(Pop, Holiday, Christmas) Tony Hadley (Spandau Ballet) - Christmas Album (Special Edition) - 2016, FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Tony Hadley was the soulful front man for the hugely popular 1980s New Romantic band Spandau Ballet. After fifteen Top 10 singles (including the #1 smash "True") the group took a 20-year hiatus before reforming in 2009, again hitting the U.K. Top 10 with their reunion album, Once More. Following an acclaimed 2014 documentary about the band (Soul Boys Of The Western World, directed by Julien Temple) and a successful tour, Hadley stepped out in 2015 with The Christmas Album, his first holiday offering, showing the same adventurous spirit while doing what he does best-making every song his own.
Along with standards like "White Christmas," "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" and "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town," The Christmas Album moves effortlessly into the '50s with Chuck Berry's "Run Run Rudolph," the '70s with "I Believe In Father Christmas" (Greg Lake of Emerson Lake & Palmer), The Pogues' "Fairytale Of New York" from the '80s, and into the current century with Keane's "Somewhere Only We Know" as well as original songs written by Tony Hadley - "Every Second I'm Away" and "Snowing All Over The World". Previously only available as an import, this 2016 version of The Christmas Album adds three new tracks ("Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" dueting with Kim Wilde, "Jingle Bells" dueting with Max Giusti and "Silent Night") for its introduction to the world!
From "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" (a duet with Kim Wilde) to "Shake Up Christmas" (co-written by Butch Walker and Pat Monahan of Train), The Christmas Album delivers to the romantic, the new romantic and every generation in between. A new holiday classic? We know this much is true.
For a decade, suave Tony Hadley was the voice and image of Spandau Ballet, guiding the one-time New Romantic act to global success, crooning a string of smash hits like "To Cut a Long Story Short, "True," "Gold," and "Through The Barricades." Born on June 2, 1960 in Islington, Hadley had won a small singing competition in 1974 with his rendition of Gary Puckett's "Young Girl." In July of 1979, he joined forces with guitarist Gary Kemp and sax player Steve Norman, who were putting together a band that was soon christened Spandau Ballet. The group would become a regular on the U.K. charts and, although their success in the States would be limited, they did manage to score with the mammoth hit "True," which hit number four in late 1983 after topping charts world-wide. By the late '80s, the hitmaking run was ending and group members were pursuing other interests. In 1991, hip-hop duo P.M. Dawn revived "True," sampling the song for their smash "Set Adrift On Memory Bliss," with Hadley making an appearance in the video. By this time, Hadley had signed a deal with EMI and released his solo debut, The State of Play, the following year. A trio of minor singles from the album charted in the U.K. - "Lost In Your Love" would be the most successful (although it failed to crack the Top 40). Five years later, Hadley returned to the charts with Tin Tin Out's hit "Dance With Me." He also released his second solo outing that year - a self-titled album comprised mostly of covers, including versions of Duran Duran's "Save A Prayer," Bryan Ferry's "Slave To Love," and Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'." Although it would fail to restore his commercial clout, Hadley continued to perform live at European festivals and release records.

Written by Pat Monahan (1), Butch Walker (1), Greg Lake (2), Sergey Prokofiev (2), Peter Sinfield (2), Ralph Blane (3), Hugh Martin (3), J. Fred Coots (4), Haven Gillespie (4), James Pierpont (5), Jeffrey B. Franzel (6), Andrew Fromm (6), Sandy Linzer (6), Jeremy Finer (7), Shane MacGowan (7), Tom Chaplin (8), Richard Hughes (8), Timothy Rice-Otley (8), Nicholas Barry (9), Michael Donald Chapman (9), Claudio Guidetti (10), Tony Hadley (10, 16), Claudio Guidetti (10), Annalisa Scarrone (10), Sammy Cahn (11), Jule Styne (11), Irving Berlin (12), Franz Gruber (13), Christopher Rea (14), Dominic Hawken (15), Robert James Kean (15), Anthony Michael Mortimer (15), Marvin Brodie (17), Johnny Marks (17), Franz Schubert (18)
Produced by Claudio Guidetti
Recording Producer: Fabio Moretti
Engineered by by Claudio Guidetti, Fabio Moretti
Mixed by Pino "Pinaxa" Pischetola
Mastered by Antonio Baglio
Photography: Max & Douglas
Liner Notes: Tony Hadley
Lead Vocals: Tony Hadley
Synthesizer, Weissenborn, 6-String Guitar, 12 String Acoustic Guitar, Pedal Steel Guitar, Buzukie, Dulcimer: Claudio Guidetti
Bass: Paolo Costa, Carlo Miori
Guitar: Claudio Guidetti, Davide Tagliapietra, Giorgio Secco
Acoustic Guitar, Sitar: Aldo Tagliapietra
Slide Guitar: Giorgio Secco
Spanish Guitar, Pro-Tools: Fabio Moretti
Piano: Matthew Lee, Dan Madonia, Luca Scarpa
Fender Rhodes, Hammond Organ: Luca Scarpa
Keyboards: Claudio Guidetti, Davide Tagliapietra, Dan Madonia
Drums: Lele Melotti, Carlo Miori
Percussion: Lele Melotti
Soprano & Tenor Sax: Daniele Comoglio
Horn: Dan Madonia
Bombard, Medieval Flute: Stefano Vezzani
Synthesizer Strings & String Arrangements: Dan Madonia
Programming: Davide Tagliapietra
Background Vocals: Valentina Parisse