Tony Hadley: Going for Gold

In the early 1980s, Tony Hadley experienced an epiphany.

It would be reasonable to assume, of course, this epiphany was related to the huge fame he enjoyed fronting multi-million selling synth quintet Spandau Ballet.

But no, this epiphany was beer-related and, rather fittingly, happened in a pub.

In a nutshell, he was turned on to the joys of real ale. "Being an Angel [North London] boy it was always lager when I was growing up and real ale wasn't really a feature," he explains, supping a pint of Deuchars in the Three Kings in Farringdon, London.

"But in the early 80s a couple of friends invited me to the Cotswolds. They had horses up there and I went to a fantastic pub in the village of Stanton.

"They asked what I wanted and I said a light and lager and everyone just looked at me. It was a pure Star Wars moment.

"They suggested a real ale and I had an SPA, from a local brewery in Donnington, and I loved it. From that point on I've always been a real ale guy."

Red Rat

Fast forward to now and Hadley, 48, is more than just a real ale fanatic - he part-owns a brewery and even has a beer named after him. Hadley's Golden Ale - tagline: "too good to be true" (yes… really) - is made by the singer's own Suffolk- based Red Rat brewery.

But again, this venture came about more by luck than judgement.

Around two-and-half years ago Hadley was approached by brewer Kevin McHenry after one of his gigs.

Kevin enjoyed the concert so much he contacted Hadley's manager to ask if he wanted a beer to be brewed for him. It was a great idea, as far as Hadley was concerned.

"Kevin didn't know before that I was a real ale fan. But we did a big tasting and sampling and I advised them on the taste," he says. And the cheesy tagline - how did that come about? "This was my son Tom's idea," he explains. "He said if you're going to do it you might as well go for it with the puns."

Hadley's beer started to provoke interest and it was suggested he should get involved with the brewery. "Kevin said it was getting so much publicity it was running away a little bit," says the singer.

"So we decided we would become shareholders and invest in new machinery and equipment and re-locate as well."

And since then, interest in the Red Rat brewery and the beers has soared. In fact, things have gone supersonic, with a number of bands - including Britpop legends Oasis, Hadley claims - taking an interest in having their own beer brewed there.

The brewery also has links with an RAF regiment currently deployed in Afghanistan and donates money to regimental charities.

"The whole thing has just gathered momentum and we're having to restructure," says Hadley.

Department store House of Fraser has just taken on the beer which will be stocked in all its outlets nationwide. And another Red Rat beer, Crazydog Stout, is now available in Sainsbury's and Thresher.

Plans have also been laid for a slightly richer, stronger more syrupy summer beer, to be called Hadley's Gold.

The brewery also makes a range of three beers for Jimmy Doherty's pig farm. "It has just taken us by surprise really," says Hadley.

Celebrity interest in brewing and beer seems to be a recent phenomenon. Neil Morrissey and Richard Fox, who brew their own beer and run their own pub, are an obvious example. But, as with most things where celebrities get involved, there is always a degree of cynicism from insiders. Has Hadley encountered this?

"No - if it tasted shite then it would just be a bloody pop star trying to look cool with a real ale," he says. "At the end of the day it tastes really nice. And it's winning awards not because we are saying 'can you do us a favour?' but because it genuinely tastes good. Kevin is a great brewer, he's very good at what he does."

He adds that he doesn't enjoy getting involved with the "politics".

"Kevin explained to me it's a bit like a golf club. There are a few people who are a little bit stuffy in the industry," he says.

"They are a bit like 'oh, here's a new person, is he serious, is he a traditionalist?', but he said to just bypass those people. We are making a great ale. The fact that I might be on TV occasionally and make records has nothing to do with it."

Greedy companies

Hadley may not get involved with the politics of brewing, but he certainly has strong views on the current pub industry. A general question about the trade draws criticism about the way in which some pub operators behave.

"One of the big problems is the breweries in most cases are so greedy," he says. "If you are successful as a leaseholder they'll screw you and screw you and try to squeeze every last bit of profit out of you. It leads to people thinking 'I'll get a dodgy bottle of vodka on the Optics, I'll get an extra couple of crates of lager'.

"They are not really doing themselves any favours, they are being far too greedy."

Theses views, Hadley explains, come from talking to licensees whenever he goes into a pub. "After the whole 'you're Tony Hadley' thing, I start talking to them and asking questions," he says.

He also admits he looked into buying a pub, possibly a tenancy or leasehold, but was put off by what he was hearing from behind the bar. "Every one of them [licensees] said that unless you can buy the freehold, don't even bother."

Despite being pushed, Hadley does not reveal the name of any companies that crop up in these conversations, suggesting that licensees are often reluctant to say.

As it was, Hadley says of the pub they were considering buying that the company "nearly gave it to us". As a side note, he says the plan is still to buy a "big country pub with a brewery attached".

Clearly Tony Hadley is passionate about pubs and beer.

But much of his time is still spent touring the world with his music career. A trip to Mauritius is next in the diary. Music will always come first, ahead of the world of beer. But that doesn't stop the father of four from offering some final advice to pubs that may be struggling.

"I think you have to make families feel welcome," he says.

"The Italians and the Spanish, they are so lovely with the kids. We are still a bit stuffy where families and children are concerned. The pub industry, like the music industry, has changed a lot. You have to think a bit laterally."

Kevin McHenry, the man behind Hadley's Golden Ale

Kevin is a relative newcomer to the world of professional brewing. He only took it up full-time three years ago after a 17-year stint serving in the army and a spell of social work. Although he's always brewed his own beer, since the age of 15.

But what's his take on the Hadley hook-up? "Well I've always been a Spandau Ballet fan and Tony played a couple of my requests at one of his gigs. I'd also seen him on TV and he just seemed like a decent bloke, so I thought why not," says Kevin.

"He's a great ambassador for beer, because he just enjoys it for what it is."

Kevin says the brewery is continually "evolving" and hopes to eventually employ ex-armed forces personnel who are struggling with the transition back into the workplace.

Tony Hadley on drinking ale

"The problem sometimes is that pubs do not serve good real ale. It's bloody awful," says Hadley.

"London is a problem, although it's better now than it used to be. When you go out to the country, there's much more of a culture of it though.

"They look after the beer that much better because they might be from the local brewery. And it just goes with the lifestyle.

"I guess lager is a bit more associated with London and geezers."

• To order any of Red Rat's beers, either cask or bottled, or for more information visit the Red Rat Brewery ​ website.

For every bottle of Hadley's sold a donation is made to Action Medical Research, Hunting