Spandau Ballet: Martin Kemp Talks While I Mostly Just Stare In Awe At His Stunning Beauty!

Originally published in Rave-Up #3 (Spring 1982)

Interview by Devorah Ostrov

Spandau Ballet (publicity photo - Martin Kemp on the right)

Snobby, arrogant, pompous, vain, elitist socialites... Are these the adjectives that spring to mind when you think about Spandau Ballet? Well, you're WRONG! "It's not very true at all," responds bassist Martin Kemp to the above charges. We're sitting in Rumors (his favorite Covent Garden pub), sipping cokes while he talks (and I mostly just stare in mute awe at his stunning beauty) about why the negative publicity surrounding the band's image is entirely unfounded.

"All that press came about when we were just doing the odd shows here and there. We weren't advertising in the music press or different magazines which every group used, obviously because they couldn't get enough people into their shows to fill them up."

Martin on the cover of The Face - March 1981

"We had quite a lot of friends anyway," Martin continues. "We didn't have to advertise because with all our friends coming to see us, the places that we played were packed out anyway. If we had advertised, there would have been too many people and they wouldn't have been able to get in." 

In fact, British music papers still seem unsure whether to love Spandau Ballet or condemn them. For the most part, the writers appear somewhat perplexed about the band and the vibrant New Romantic scene which has sprung up around them.

"When they saw the kind of people we were..." Martin flashes a flawless smile as he trails off. Luckily, he quickly picks up where he left off because he really is so drop-dead gorgeous, I need to check that my jaw hasn't fallen open. "At first, there was a big thing about how all we did was go to champagne parties and things like that. They were guessing what type of background we came from. It's rubbish!"

Now that Martin's on a roll, I'm momentarily saved from having to make any sort of coherent comment and can return to simply staring at him. "They thought it was all a joke. They didn't think the music would turn out to be any good. When we brought out the first single, everyone said, 'It won't last. They won't be able to write another one.' We brought out the next one, and they said, 'Well, it won't last for long anyway.' Brought out another record, 'Well, it's not bad...'"

You would not believe the commotion this publicity 
photo caused when it arrived at Rave-Up HQ!

I somehow manage to nod appropriately at this point, and at the same time display my fabulous wit by mumbling, "Uh-huh." At any rate, Martin is encouraged to carry on.

"When we started turning out the records, we knew what the opinion would be. If we turned out a slightly bad record, they would write, 'RUBBISH! Chuck it out the window!' So, we make sure that everything we put out is perfect, a really good record. That way, they can't just slag it off."

Spandau Ballet's live debut took place in November 1979, when they played to an invited audience at a private rehearsal studio, only days before their official first show at the Blitz. But tales are told of a teenage power pop outfit that included Gary Kemp (Martin's older brother) and Steve Norman.

However, Martin maintains that other members of the group had no prior musical experience. "The first thing I played was bass for Spandau Ballet," he states. "I learned the lines half by heart, and then I just worked things out in my head. The first thing Tony [Hadley] ever really sang was 'To Cut a Long Story Short.'"

He also doesn't deny that Spandau's look took shape before its sound. Which doesn't mean the music isn't important to them, merely that their style-conscious stance wasn't invented for the first photo session.

Spandau Ballet (publicity photo)

L-R: John Keeble, Gary Kemp, Tony Hadley, Martin Kemp & Steve Norman

"It's never been contrived," Martin asserts. "Before we ever dreamed of getting a group together, we use to go to clubs every night. If you're mixing with those sorts of people, obviously the main thing in life is to get your clothes right. If your clothes aren't right, you can't mix with the people in the clubs, can you?" I shake my head to indicate, "No, of course not!" His eyes are the most incredible shade of blue.

"There are loads of people that have been dressing in a similar way," he resumes. "It was just us who got the look together. Plus, when we got the group together, we knew we weren't going to dress like everybody else in leather jackets and jeans. We just stuck to the same thing we've done since we were 14 — dressing up and having fun. But now we played music."

