Music Features

Tony & Saskia (B Jordan, Bucks Examiner)

Hadley's helping hand

Sporting an "I'M WITH THE BAND" t-shirt, 14-year-old Saskia Herdman from Buckinghamshire let Tony Hadley know who his new number one fan was.

For Saskia, who was born with the rare chromosome disorder Trisomy 18, has a lot to thank him for. The sell-out benefit concert for her that Tony performed to an audience of 450 at St Clement Danes School, Chorleywood on St Patrick's night raised £12,000.

This means that Saskia's family can fund the necessary adaptations to the family home to ensure that Saskia can remain living with them.
 
At the concert, people sang and danced along to old Spandau Ballet classics such as True, Gold and Through the Barricades together with other songs ranging from Roxy Music to one of Tony's favourites "Walking In Memphis". 

The audience were also delighted by the guest appearance of Beverley Craven, who took to the stage to sing her two most famous hits "Promise Me" and "Holding On". And after a long break from performing, Beverley was amazed that the audience sang all the words of the two songs from start to finish.

After the concert Saskia's mother told the audience how grateful and lucky Saskia was to have a friend like Tony Hadley. She also thanked everyone who had helped pull the event together to ensure it was such a special evening. As he left the stage Tony thanked the audience for their support and generosity for the night.

For those who did not have the opportunity to attend this special night, Tony's current tour stops off at The Alban Arena in St Albans on Thursday, 13 April 2006.

This is a big year for Tony as he celebrates 25 years in show business and this year's tour takes a different format from normal. Entitled "Tony Hadley By Request", it's an evening of two halves, the second of which sees Tony performing songs which have been requested by that evening's audience, meaning that in total, he and the band have had to rehearse up to 60 songs!