"I've always thought that actors wanted to be pop musicians and pop musicians wanted to be actors," says Gary Kemp about his role as musical adviser on the rockcentric comedy Still Crazy.
As head tunesmith/lead guitarist with New Romantic icons Spandau Ballet and an actor (The Krays), Kemp was uniquely qualified to teach thesps Bill Nighy, Jimmy Nail, Stephen Rea, Timothy Spall and Hans Matheson - playing reformed rockers Strange Fruit - in the ways of clichéd rockdom. It is an area, he feels, rich with comedic possibilities.
"Rock groups, by their very nature, are hysterically funny. They are usually a mixture of working class lads and art students which is odd. Then there's the commitment, the sincerity, the pseudo philosophy of a rock group - it's sexy when you're 21 but absolutely ridiculous when you're 41."
Having the cast for just two weks, Kemp and his wannabe band zapped video images at each other to get the right feel ("We looked at early Deep Purple and Black Sabbath, David Bowie and Mick Jagger obviously, but also the histrionics of David Coverdale which we thought were quite apt") with Kemp schooling the actors in stage mannerisms and attitude as well as the more intangible aspects of being in a group.
"Whenever they shot musical numbers, I was there as a confidence giver. It really became all about camaraderie," he continues. "The great thing about being in a band is that you may not be the most talented musicians in the world but once you get together, there's this sort of chemistry that flows. When the cogs are turning, that chemistry is absolutely unique. It was great to watch that confidence flow through the actors."
Kemp is currently out of the rock throng, but writing a musical about the relationship between W.B. Yeats and Walter Goldman. So did the spirit of Still Crazy ever make him contemplate putting his band back together?
"No, it didn't actually," he laughs. "There were times when they were filming the big gig that reminded me of those days. But I think getting Spandau Ballet back together again would be even more contentious than Stange Fruit reuniting."