Spandau Ballet singer hid dark side while schmoozing with stars

Schmoozing with Hollywood A-listers, TV hosts and acclaimed musicians Ross William Wild appeared to be every inch the rising star.
The Scottish vocalist was photographed with Christian Bale, Timothy Spall, Charlotte Beckett, Graham Norton and Martin Compston after he replaced Tony Hadley as the frontman of Spandau Ballet, the multi-million-selling Eighties band.
As well as touting himself as a “passionate singer, actor, composer and musician” he also presented himself as a role model and feminist champion.
Writing on International Women’s Day in March 2021 he urged men to improve their conduct.
“Women are afraid to walk home alone, to speak out,” he chided. “It is just not good enough. I pledge to do more to change these injustices and I hope my other brothers stand with me.”
In reality, detectives had already raided his home in Finchley, north London, and recovered a series of videos in which he had recorded himself raping and sexually assaulting women.
Police say that Wild, whose real name is Ross Davidson, can expect to receive a lengthy jail term when he is sentenced on September 6 after finally being exposed as a “prolific predatory offender”.
At the beginning of his trial he used his Instagram account to rail against the women who brought him to court. He posted a bizarre video from the back of a car, which was captioned “Evil powers have tried to make my life chaos the last three years. What they fail to realise is I thrive in the midst of chaos.”
He was ultimately found guilty of rape, sexual assault and voyeurism involving three women.
Davidson, 36, whose father was a solicitor and mother the founder of a PR, marketing and events management company, enjoyed a privileged middle-class childhood in Aberdeen.
His former mentor had claimed he was always destined for greatness.
Shirley McGill, the founder of Aberdeen Youth Music Theatre, was thrilled when it was announced that her former pupil would be taking part in a major European tour with Spandau Ballet.
“Ross was such a lively and energetic boy,” she told his hometown newspaper in 2018.
“He was such a creative boy and such a charmer. He did so many shows for us and you never had to worry with Ross on stage. I am not surprised in the slightest that he has got where he wants to be.”
Davidson’s energetic performances, where he belted out hits such as Gold and True in front of tens of thousands of fans — alongside original band members Gary and Martin Kemp — gained rave reviews from critics.
However, former classmates recall a violent trouble-maker whose chaotic behaviour led to him being expelled, aged 15, from Aberdeen Grammar School, the alma mater of Lord Byron.
“Ross was completely out of control,” one said. “The teachers had no idea how to handle him. He would shout out in the middle of classes and lash out at anyone who challenged him. He clearly had serious issues, even back then, and we were all relieved when he was eventually kicked out.”
One former pupil at the city’s Mile End primary school recalled Davidson being physically removed from a classroom when he was just ten years old.
“He was making a scene, as usual, and our teacher came over to calm him down,” she recalled. “Ross stood up and pushed him and the teacher tripped and fell on the floor. We couldn’t believe what we were seeing. The whole room was in uproar.”
In an interview with a theatrical website Davidson insisted he was the victim of bullying by teachers and peers who did not understand his disabilities.
“I was the naughty boy in school. Well, I was labelled that way. I’m diagnosed with ADHD and Tourette’s,” he said.
Speaking in 2021 he confirmed he had been asked to leave his secondary school.
“I wasn’t a nasty kid but it came after me being involved in a lot of fighting, as well as smoking cannabis,” he said.
Davidson also revealed that, while at school, he stopped taking the medication that was prescribed to improve his concentration span and curb his hyperactivity, anger and mood swings.
“I took the pills out into the garden and crushed them under my feet,” he said. “I’ve never looked back.”
He admitted “self-medicating” with alcohol and illegal substances, but went on to sing the national anthem for Queen Elizabeth at the Braemar Highland games and star in West End productions of We Will Rock You and The Witches of Eastwick — where he was directed by Craig Revel Horwood, the Strictly Come Dancing judge.
“He is very good looking and physically fit,” said Richard Hearnden, the barrister who prosecuted Davidson.
“He sings, plays the guitar and is said to be charming and charismatic. His darker side is not the first thing that many women and girls notice about him. But it is because he expects to get sex on demand that he will resort to rape and sexual assault if he is not given what he thinks he deserves.”
Davidson attacked his first victim, a student, after they had an argument at her flat in October 2013.
“He suddenly became calm and was telling me that this is what I want, what I deserve,” the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said. “He pushed me back onto the bed and pulled my jeans down. The whole time I was crying.”
Another survivor said: “He confessed that his fantasy was to sleep with someone who is asleep and for them to wake up to an orgasm.”
Jurors were shown a video of Davidson filming himself indecently assaulting a woman while she was unconscious. Her mental health was badly damaged when she finally became aware of the footage after it was seized by police.
“I had a lot of panic attacks. My friends couldn’t recognise me. I was like a ghost,” she said.
Jurors deliberated for 12 hours at Wood Green crown court in London before finding Davidson guilty of raping one woman, sexually assaulting two others and voyeuristically victimising a fourth.
“Davidson is a prolific predatory offender with no regard or care for the impact he has had on the victims,” said Detective Inspector Wendy Bassett, who led the investigation. “I am pleased with [his conviction] and hope it goes some way to providing closure to the victims.”
He has expressed no remorse and continues to maintain his innocence.
Before the trial Davidson posted a devil emoji on social media and wrote: “Always choose love first. Then plot your revenge on the unrighteous.”
After leaving Spandau Ballet Davidson boasted that the commercial success of their tour had allowed him to buy a boat, named Tropicana, which he moored in the south of France.
“I can jump into the sea every morning which sorts out any hangovers,” he told reporters. “It’s also handy in case I need to make a quick getaway.”
He went on to write songs for Mercutio, his now defunct heavy metal band.
One, entitled C Word, appears to hint that he hid his dark desires and struggles with substance abuse in plain sight: “I don’t have a lover, so I have to win them with pain. I don’t have a conscience, I can’t even remember my own name. Will you be my partner cocaine?” the lyrics say.
A spokesman for Spandau Ballet stressed they had been unaware of the allegations made against Davidson during his time with the band.
“The first they, or anyone working with them, knew about the matter was when they heard about it through national media reporting,” he said. “Needless to say, had they been aware of his crimes they would not have chosen to work with him.”
Davidson’s parents and former acting tutor did not respond to requests for comment.