Biography

Gary Kemp was born in Islington, London in October 1959. On his 10th birthday, he got his first guitar from his parents. In the 70s, he and his younger brother, Martin Kemp, went to learn drama at Anna Scher's acting school. Then, in 1978, Gary Kemp formed "The Makers". After Richard Miller left, his brother replaced him on bass. That's when Gary changed the name to Spandau Ballet. Spandau's break came in March 1980 when they were filmed for a documentary on ITV. When the documentary was broadcast, the record companies were bursting out of their ears. They chose to sign to Chrysalis, as they were offered the most money. For 10 years, they had hits like "To Cut a Long Story Short" (1980), "Chant No. 1 (I don't need this pressure on)" (1981), "True" (1983), "Gold" (1983), "Only When You Leave" (1984) and "Through the Barricades" (1986). After Spandau Ballet completed a tour in 1987, Gary and Martin decided to go into acting once again. They auditioned for the part in The Krays (1990) and, in 1989, they played "Ronald" and "Reggie". Soon afterwards this, Spandau Ballet would split. During the '90s, Gary continued to act, most notably playing a part in The Bodyguard (1992). In 1999, Gary was involved in a court battle over £1,000,000 royalties against John Keeble, Steve Norman and Tony Hadley, his 3 other bandmates. Gary won the case. However, in March 2009, all 5 members of Spandau Ballet called a truce, and they announced on the HMS Belfast in London that they would be reuniting for a world tour later in the year.

Photos

Filmography

View Casualty
Casualty

Casualty

1986Series
6.2
View The One Show
The One Show

The One Show

2006Series
4.4
View Wogan
Wogan

Wogan

1982Series
4.5
View Champs-Elysées
Champs-Elysées

Champs-Elysées

1982Series
6.3
View The Larry Sanders Show
The Larry Sanders Show

The Larry Sanders Show

1992Series
7.7
View The Alan Titchmarsh Show
No Image

The Alan Titchmarsh Show

2007Series
3.7
View Murder in Mind
Murder in Mind

Murder in Mind

2001Series
8.4
View Where Are They Now?
No Image

Where Are They Now?

1999Series
7.5
View Later... with Jools Holland
Later... with Jools Holland

Later... with Jools Holland

1992Series
5.3
View The BRIT Awards
The BRIT Awards

The BRIT Awards

1977Series
10.0
View The Bodyguard
The Bodyguard

The Bodyguard

1992Film
6.7
View TV Story Superstar
TV Story Superstar

TV Story Superstar

2020Series0