Gary was a good student and while being on that school he got his first guitar at the age of 11, an instrument his dad had bought for him for £5. Immediately young Gary learnt to play two chords and with this profound knowledge started to write songs.

Some of these songs he performed at his primary school prize-giving (including his very first self-penned epos 'Jesus Rode Through Nazareth') and made such an impression on the audience that the Bishop Of Stepney, who was present, got his address from the school and came round to his parent's house to present him with a tape recorder!

In contrast to their later somewhat glamorous band image the Kemps come from a solid working class background. Even though money was sometimes short in the Kemp household Gary's parents tried everything to give their children something a bit special. So from the age of 10 Gary and his younger brother went to a local drama school, the 'Anna Scher Children's Theatre' in Benton Court, just across the street from their home.

One lesson used to cost 10 pence and the boys went there every evening. It was there where both brothers were discovered for some tv and film productions. The first proper job Gary had was a small part for Jackanory in 1970. He and Martin played two brothers who were Arsenal supporters and their role consisted of about 2 lines. He starred in several productions usually playing cockney lads, but the climax of his child acting career was definitley a main part in 'Hide And Seek', a film for the big screen by the Children's Film Foundation ...

Despite the film work and his guitar Gary's big ambition at that time was to become a journalist because he liked writing very much. Only at the age of 16, when he left Anna Scher's, he really got into music ... actually after seeing the Sex Pistols in concert. They gave him the insight that you don't really need a lot of money or have to play your instruments well to start a band, all you need are some good ideas.

Before that he used to play some folk music with Jess Bailey who later became Spandau's session keyboard player. Thanks to Ian Fox, Gary's former band mate, we can bring some light into the 1974/1975 years when Gary was part of the
Same Band.

Gary, Steve Jolly & Ian Fox - 1975

Punk inspired Gary to be more of a player than a writer, even if he lost interest in punk music after one year and turned to the London club scene instead.

1976 saw young Kemp on the stage at his school in a production of 'Boyfriend' ...

... but probably it was the founding of his band The Makers, that is of more historic relevance! Though only being a schoolband they played quite some well known venues and were rather successful.

At school Gary did also quite well, e.g. he managed to get his maths O-level a year early, but in the sixth grade he gave up his academic ambitions in favour of the band. To earn his living he worked for the Financial Times as a prices clerk.

In 1978 The Makers lost their bass player Richard Miller and Gary's little brother stepped in for him. Gary quickly taught him how to play the bass guitar in a four week crash course. They changed their name to 'Gentry' and played their first gig with the original Spandau line-up at a university party the same year. In 1979 they changed the band's name once again and Spandau Ballet was born.

From 1980 till 1990 Gary enjoyed incredible success with the band, and even if Tony Hadley will always be the voice of Spandau Ballet Gary was the head and mastermind in the background. The highlights of their career are countless Top75 hits, 4 major sell-out tours, Band Aid and Live Aid participations, classic pop tunes like 'True', 'Gold' and 'Through The Barricades' and a fan community that still loves and supports them years after their break-up. Find a year by year summery of their carrer highlights on the Ballet Days page.

Many things that are considered normal nowadays where introduced by the band, they were pioneers in the field of 12" remixes, videos, image and fashion. Perhaps their biggest strength was also their biggest weakness ... over the years Spandau Ballet always tried to change their sound, they never duplicated their songs and didn't stick to the winning formula of their last hit, they were not like certain other groups who recycle their hits all over again and manage to enter the charts a million times with actually one and the same tune. And to say it loud and clear Spandau has always been a great live band, on vinyl they never managed to sound as energetic as live in concert!!!

In 1988 Gary got married ... and also some other changes were underway. Gary and his brother launched a second career in Cannes where they introduced their film project 'The Krays' to the press. But only in 1989 cameras started rolling and finally after the last Spandau Ballet tour the film premieres in April 1990. It was a big success and opened the doors for Gary into the acting business. 1990 also saw the birth of his son Finlay which was definitely a very important event in his life.

At that time Gary desperately needed a break from music and found new challenges in acting, so he spent the following years travelling between London and Hollywood. To learn more about his movie work turn to Movies. Basicly he chose to play in a mixture of genres, from European art movies like 'Magic Hunter' to blockbusters as 'Bodyguard'. It seemed as if Gary was on the search for something ... something he didn't find in the end, because the profession of acting limited his artistic freedom too much. As he once put it, to act always means "... to say someone else's words and to fullfill someone else's visions".

As a consequence Gary went back to London, started to write songs again, went into the studio and in 1994 recorded his first solo album that was released in 1995. The same year Gary toured Britain and Ireland with his album.

But Mr Kemp is a restless soul and always on the hunt for new experiences, so nowadays he's busy writing music for the stage and for films ... and he also has spent some time in the archives to work on the ultimate Spandau Ballet Greatest Hits compilation released in 2001!!! Some more nostalgic releases are announced for 2002.

But always on the hunt for new challenges Gary has also taken up acting in 2001 again, this time on the stage of a Westend theatre ... for details check out the Art page!

In 2002 Gary has released the Spandau Ballet Anthology and was busy writing songs for record companies Sony Music and Polydor. At the end of the year he has done some acting again for the BBC project 'Murder In Mind'.