Tony Hadley, the former lead singer of Spandau Ballet, is set to perform at the Odeon Theatre in Hobart on Thursday, 30 January 2025.

The concert will feature classic hits like “True,” “Gold,” “Only When You Leave,” and “Round & Round,” as well as selections from his solo career, accompanied by The Fabulous TH Band. Doors open at 6:30 PM. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster.

Photo: Scott Gelston

The inclemency of Hobart’s weather was in fine form this summer in Hobart, Tasmania when ‘TheNews.com.au -The Finer Things in Life’ ran the gauntlet of rain and bluster to make their way to the sanctum of Tim Freedman’s green room at the Altar to interview him on his current solo tour and new song ‘The Ballad of Bertie Kidd’.

Irreverent curiosity led him to ask us why the ‘Finer Things in Life’, known for covering all things luxurious wanted to interview him. Well here is the answer – to us luxury encompasses an awareness of a combination of senses all working together, whether it be a gastronomic immersion into the unctuous aged indulgence of Le Dauphin cheese (an unusual hexagonal cheese that takes its name from the term once used to describe the heir apparent to the throne of France), or the searing pick me up of a penetrating piccolo, both of which we have heard Freedman is partial to, but in this case it was to absorb the sound, energy and vibe of one of Aussies truly creative musicians – the experience of Tim Freedman live in action.

Relaxed and hospitable, Freedman told us that he was in a good mood because he had just finished a great show, including some funny banter with the audience – a member playfully referenced Tinder dating, and with razor sharp wit Freedman responded “…I can’t go on Tinder I’m too well known, probably lucky for me, I’ve heard it’s a minefield, my profile would just say 56, shaved, sexy, wants to do it all day and a silhouette and guess who?…” This performer, we are quickly learning, turns moments into creative nuggets with his witty and creative improvisational skills – if you can keep up – the actual lyrics from ‘No Aphrodisiac’ (Verse 4) are: “Forty, shaved, sexy, wants to do it all day” and then there’s the silhouette.

Speaking about quick improvisation, the song ‘No Aphrodisiac’, from the album ‘Eternal Nightcap’ in the late 1990’s took Freedman just 15 minutes to write. Freedman said at that time, he would have liked the film clip to be simply a black screen. This gives us thought to ponder the creative mystery that surrounds the black square/screen -think the ending of the Sopranos, and Malevich’s ‘Black Square’. At this time The Whitlams had not made it big, however after their album ‘Eternal Nightcap’ won the 1997 Triple j top 100, Triple j joined the party, and gave a lot air time to the band and from there they took off.

Eternal Nightcap, 1997

Ever the irreverent, Tim Freedman takes to the stage to launch the first new song written with The Whitlams in 14 years: ‘The Ballad of Bertie Kidd’. A hapless tale of a criminal caper rendered ludicrously impotent. Australians seem to love a balls up, they love to laugh with the hapless, and so through the once smoky haze and hop scented watering holes of Australia’s pubs grew the spinning yarn of Bert’s one monumentally thwarted heist, the potential crime, an orphan child of an otherwise outstanding career has been taken into the hearts of many Aussies and grown a life of its own. Four blokes en route to an art gallery in a stolen Sigma with intent to possess a collection of Pro Hart and Ken Done masterpieces don their balaclavas too early. The props of anticipation and anonymity now shriek as unintended beacons of skulduggery . They are spotted as suspicious by passing coppers. When pulled over and questioned as to their appearance, they relay to the cops that it is cold, and that they are going fishing, it didn’t wash, it’s now the art heist that never was. You can see why Aussies roar over their cans of Resches Pilsner with the retelling of this audacious grandiose stunt gone awry.

Whilst ‘The Ballad of Bertie Kidd’ is slapstick in nature, with emphasis on hilarity, the backstory of Bertie Kidd, aka ‘Bert the blue eyed killer’ himself is no joke. We must add here that Kidd is regarded as criminal Royalty. Known as an audacious safe cracker, with shadows and echoes of murder in his wake, more material is expected to surface as three volumes of his biography are being released.

Emigrating from the UK to Australia at 14 Bert Kidd is not on the average persons radar, being so underground that none of the criminals even echoed his story in daylight, due to fear of reprisal. Housed in Pentridge Prison next to Ivan Milat, Ivan is reputed to avoid walking the yard with Kidd for the belief that Bert would kill him. Bert has been out of jail for two years now, and upon release, at the age of 85 Peter Dutton attempted to have him deported, believing him to be so dangerous. By accounts, he is legendary. Legendary. We assure our readers that Freedman is safe and clear of reprisal, he took a shot through the dark, going through the channel of Bert’s biographer to get the go ahead to pen the ‘Ballad of Bertie Kidd’.

While in Tasmania, Freedman caught up with Bert, who has retired quietly in Launceston to ponder a life lived large. Freedman was gratified to hear from Bert over a quiet dinner together dinner that he had achieved about 80 to 90% accuracy in the ‘Ballad of Bertie Kidd’. Bert also revealed to Tim the true details of the words spoken between the four comrades and the police that day. Freedman says he took some artistic licence with the yarn to fit with the structure of the song.

Freedman’s solo tour is a prelude to The Whitlams ‘Gaffage and Clink’ National tour originally planned for 2020, has been rescheduled for August and September 2021. Gaffage and clink is backstage lingo referenced in a new yet-to-be released song that celebrates the relationship between the band and their long-time tour manager Greg Weaver, who passed away suddenly last year. The time off has allowed the band to write a new album, due for release in mid-2021.

