Gary Kemp is an English songwriter, musician and actor, best known as the lead guitarist, backing vocalist, and principal songwriter for the new wave band Spandau Ballet.
Born October 16, 1959, Gary Kemp grew up in Islington on the Essex Road, and started playing guitar and writing songs at the age of 11. Throughout his musical career he has become one of the UK’s most successful songwriters of the past 35 years, having written the lyrics and music for all 23 of Spandau Ballet’s hits.
Spandau Ballet led the way as one of the most successful British bands of the 1980’s New Pop generation, playing electronica and new white funk with UK Top Five hits To Cut A Long Story Short and Chant No.1. They enjoyed global success with timeless hits like True, Gold, Only When You Leave and Through the Barricades and appeared as part of the historic Band Aid and Live Aid line-ups. Gary’s songs have spent a combined total of over 500 weeks in the charts and generated over 25 million record sales. In 2012 he achieved a career highlight when he was bestowed with the prestigious Outstanding Song Collection Award at the Ivor Novello Awards.
After 19 years apart Spandau reformed with all five original members in 2009. There followed two sold out world tours including five nights at London O2 arena. Their story was documented in the critically acclaimed archive-based film Soul Boys of the Western World, directed by George Hencken, which premiered at SXSW and at the Royal Albert Hall in 2012.
Gary released his first solo album, Little Bruises, on Sony Records in 1995. His second solo album, INSOLO, was released by Columbia Records in 2021. The first single Ahead of the Game broke new ground for Gary as a Radio Two playlist favourite. In 2025 he released This Destination which is his most personal to date and sees the songwriter channel his own thoughts and feelings about the past, putting on show the culmination of a lifetime dedicated to songcraft. Gary’s most recent band musical project is as guitarist and vocalist with Nick Mason’s psychedelic rock group, Saucerful of Secrets. The band made their live debut in May 2018. European, US and Canadian tours followed in 2019 and 2022. A top five live album and film Live at the Roundhouse, was released in 2020.
In September 2020 Gary and Saucerful bass player and legendary session musician Guy Pratt launched their Rockonteurs podcast talking to iconic artists about the real stories behind their music. Guests have ranged from contemporaries like Gary Numan, Billy Idol and Boy George to idols like Glen Matlock, Phil Manzanera and a memorable encounter with David Coverdale. With over 150 episodes it is becoming regarded as an aural history of Rock Music.
Beyond his impressive musical career, Gary has also experienced a successful acting career, which began at Anna Scher’s Children’s Theatre drama club. As a boy, he played the lead in the 1972 film Hide and Seek, but his first adult role was as Ronnie Kray in the acclaimed 1990 biopic The Krays, alongside brother Martin as Reggie Kray. He appeared alongside Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner in the 1992 hit The Bodyguard. On stage, Gary took the role of Serge in the West End production of Art in 2001 and as Teddy in The Homecoming directed by Jamie Lloyd in 2015 and two more Pinter revivals in 2018. For television, Gary and his brother Martin starred in the BBC Four Rhys Thomas created spoof documentary The Kemps: All True in 2020.
Gary has written a critically acclaimed autobiography, I Know This Much: From Soho to Spandau. London: Fourth Estate.
His most recent book, co-authored with Simon Halfon, became a Sunday Times Best Seller Top 10 called 1967 – The World of Brian Epstein and the Beatles. The book offers both a revelatory portrait of the Beatles’ inner circle and the cultural landscape of the 1960s
