Tony Hadley criticises 'embarrassing' use of Spandau Ballet's Gold in washing detergent ad
Tony Hadley has said the use of Spandau Ballet's hit Gold in an advert for washing detergent Bold is "embarrassing".
The 60-year-old, who broke away from the band in 2017, has criticised the 2019 commercial which sees the word "gold" swapped out for "bold" in the lyrics which have also been reworked to relate to the product.
He told The Sun: “It’s embarrassing. I posted a social media disclaimer saying, ‘This was nothing to do with me’."
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The song, written by guitarist Gary Kemp, was a hit for the band in 1983 from their third album True.
“Gary wrote Gold. It’s anthemic. When I sing it live, the audience sing back. To change the title is just weird. I thought it was in bad taste,” Hadley went on.
Back in May, Hadley distanced himself from the advert as he clarified it was not him singing the new version.
He tweeted: "I’ve now had several people asking if that’s me singing on the new Bold detergent advert? I can promise you it’s definitely not me singing! Love Tone xx."
The singer left the group in 2017, with the remaining Spandau Ballet members stating they would "move on as a band", although they parted ways in 2019.
Recently, Hadley’s replacement Ross William Wild has said his public sacking from the group led to a suicide bid.
Their disbandment came 10 years after they reformed in 2009 following a fallout over royalties in the 90s.
Hadley, along with saxophonist Steve Norman and drummer John Keeble, sued Kemp in pursuit of songwriting royalties in 1999.
The guitarist had penned the group's songs but the trio believed they were entitled to a share of the profits because of their musical contributions. Kemp ultimately won the case.
In his recent interview, Hadley shot down talk of a reunion as he said "rather be happy on [his] own".
Meanwhile, Kemp along with bassist brother Martin Kemp has starred in a mockumentary about their life as musical brothers in The Kemps: All True, which debuted on BBC Two last night.