Gary Kemp
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Biography
Gary Kemp is most widely celebrated as the lead guitarist and main songwriter of Spandau Ballet, the New Wave band whose songs dominated the American and European singles charts throughout the 1980s. Born in Smithfield, London, on October 16, 1959, he worked as a child actor before co-founding Spandau Ballet in 1979. The band's long line of hits â including "True," which topped the UK charts in 1984, and "Gold," which cracked the Top 40 in 10 different countries one year later â won Kemp an Ivor Novello Award for "Outstanding Song Collection" in 2012. Following a very successful decade, Spandau Ballet embarked upon a 19-year hiatus in 1990, leaving Gary Kemp open to pursue other musical projects. He released a solo record, Little Bruises, in 1995, Bow Wow Wow's Leigh Gorman seeing as the album's producer. He also wrote songs for other artists, contributing two tracks to the debut album of soap opera actor Jacob Young. Although Spandau Ballet reformed in 2009, Kemp continued to perform music outside of the band, as well, even joining Pink Floyd member Nick Mason in the supergroup Saucerful of Secrets. The band's debut album, Live at the Roundhouse, was released in 2020, featuring Kemp's vocals and guitar playing. One year later, he released his second solo album, Insolo, which peaked at Number 43 in the UK.
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