Tony Hadley taken to hospital after becoming ill at Northern Ireland gig
Tony Hadley was rushed to hospital just before he was due to perform a gig in Larne, Northern Ireland on Sunday night (August 27).
The former Spandau Ballet frontman, 63, was scheduled to headline the Clearer Water Antrim Coast Half Marathon Live Lounge, but became unwell during soundcheck.
He also met fans for a meet and greet after the soundcheck, but apparently appeared uncomfortable, before telling organisers that he was unwell.
“We got St John’s Ambulance,” a PR representative for the event told the Belfast Telegraph.
“We had to do what was right by him and he was taken to hospital, and his crew have all gone with him, to stick together. We hope he gets better soon.”
Belfast singer Brendan Quinn stepped in alongside fiddle player Ciara Maguire to fill the slot.
Ruth McIlroy, who organised the weekend, said fans had been “very understanding”.
“A lot of the crowd heard him do his sound check, but unfortunately he clearly wasn’t feeling well and he got worse as evening went on,” she said.
“Medics on site were very clear he needed to go to hospital. It is disappointing because we had a great day with the half marathon earlier, and Tony singing would have been the icing on the cake, but we have to take care of people, and we are more concerned that he’ll be OK.
“Performers aren’t robots, they are humans too, and we wish him a speedy recovery.”
The artist was due to perform songs from his solo career along with Spandau Ballet classics like ‘True’ and ‘Through The Barricades’.
Hadley quit as Spandau Ballet’s lead singer in 2017, citing circumstances beyond his control. Speaking to NME back in 2021, he said: “I’ll never say what happened and it’s up to them [the rest of Spandau] to tell the real story and tell the truth.
“Resigning from the band wasn’t something I wanted to do and we could have been looking at an anniversary show which would have been great.”
Earlier this year, he then told The Mirror: “You could offer me all the tea in China and I wouldn’t get back with them. There’s no way.”
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Hollie Geraghty
NME