Martin & Gary Kemp on the cover of

 Smash Hits - 1982

Where do the Spandau boys get their clothes? It's my first articulate question!

"It depends... I might pick something up at the jumble sale, which is just as good as having something made. You can get a shirt for 50p or you can get a shirt for £50. It's exactly the same. If you can wear clothes well, it doesn't matter how much you paid for it or where you got it from. It will look good once you put it on."

So, how responsible is Spandau Ballet for setting the New Romantic fashion trends?

"Not at all in London; not with the people that we mix with. There isn't one person who sets the clothing trends and everyone else follows. But outside London... People who are my age have got the initiative to dress in their own style. They follow Spandau, but not in the sense that they copy us piece-for-piece. They all dress differently. When we go up north, we can see the differences, and that's good. That's the way it should be! The kids that are buying our records, like 14-year-olds, obviously they haven't really sussed it yet. They copy us, but that's all right."

Spandau Ballet recently issued the soul-infused single "Chant No. 1 (I Don't Need This Pressure On)" ahead of their forthcoming second album (due to be released in early 1982). The song peaked at #3 in the charts, and the band undertook a handful of live dates. But according to Martin, no full-scale tour is currently planned.

Spandau Ballet (publicity photo)

"We haven't played in ages," Martin observes. "We hardly ever play, but when we do, we try to make it special. The last time we played, we did Ibiza. A lot of English kids go to Ibiza for their holidays, and we thought by doing that, it would be pretty special. We played a great club and went on just as the sun was coming up. It was terrific!"

Martin won't divulge too many details about the new LP. But he does tell me, "The next album is going to be completely different from Journeys to Glory because we're doing a lot more in the studio. We had the material for the first album a year previous to recording it because we were playing the songs at gigs. It only took us about six weeks to record it. We tried to capture the sort of atmosphere we had at the live shows — like the HMS Belfast — and put it on the album. It's a timepiece."

Perhaps not surprisingly, Spandau's sound is more influenced by club-going rather than listening to records by other bands. "I'm usually more aware of records in clubs," notes Martin, "like when I'm talking to people and records are playing in the background. That's where I hear records."

Martin Kemp (publicity photo)

Also, probably not surprisingly, Spandau Ballet doesn't feel like they're in competition with other New Romantic-type bands.

"It's not really a competition because, for us, it's fun! There's groups like Duran Duran... There's no competition because what we're doing is pretty much in front of what they're doing. It's like watching ourselves in the mirror; they're just copying everything that we did three months back. It doesn't worry us."

Bitchiness? Perish the thought! Spandau has no reason for such pettiness.

"In England, we sell more 12-inch singles than any other group," Martin remarks. Have I mentioned that his eyes are the most amazing shade of blue? I think I probably have.

Oh dear, I've lost my focus (again). When I come back down to earth, Martin's still talking about their sales figures or sound or something. I'm sure they've unnecessarily turned up the heat in this pub.

"With our experience in clubs, we know what a good club sound is, whereas other groups don't. They're more interested in their live performance, and they make their records like that. For us to make 12-inch singles is easy! It's no trouble. We know what people want to hear at clubs, and we just do it."

I feel a teeny bit guilty for not holding up my end of this conversation, so before Martin hurries off to his next appointment, I ask about the band's recent (May 1981) New York show at the Underground Club, Spandau's only Stateside appearance to date.

Chrysalis Records advert for Journeys to Glory

"New York was great!" he enthuses. "The best thing I've ever seen! Everyone was dressed up. I popped out about five minutes before we went on, and there were 600 people dressed up over the top. It was a really big place, and there were still people queuing up to get in. It's the same as it is over here. People are ready to slag us off, bury us — but our records are so good they can't put it out of their heads, so they have to take notice of it. There's no way we're going to stop making good records. So, they'll just have to keep on listening!"

Sigh... He's so dreamy.