Full Disclosure with James O'Brien

Tony Hadley went from borrowing £20 in the pub while appearing on Top of the Pops to fronting one of the biggest bands in the world. Then came the fallings-out, a bruising court battle and a journey from packed arenas back to playing small clubs. Through it all, one thing never changed: he refused to give up.
Tony joins James O’Brien to tell the extraordinary story of Spandau Ballet - from a working-class childhood in Islington and the school band that started it all, to the flamboyant world of the Blitz Club and the birth of the New Romantic movement. He remembers the anxiety of watching early success begin to slip away, and the song that changed everything, True - a record he never even thought should be a single, which went on to reach number one around the world.
He reflects on the phenomenal success that followed with Gold, the reality behind the glamour of 1980s pop stardom and what happened when one of Britain’s biggest bands began to fracture. Tony speaks candidly about the legal battle that put homes on the line, the humiliation of going from Wembley Arena to club PAs, and why, even at his lowest point, he was determined to get back up and carry on.
There are extraordinary stories along the way - including blagging his way backstage to meet Frank Sinatra at 17 - as well as reflections on family, ambition, ageing and the sheer euphoria of walking onto a stage. Nearly 50 years after first declaring himself the man to front the band, Tony is still touring, still making new music and still trying to become a better singer. This is a funny, revealing and unexpectedly moving conversation about what happens after the fame - and the stubbornness it takes to start again.
Find out more about Tony Hadley’s tour dates here Tony Hadley Official Website |
Full Disclosure is a Global Production
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He famously argued that liberal democracy marked the end of history. Now, with war, populism and authoritarianism reshaping the world, Francis Fukuyama asks whether liberal democracy can still win.
In this episode of Full Disclosure, James O’Brien speaks to the political scientist and author about the ideas, accidents and encounters that shaped his life. Fukuyama reflects on growing up in a highly intellectual family, his early immersion in philosophy, and why a formative period in Paris led him away from literary theory and towards the realities of international politics.
They discuss the collapse of the Soviet Union, the enduring misreading of The End of History, and why he believes the idea of equal human dignity remains powerful despite democratic backsliding around the world. Fukuyama also looks back on his time in US government, his break with neoconservatism over Iraq, and the danger of letting pessimism about democracy become self-fulfilling.
Thoughtful, wide-ranging and urgent, this conversation is about big ideas, political mistakes and the case for defending liberal societies without pretending they are perfect.
Find out more about In the Realm of the Last Man by Francis Fukuyama here
Full Disclosure is a Global Production
Listen or watch every Friday on Global Player, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

Jay Rayner has eaten some of the best meals in the world - and written some of Britain’s most memorable restaurant reviews. But the story behind the critic is even richer.
In this candid conversation, Jay joins James O’Brien to talk about the unlikely path from a famously unconventional childhood to becoming one of Britain’s most recognisable writers and broadcasters. There are school expulsions, tabloid diary columns, high-stakes investigations, celebrity encounters and the restaurant review that became an international news story.
Jay reflects on growing up with his mother, agony aunt Claire Rayner; discovering oysters at ten; and learning that food is a doorway into memory, class, politics and pleasure. He also reveals why he walked away from a fast-moving newspaper career, how he accidentally became The Observer’s restaurant critic, and why he still believes every great restaurant has a story to tell.
Along the way, Jay talks about his move to the Financial Times, his love of broadcasting and jazz, and why - after decades in journalism - he still cannot retire from the inside of his own head.
Find out more about Nights Out in the Kitchen by Jay Rayner here
Full Disclosure is a Global Production
Listen or watch every Friday on Global Player, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

From watching Tony Blair win a landslide from inside his living room to imagining a world where Hitler won the war, Robert Harris has made a career out of getting closer to power than most.
In this episode of Full Disclosure, James O’Brien meets the bestselling author behind Fatherland, Pompeii, The Ghost and Conclave. Robert recalls his working-class Nottinghamshire childhood, a mischievous school newspaper, nearly being sent down from Cambridge, and the leap from BBC journalist to one of Britain’s most successful novelists.
He reveals what it was really like inside New Labour’s 1997 campaign, why his friendship with Tony Blair eventually fractured, and how the machinery of modern politics keeps reappearing in the ancient world.
From writer’s block in a leaking country house to Hollywood adaptations, Roman emperors and the art of turning history into a thriller, this is a fascinating conversation about ambition, access, reinvention and the addictive pull of power.
Find out more about Agrippa by Robert Harris here
Full Disclosure is a Global Production
Listen or watch every Friday on Global Player, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

Alexei Sayle has spent a lifetime finding humour in anger, absurdity and the systems that shape us. Raised in Liverpool by fiercely committed communist parents, his childhood was filled with politics, protest marches and unusual cultural influences - from Soviet cinema to family trips behind the Iron Curtain.
In this episode of Full Disclosure, James O’Brien sits down with the comedian, writer and actor to trace the path from a rebellious schoolboy and struggling art student to the incendiary force at the heart of alternative comedy. Alexei recalls discovering his voice at the Comedy Store, forging lifelong friendships with Rik Mayall, Adrian Edmondson, Nigel Planer and the Comic Strip generation, and becoming known for a furious on-stage persona that often bore little resemblance to the man offstage.
He reflects on success, creative reinvention and the strange experience of falling out of fashion before returning to stand-up with a more personal, contemplative voice. Alexei also discusses his lifelong political activism, the ideals he inherited from his parents, and the tension between wanting to change the world and recognising the limits of protest.
It’s a funny, candid and deeply thoughtful conversation about comedy, conviction, reinvention and the complicated business of staying true to yourself.
Find out more about How I've Tried to Change the World: By Walking Down the Middle of the Street Shouting by Alexei Sayle here
Full Disclosure is a Global Production
Listen or watch every Friday on Global Player, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.