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Spandau Ballet singer Ross William Wild: I tried to kill myself after being sacked from band on live TV

Albertina Lloyd
·Contributor
Updated ·3-min read

Spandau Ballet singer Ross William Wild has revealed he tried to end his life after being “brushed aside” by the band on live TV.

The West End actor replaced Tony Hadley as lead singer of the True hitmakers in 2018 and spend 11 months touring Europe with Spandau. But when he told them he wanted to quit, the band announced he was sacked.

LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 29: Ross William Wild of Spandau Ballet performs on stage at Eventim Apollo on October 29, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Dave J Hogan/Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)
Ross William Wild replaced Tony Hadley as lead singer of Spandau Ballet in 2018. (Getty Images)

Wild told The Sun:“I told Spandau I wanted to leave and they wished me luck. I couldn’t afford to be left on a shelf, not knowing where my next meal was coming from.

“Then the next day they forced Martin Kemp on This Morning and made him act like I was just being brushed aside. I never even got to say that I quit, to own any part of my story. I was so humiliated as they had treated me so badly for so long. That’s when I tried to kill myself and I wound up in hospital in Cannes.”

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LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 29: (L-R) Steve Norman, Martin Kemp, Ross William Wild, Gary Kemp and John Keeble of Spandau Ballet perform on stage at Eventim Apollo on October 29, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Dave J Hogan/Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)
Ross William Wild singing on stage with Spandau Ballet in 2018. (Getty Images)

He added: “I’d just been made to look like I wasn’t worth s**t but it was me that quit Spandau. They humiliated me. It hit me like a tonne of bricks.”

Wild revealed he posted “something cryptic” on Facebook before attempting to take his own life in France. But fortunately a friend “saw right through it” and raised the alarm.

The Aberdeen-born singer said Spandau Ballet treated him like an “object” and “brushed me aside”, revealing he has since been diagnosed with depression.

Members of the British band of Spandau Ballet, from left, Gary Kemp, Martin Kemp, Tony Hadley, Steve Norman and John Keeble arrive for the screening of the documentary 'Soul Boys of the Western World', in Rome, Monday, Oct. 20, 2014. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Tony Hadley, centre, with Spandau Ballet in 2014. (AP)

Wild said he is still close to former EastEnders actor Martin, 58, and saxophonist Steve Norman, 60. But called songwriter Gary Kemp, 60, “ruthless”.

New Romantic band Spandau Ballet were formed in 1979. They had their biggest hits, Gold and True in 1983.

Hadley, 60, quit the band in 2017. After holding auditions the Gold crooners announced Wild as their new lead singer in June 2018. He had previously worked with Martin in West End musical Million Dollar Quartet.

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LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 29: (L-R) Martin Kemp, Gary Kemp, John Keeble, Ross William Wild and Steve Norman of Spandau Ballet backstage at Eventim Apollo on October 29, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Dave J Hogan/Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)
Martin Kemp, Gary Kemp, John Keeble, Ross William Wild and Steve Norman of Spandau Ballet backstage at the London Apollo in October 2018. (Getty Images)

On May 23rd 2019 Wild tweeted at 6:15am: "I have formally quit the band @SpandauBallet to pursue my own music with my band Mercutio."

Martin Kemp appeared on ITV daytime show This Morning at 10.30am the same day to announce Spandau Ballet had decided never to perform again without Hadley.

For confidential emotional support at times of distress, contact The Samaritans at any time by calling 116 123 or emailing jo@samaritans.org.