t happened, has it?
"So, put it this way – if they wanted to get rid of their lead singer, they went about it the right way."
The group acrimoniously split in 1990 due to a row over royalties, but eventually put their differences aside in 2009 for a huge reunion tour and the album ‘Once More’.
They came together again in 2015 for another tour before Tony walked away.
Martin Kemp: I could see Tony wasn’t happy in Spandau Ballet
