IN MY mind it cannot be easy trying to branch out as a musician, especially when you are so inherently linked with one band or one part of your career.

This is not the mentality that Steve Norman has as he prepares for his hometown for a special seaside solo show.

“You’ve got to accept that people are there because of Spandau. I always thank the crowd for that. We’re all there, in that room, because of Spandau,” Steve says as we sit chatting at Argus HQ.

The Spandau Ballet saxophonist and guitarist is very open about his thoughts on the band, what they have brought to the music industry, and the fact that he likely wouldn’t be sitting, talking to me about this show if not for the success of the band.

Scoring hugely successful hits in ‘True’, ‘Gold’ and ‘Only When You Leave’, Spandau were catapulted into the mainstream spotlight.

More recently, the band had hit somewhat of a stumbling block as enigmatic frontman Tony Hadley left the group to pursue solo ventures.

For Steve, this is not a sour point on the group, and gives the rest of the band a chance to explore other musical ventures.

He says: “I’ve performed before with bands but I’ve never focused on doing a show in this particular format.

“There’s as much demand for the up close and intimate shows as there is for the arena gigs.”

Being held at The Old Market in Hove, Steve’s solo show will comprise of a host of new material, some classic Spandau tracks, and a few covers of songs that helped forge his love of music.

“The whole idea started as a journey through my musical life; the songs that inspired me to be a musician in the first place, up to now,” he says.

“I remember my mum working and I had days to myself to go through the music.

“Motown and soul are still big for me, and rock of course, especially Bowie, and Spandau of course.

“I always try to change the songs and make them a little bit different, own it in some way.”

Steve made a name for himself in Spandau for his ability to be extremely versatile with his instruments.

One moment he would be on the congas, the next on the saxophone, before running around on stage with his guitar.

He puts this down to a trait he has held from a young age, a yearning to always learn as many new things as possible.

He says: “It wasn’t boredom, but I get very frustrated at just one thing. When I was a child I was a wannabe drummer, but could never afford a kid, but I had a friend at school who had this state-of-the-art kit that he couldn’t play but I could.

“I learnt the guitar, that was my first instrument, in 1981 with Spandau I learnt the congas to get the percussion out of my system.

“By then, Gary Kemp had filled that guitar role so I had to learn something else. I nearly picked up the trumpet, but I wanted something more flexible like the saxophone.

“I bought a secondhand one and two months later it was on the record. Less than a year later, it was on the True album so that solo was learnt in ten months.”

Steve has played several solo shows, having spent over a year on his own projects.

He says it was tricky at first, getting used to being the frontman, but has ended up relishing it.

He adds that it wasn’t until his solo project got started that he really took to being centre stage: “I never had a hankering for being up front, like the main protagonist on stage. I always wanted to be doing what I did with Spandau.

“Some people even suggested replacing Tony in Spandau and I didn’t want to do that because I’d have to give up all the things I do.

“I get to introduce Gold but I always ask my musicians to change it up. What we do with it now is very anarchic, but you don’t lose the song.

“My band doesn’t sound like Spandau. The grooves are a bit different and I like to add bits that make it different so it’s not just karaoke.”

The show will also feature a question and answer session to end the show.

Steve says that it is this part, not the musical portion, that he finds the most daunting.

This is not due to any sort of nerves but, as he says, his inability to bend the truth: “I have to be honest with everyone and do everything with integrity.

“I’m not a very good liar and when your band is crumbling around you, I just have to answer.

“It takes up no more than a quarter of the show, but I’ll answer whatever question gets thrown at me.

“I always like to ask the audience to come up with something challenging. It all gets a bit safe, so it’s just something different.”

Steve has been a long-time Brighton resident, and as we speak it is clear to see the love he has for the city.

In his mind it is one of the biggest creative hubs in the world, something that makes it so excited to live in.

“It’s the mentality and the attitude. It seems to have its own microclimate in the arts that isn’t so influenced by external forces. They say it’s like London by the sea but I say that if there’s anywhere that’s like Ibiza then it’s Brighton.

“I go back to London now and I wouldn’t want to live there. I’m a nature boy at heart, I like to get away from the buzz of the city.”