EACH was in the British boy band of his day, in a line-up featuring two brothers. One lives in England but his career has been Reborn In The USA; the other lives in Los Angeles with his MTV video jock girlfriend and is performing his first UK shows since Wembley Stadium a decade ago.

During the next week, Spandau Ballet's Tony Hadley, now 43, and former Bros golden boy Matt Goss, 34, will play the Grand Opera House, York.

Hadley arrives first, on Sunday, his profile buoyed by his victory in the reality TV contest Reborn In The USA. "That's ****ocks actually! I was doing pretty well before. In the last three or four years, like Paul Weller or Tom Jones, if you've been around for so long, then you become part of the furntiture," he says.

"In two years' time, it's my 25th year in the business - I qualify for the Hall of Fame - and if you can survive 25 years in this business, then great."

Tour posters and publicity make no reference to Hadley's Spandau Ballet past, but that restriction is soon to be lifted. "Me singing Spandau songs is no problem. No one can prevent you doing that - you can do it, I can do it, anyone can do it - but two Christmases ago I got this 14-page writ saying I couldn't say I was the voice of Spandau Ballet. Thankfully the case has now been dropped and I'm waiting to go to court to get back my costs, which are considerable" Hadley says.

"Hopefully that will be sorted out this year, but the suggestion that I've been approached about getting Spandau back together is utter rubbish. Nor have I made up with Gary (Kemp). That's utter rubbish too.

"The door closed on that a long time ago. I'm doing my own thing and enjoying that. The Spandau situation is unfortunate, it leaves a sour taste in the mouth, but there you go."

No entente cordiale between old colleagues there but, in contrast, Hadley and Go West singer Pete Cox are being asked to do an album together. Last week the two long-standing friends sang Don Henley's The Boys Of Summer on GMTV, and from November 27 to February 15 they are booked into the London Palladium for a season.

On top of that Hadley has upcoming dates in America, Italy and Sri Lanka; more work lies ahead on the autobiography and he has already recorded half the tracks for his next solo album, planned for release next year.

Success in Reborn In The USA has added still more momentum. "One of the reasons for doing it was I already had this tour lined up and the True Ballads album, which has already sold 40,000, and you just can't turn down a prime-time TV show like that. If it had just been Celebrity Big Brother, forget it, but I wasn't doing it to be a celebrity but because there was a musical contest," Hadley says.

Television is also playing a key role in the return to the performance and recording platform of Matt Goss, the Bros front man who left behind Lewisham roots for the Los Angeles lifestyle. He spoke to the Evening Press just after performing on GMTV, and he was still buzzing, licking his lips at more TV appointments and his UK tour that visits York on July 19.

"The live performance on GMTV was so positive: everyone was up and it was really rocking. I'm doing Graham Norton, R.I.S.E., Des And Mel - Mel is my ex you know! - and more shows are being added every day, and I've done 70 interviews so far," Goss says.

Looking for his first Top 30 hit since If You Were Here Tonight in 1996 - he thought it was four years ago, but the years can blur when you are away from the limelight, writing songs and setting up businesses in LA - Goss plans to release a new single this month and an album in the autumn. However, at the time of this interview - June 27 - he was still ironing out some significant details before Watch Me Fall could mark his return. "I'll know in about ten days what label it'll be on. I've been making the record for Universal, but if they don't step up, I'll do the record myself because I really believe in it," he says.

"If You Were Here Tonight sold more than 67,000; that's more than the number one single sells today and I know I can sell that again. No problem."

While Goss has not had his name in pop lights for six years, he has featured on the Stuart Little movie soundtrack and written songs for Martine McCutcheon, French act Billy Crawford, the Japanese group Winds and the winner of the Australian version of Pop Idol. As for his own album, he says "it's the best stuff I've ever done", his exuberance going into overdrive.

"I love my band, I love my sound, my voice has never been better and I'm just concerned to get my feet wet again performing live. The last time I performed in England was with Bros at Wembley Stadium, to 70,000 people in 1993, and before that we did 15 straight nights at the Wembley Arena: a 12,000 capacity and we sold out every night!"

Now he says he is content to be playing Swindon tonight, Felixstowe, Torquay, York, Southport and Grimsby. "To me, those places need to rock as well, and they get missed out on big tours, so it's good to be doing them. I had 700,000 hits on my website last year, and they're all saying come and play for us."

So, why the long break? "The guys that are doing this tour with me have been asking me to do it for years but there's an element of fear," says Goss. "But 18 months or two years ago I did this show at Carnegie Hall, a huge, huge venue, very prestigious to do, and I got a standing ovation and that whetted my appetite - and I realised that's where I feel most comfortable, on stage."

When will Matt Goss be famous again in his home country? This month will tell him all.

Tony Hadley, Grand Opera House, York, Sunday, 7.30pm; tickets £17 and £15. Matt Goss, Grand Opera House, York, July 19, 7.30pm; tickets £15. Box office: 01904 671818.

Updated: 10:44 Friday, July 11, 2003