Mr Hadley and fellow band members Steve Norman, the saxophonist, and drummer John Keeble, are currently suing songwriter Gary Kemp for hundreds of thousands of pounds of allegedly unpaid publishing royalties.

Mr Hadley earned �120,000 a year during the band's heyday in the early 1980s, when singles such as True, and Gold, were smash hits.

But the court heard that when he fell on hard times he was forced him to sell his home to pay off a �50,000 overdraft in 1993.

"Maths has never been my forte - I would just go `wow, lots of figures!' and sign forms," he said.

After signing with record label EMI in 1991, Mr Hadley released a solo album, The State Of Play - but it failed to make an impression in the charts in the UK or the US.

"Things had not gone well as a solo artist. I never thought I would be playing Wembley but I was disappointed. My career went badly," he said.

Gary Kemp and his brother Martin have successfully forged new careers in acting, and starred together in the 1990 gangster blockbuster The Krays.