Martin Kemp has playfully reignited his long-standing feud with former Spandau Ballet bandmate Tony Hadley during a television appearance, delivering a cheeky dig just days after his own exit from I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!.
A Bond Audition Sparks a Barbed Comment
The 64-year-old singer and actor appeared on ITV's Good Morning Britain on December 5, 2025, to discuss his jungle departure. Conversation turned to his revelation on the reality show that he once auditioned for James Bond, a story he admitted he had "dined out on for years." Kemp revealed that producer Barbara Broccoli had asked him to read for the part while he was living in Los Angeles.
When co-host Adil Ray suggested that Kemp should play the suave spy while his brother and fellow Spandau member Gary Kemp could be the villain, Martin swiftly retorted: "Are you coming in as Tony Hadley?" He followed the pointed quip with a laugh and a "yeah, you get it," as Ray joked about playing Moneypenny.
The History of the Spandau Ballet Rift
The exchange references a bitter and public falling out that has defined the band's legacy since their 1980s heyday. Spandau Ballet, comprising Martin Kemp on bass, Tony Hadley on vocals, Gary Kemp on guitar, Steve Norman on saxophone, and John Keeble on drums, split in 1990 after global success with hits like True and Gold.
The rift deepened in the late 1990s when Hadley, Norman, and Keeble launched unsuccessful legal action against songwriter Gary Kemp for a share of royalties. A reunion in 2009 for a greatest hits tour seemed to mend fences, but tensions resurfaced. Tony Hadley, who himself appeared on I'm A Celebrity in 2015, quit the band for good in 2017.
In a 2021 interview on Loose Women, Hadley claimed his former bandmates had "made my life pretty impossible." He stated, "You don't just leave a band like Spandau Ballet just for the fun of it. It was a very difficult decision, but they made my life pretty impossible."
The band's official response at the time expressed frustration, noting Hadley had made it clear he didn't want to work with them anymore from September 2016. They replaced him with West End actor Ross William Wild before splitting again in 2019.
Feud Claims and Lasting Fallout
Speaking to Metro in 2022, Hadley maintained the feud was not his fault, saying it was "never my intention to leave." He alleged, "There were certain actions they took against me that just weren't very pleasant... If these are supposed to be my friends, who needs enemies?"
Martin Kemp's latest off-the-cuff remark on national television suggests the underlying tensions remain potent, transforming a light-hearted chat about James Bond into another chapter in one of British pop's most enduring disputes. The comment highlights how the personal history between the iconic New Romantics continues to surface, even years after their last performance together.
