More than 40 years ago, they were the champions of the so-called New Romantics… but the spotlight and the (mostly female) sighs were directed primarily at the band’s singer. A tall, suit-wearing dandy with a deep voice and seductive appearance, he went by the name of Tony Hadley.
However, the great creative genius behind the legendary Spandau Ballet was Hadley’s fellow Londoner, Gary Kemp. The blond guitarist (stage right) was the author of practically the entire repertoire that made the quintet popular: Gold, True, Communication, To Cut a Long Story Short, Paint Me Down and a long string of hits that are unforgettable among those who were youngsters in the 1980s. These fans have now been relegated to the disdainful status of “boomers.”
Kemp has just turned 65. But, far from retiring, he has surprised everyone with a beautiful solo album, which is the third in his discography under his own name. Titled This Destination, it delves into the mysteries of life and the dark sides of adulthood.
In a phone conversation with EL PAÍS, the author of the new album is adamant: “We write our best stuff when we’re older, but we have our hits when we’re younger… and that’s sort of normal.”
Gary James Kemp is still surprised — not without a certain sense of resignation — that, outside the United Kingdom, he’s only recognized for those youthful years of effervescence. In his own country, he’s a relatively popular film and theater actor: at the age of 13, he starred in a major feature film, Hide and Seek (1972). He’s also a member of the Pink Floyd tribute band Saucerful of Secrets (along with the honorees’ original drummer, Nick Mason). And he hosts and directs a successful podcast, Rockonteurs, consisting of in-depth interviews with great musicians.
“Sometimes I wonder if that sort of diversity of work isn’t good,” he acknowledges. “Because people might think, ‘why can’t you just concentrate on one thing? Why aren’t you a committed artist to your writing and your music?’ But I’m a person who has always enjoyed trying different forms of art and I particularly love theater, which I’ve done here in London’s West End quite a few times over the last 10 years. I’m very proud of that, too.”
Today, however, it’s time to talk about music, given the evident desire for vindication that permeates This Destination.
Kemp isn’t a canonical singer, nor one with a powerful voice. But he sounds relatable and mature. “As I get older, I think it’s easier to find subject matter to write [about], because I have a history: I have a history of failure, I have a history of pain, which we gather as we get older. When I was a young man in my twenties writing for Spandau Ballet, I had only good luck. I’d never had any great experiences. So, I think it was harder to find subjects to write about that were real.
“One of the thoughts in my head — as I’m walking the street or thinking about what to write about — is mortality,” he adds.
In that sense, I Know Where I’m Going may be the most stark and emotional track in his entire catalog.
“It’s a sort of fantasy song. I saw myself, imagined myself, meditatively sitting on a cliff edge, looking across a sea to an island. I could see the boat sitting in the harbor and I knew it was going to take me to this island… and when I got there, I was going to climb that lighthouse and send out little signals back home.”
Is it about death?
“Maybe,” he admits, “but it’s also about looking for a place of peace and bliss. Sometimes you write a song and you don’t want to question it too much.”
I Know Where I’m Going is a slow, ethereal song that will never go viral. But Kemp is convinced that This Destination — the title track from this new album — would have been a hit single if it had featured on True (1983) or Parade (1984), his former band’s most successful LPs. Still, he emphasizes that he doesn’t miss that level of fame.
“People loved Spandau Ballet,” Kemp recalls. “We were young, pretty boys and we played well… we were [riding] a wave. But I write for myself now. I don’t write with Tony Hadley (vocals) in mind or Steve Norman (saxophone) in mind. I’m writing purely as an expression of my own thoughts.”
A guaranteed future
As a father of young kids, he insists on being optimistic about the sonic future that awaits the new generations. “I came home the other day to find my 15-year-old son listening to the vinyl of Can’t Buy a Thrill (1972), the Steely Dan album. He then put on Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On (1971) album.”
“I never had any interest in music that had come before [my lifetime] when I was growing up… but young kids do now. And you can see that in the streaming numbers that heritage bands like Spandau [rack up], with more and more [listeners] every month.”
It’s no surprise that Steely Dan records feature in the family collection: the sophisticated and elegant duo of Donald Fagen and Walter Becker are among the most obvious influences on Kemp’s new album (“No, you’re not the first to notice!” the musician admits with a smile).
Kemp feels like a creative child of the 1970s. This is reinforced by his experience of playing early Pink Floyd songs with Nick Mason’s tribute band, A Saucerful of Secrets. “Syd [Barrett] hasn’t really inspired me as a writer,” he clarifies. “I’d say it was more the latest stuff of Pink Floyd, if anything.”
“The first time I ever heard a Pink Floyd song or a Syd Barrett song was [the cover of] See Emily Play (1973) by David Bowie on his album Pin Ups. Everything and anything that David Bowie has ever done has inspired my writing,” he emphasizes.
“I grew up in the 1970s listening to music. All of the 1970s is my DNA. [That’s why] everything you heard written in the 1980s was written by kids who were inspired by the 1970s. My reference points [include bands] like 10cc, Wings, Queen. Or Steely Dan. [And] even Genesis. And, of course, Chic, The Isley Brothers…”
EL PAÍS asks Kemp about his foolproof formula for interviewing pop music greats. Alongside Guy Pratt (David Gilmour’s bassist) he does this for his episodes of Rockonteurs.
“We don’t have specific questions we ask guests. We like to keep it more fluid, more like a chat. There’s never been a list of questions in my head, [even though] I do research the artist,” he reveals.
“When people come on our show, they tend to open up a little bit. Mick Fleetwood was on and he was almost in tears: he was choking up when he said how much he wants to get the five members back on stage again, just one more time. [And] I remember David Crosby being on and [he was] very upset that he thought he may never play again on stage as he approached 80 during Covid.”
When asked what was the best time he’s heard one of his songs being played, Kemp reflects for a moment. “[It was a great] moment hearing thousands of people singing along to Gold by Spandau Ballet at Arsenal’s stadium, my lifelong team. If you look at my Instagram profile, you’ll find a video of my son belting out Gold after our team’s victory. That was my proudest moment in life…”
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