‘Ballad of Bertie Kidd’

Melissa Lockley, Arts Correspondant TheNews.com.au

melissa.lockley@thenews.com.au

So you’ve won the lotto and are thinking of a new motor, something that stands out so you can show off to your friends (and also make them jealous), well it doesn’t get more bling than this Mercedes Benz s550. Well sorry to disappoint it’s not real, it’s a sculpture by Brooklyn based artist Jordan Griska, aptly named “Wreck” is a life-size Merc made from 12,000 individual polished pieces of mirror-finished stainless steel, and took almost two years to complete.

“Beauty, technology, and engineering collide with death and reality”

Photo courtesy of Jordan Griska.

What has been touted as the world’s longest art gallery is somewhere you wouldn’t expect a metro in Sweden’s national capital Stockholm. It has 100 stations is 110 kilometres long and over 90 art installations by 150 artists which had been created starting in the 1950’s. There you’ll find stations each with different visual feasts decorated with sculptures, mosaics, paintings, installations, engravings with eye-poping colours. Check out some of the amazing art from the gallery here. And you can also purchase prints by photographer Conor MacNeill aka TheFella (above photo). Enjoy!

(Image: ‘Secret Hell’ by Conor Macneill ©)

So you thought that you everything about Rolex’s, well think again. The world most famous brand of wristwatch now has and equally exquisite limited edition book The Impossible Collection, published by Assouline ($1160 AUD), which will give you a deeper insight it this icon. Starting from its founder Hans Wilsdorf in 1905 and his mission to produce the first wristwatch, for it to be the first to receive a Swiss Certificate of Chronometric Precision and the first waterproof one. Covering the rich history of the brand from the model worn by Sir Edmond Hillary’s to the summit of Mount Everest to the one worn by Australian George Lazenby in James Bond’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. It’s filled with amazing photographs (even of some never before seen in print) and to top it off comes in a linen clamshell presentation case.

Greek gods and graffiti, now you don’t usually hear those two words in the same sentence, but that’s what you associate Spanish artists Pichi and Avo aka Pichiavo with. The duo Pichiavo started in 2007 after fleeing from the self-centeredness of graffiti and now ‘adopts a style and focus which is both beautiful and performative, firm in its discussion and totally the perfect deconstruction of classic art and contemporary urban art, in order to create a new fusion, which whilst faithful to its classic heritage, creates a new and exciting vision of art.’. They are doing it throughout the streets of Valencia and wider Spain, with only use spray paint which makes it more impressive as it demonstrates the precision and technique used when presenting the timelessness of Greek mythology in an original way. Check out there graffiti here.

(Image: Pichiavo)

New York based artist richierange, Ceeze and RelevantCustoms have collaborated to produce these “Off-Louis” special edition Louis Vuitton Air Jordan 1 Sneakers. These shoes were to celebrate Virgil Abloh as menswear designer at LV and bare similar traits to the one’s he did. Virgil is also founder and CEO of Milan-based Off-White.

Now you can ‘Go Straight To Jail’ in style with this luxury edition of the world famous board game Monopoly.  Forget those old plastic tokens, houses and hotels they are now plated die-cast and they sit nicely on a gorgeous wood cabinet with burled veneer panels and decorative metal plaque board. This new high-end version also has recessed faux-leather rolling area with gold foil stamping, two drawers with die cast handles and built-in storage, gold foil-stamped game path and Faux-leather Title Deed card holder with gold foil stamping just to name a few. So if you’re looking for that perfect gift to show family and friends your superior fiscal intellect, then get them one of these beauty’s,  they also wont deteriorate like those old cardboard ones. We think this quote is quite apt for today’s society:

“Is being popular on Instagram like being rich in Monopoly?”

Available from Amazon.

How else do you celebrate a 70th anniversary? Why not make a Gold Porsche. And that’s what they did, with the “Classic Project Gold” to mark the milestone of making Porsche sports cars.  With golden yellow metallic paint this is the last 911 Turbo with an air-cooled engine last built 20 years ago. The 911 Turbo is based on an original bodyshell, using genuine parts and the black wheels are highlighted by Golden Yellow design accents and took over a year and a half to build (we’re losing count of how times we’ve mentioned the word Gold), oh well who cares its a Gold Porsche an we love Spandau Ballet “Gold always believe in your soul” .

Here at TheNews.com.au we have been eagerly awaiting the Alexander McQueen documentary, McQueen, and the wait is finally over and it doesn’t disappoint. This brilliant film by film-makers Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui delves into the life of extraordinaire British avant-garde fashion designer Alexander McQueen. Born Lee Alexander McQueen (who was advised to change his name as it would look more upmarket for his brand), this excellent film follows the life of the late couture designer from growing up in London’s underprivileged Stratford region, to the dizzy heights of chief designer at Fashion power house Givenchy, British Designer of the Year four times and designer to many famous clientele such as Kate Moss, to when he took his own life at the age of 40 in 2010. This story leaves no stone unturned from the absolute highs to incredible lows. We think Harper’s Bizaar sums it up best,

“Among the most accurate, sensitive, and moving. Using his collections as cornerstones, the documentary features candid interviews with colleagues, friends and even family of McQueen, who was known as Lee to the people he loved.”

If you see one documentary this year, McQueen is unmissable!

Here are some interesting facts: McQueen was a huge dog lover and left his dogs £50,000 in his will, he had a Bull Terrier called Juice. Kate Middleton wore a Alexander McQueen dress at her royal wedding. His muse Annabelle Neilson died this year at the age of 49 from a heart attack.