Gary Kemp

Gary Kemp

  • Birthday: 1959-10-16
  • Place of birth: Islington, London, England, UK
  • Also know as: Spandau Ballet

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.

Filmography

Killing Zoe

1993

As Oliver

The Bodyguard

1992

As Sy Spector

The Krays

1990

As Ronald Kray

Dog Eat Dog

2001

As Jesus

Magic Hunter

1994

As Max

Hide and Seek

1972

As Chris

Soul Boys of the Western World

2014

As Self - Guitar, Spandau Ballet

Assassin

2015

As John Alberts

African Megaflyover

2005

As Narrator

Live Aid

1985

As Self

Art Is...

2013

As Collector

Paper Marriage

1992

As Aiden Carey

Ice Pawn

1992

As Misha Orlov

The Kemps: All True

2020

As Self

Blitzed!

2021

As Self

The Rapture

2010

As Professor Anderson

Take Out the Beast

1995

As Fox

The Kemps: All Gold

2023

As Self

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