The man with the golden vocal chords is back on stage, this time surrounded by friends from his halcyon days fronting Spandau Ballet, but singing Christmas tunes along with the true classics. That's right, Tony Hadley will be joining the likes of Kim Wilde, Nik Kershaw, Go West and T'Pau for a retro Christmas like no other: Let's Rock Christmas at The SSE Arena, Wembley.

For Tony, this will be a great time singing with some friends, despite the Christmas-themed concert not being his usual outing.

"It's not something I normally do but for me, it's me and all my mates," he says. "Like the Go West boys, Nik Kershaw, T-'Pow, they're just all my friends and so it's a bit of a party from our point of view, just before Christmas and playing some good fun Christmas songs as well as the classics people expect us to do as well."

And with this special festive show will also come new collaborations, as Tony Mortimer of East 17 graces the stage to perform a Stay Another Day with Tony.

"Me and Kim have done a duet of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas on my Christmas album so she will join me on stage for that, Rick Parfitt Jnr. is going to join our band to come and do It's Christmas Time, Tony Mortimer will come on to do his version of Stay Another Day," he says. "And then for the encore we have some Christmas crackers and that's when we're bringing everyone on stage and it will be kind of mental and I'll organise who will sing which bits. Classic Bruce Springsteen, Santa Claus is coming to Town, that sort of thing, so the last three songs will definitely be good fun, but people will still want to hear me sing True, Gold, possibly Through the Barricades.

"A couple of classic Spandau ones and a lot of fun really."

Despite organising the singers and getting the band back together (though after his split from Spandau Ballet earlier this year there will not be a reunion of that kind, though he has chosen to keep a "dignified silence") Tony has still been finding time to watch the nation's favourite reality series of the winter months: I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!, on which Tony was once a contestant.

"I think it's a great show and that's one of the reasons after much "Shall I? Shan't I?" that I decided to do it.

"The main reason for me was firstly I've been in the jungle for real doing jungle treks so I know it is an amazing environment to be in. And when you do I'm a Celebrity you're really in the middle of the jungle, it's beautiful."

Tony also wanted to get it into everyone's mind that he is "a solo artist first" and give him some separation from Spandau Ballet between their tours. But for him it was truly a fantastic experience that he would rush back to do all over again.

"I would go back tomorrow," he says.

"It was a brilliant experience. I know we had a run in with a certain woman who wasn't particularly pleasant to say the least - we're not sending Christmas cards, let's put it that way, and she won't be coming to the Christmas concert, that's for sure!

"But apart form that it was a really amazing experience."

Tony is certainly not a person who likes the usual routine. He tells me he loved his time in Chicago and that Shane Ritchie is regularly trying to rope him into Panto, but for him, singing on stage with his band is where he belongs: living "a mental lifestyle where I don't know what I'm doing or where I'm going next."

But what can people expect from this retro Christmas gig? One thing Tony assures is that there will be no New Romantic hair-dos or dressing up like Santa, though he will be in his usual dapper attire.

"I always looked at people like Robert Palmer, Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra and thought those guys were super cool and they always looked super smart.

"Do I want to come on looking like a New Romantic? Not really, no, that was when I was 20 and I'm now 57.

"I'm still a kid at heart but I do believe you have to grow old reasonably gracefully. There's nothing worse than your old dad trying to act like a teenager!"

But one thing is for certain - this will be a time for old friends to come together and play the hits, interspersed with some classic Christmas cheer and possibly even a touch of mulled wine.

Let's Rock Christmas comes to The SSE Arena, Wembley, on December 14 at 7.30pm. For ticket info visit www.letsrockchristmas.com