Ex-Spandau Ballet composer Gary Kemp now writes songs for himself, records solo album ‘Insolo’

Gary Kemp —PHOTO BY JOE MAGOWAN

In his new studio album, “Insolo,” former Spandau Ballet guitarist and songwriter Gary Kemp revisits his past to make sense of the artist and man he has become today.

“Creating this album is a process of me coming to terms with ideas that were bothering me. One of them was about reaching a certain age, and thinking how this man right here relates to his past self and vice versa. And how do I connect the dots between the different characters I have been in my life, so I could make sense of who I am right now?” Gary said in a group interview on Zoom arranged by Sony Music Philippines.

Inside ‘Insolo’

Among the tracks that delve into this deeply personal subject are: “I Remember You,” which looks back at the young boy Gary was and the various incarnations of himself that are now gone; “I Am the Past,” which ruminates on aging and loving someone stronger and vital; and “Waiting for the Band,” which captures teenage feelings of being a fan and the thrill of having a music hero.

“This was a subject I found intriguing, and I wouldn’t have been able to do something like that for Spandau,” the English musician pointed out, adding that another thing he enjoyed about writing songs for himself is that he has more creative control with the instrumentation of the tracks. “I played all the guitars.”

“Insolo” is Gary’s first solo album since “Little Bruises” in 1995. Asked what compelled him to finally create one after 26 years, he said that his recent singing and playing stint with Saucerful of Secrets—an English rock band formed by former Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason—inspired him to explore other types of music.

“It’s confidence. Playing around the world with Nick gave me a certain reputation as a guitar player and singer, which I never gained from Spandau. And that allowed me to go and do my own record,” he said. “I’m of a certain age where I feel the need to understand the issues in the world and my own life. The only way I can do that is in the self-therapy of songwriting.”

Illustrious career

With Spandau, Gary became one of the most prolific and commercially successful composers of the 1980s. At its peak, the new romantic pop band churned out 23 hits—including “True,” “Gold” and “Through the Barricades”—which have collectively spent 500 weeks in the UK charts.

Outside music, Gary has also dabbled in acting and starred in movies such as “The Krays” and “The Bodyguard” and television shows like “The Kemps: All True.” He’s also a stage actor and was part of the West End stagings for “Art,” “Pignight” and “Fings Ain’t Wot They Used T’Be.”

Here are excerpts from our interview with Gary:

What’s the difference between ‘Insolo’ and your previous solo album, ‘Little Bruises’?

“My whole approach to writing is very different now. The first one still stands out as a good album to me, but I’m in a different headspace now… I feel more confident putting my guitar-playing to the front. And there was a greater need for me to write an album that was about me; that’s lyric-driven instead of sound-driven. I play every single guitar part here in ‘Insolo,’ unlike in ‘Little Bruises.’”

When writing for yourself, do you try things that you wouldn’t necessarily do for Spandau Ballet?

“Certainly. Now I write the lyrics first. For Spandau, I was writing for a certain set of instruments and voice. And the sound really dominated. I would ask myself, ‘Is this the right music for Spandau?’ So, I very rarely wrote the lyrics first.”

Can you tell us about the writing process?

“Most of the songs were written with Nick Mason, on the road. Writing on the road was something I have never done before. With him, I think I got to explore music I was excited about. That gave me even more energy to write…but not all the songs were written that way. Some were done on the piano while searching for ideas.

“Insolo” cover art

“I played the guitar more, which I didn’t get to do much with Spandau; I did more saxophone. When you have a singer like Tony Hadley, you can’t go doing extensive pieces of instrumentation. But now I allow myself to do that. Now I get to express myself more through words and instruments.”

Did you have to do some soul-searching?

“You reach a point where you start to wonder, ‘Do I miss this man who used to be much stronger, much faster, much sharper of eye? Do I miss him, or is my experience of value now?’

“‘I Am the Past,’ in my head, is about an old gunslinger who met a younger woman and he’s wondering whether he’s really strong enough to still be around. Does he still have a sense of power in his life?

“‘I Remember You’ is a bit like that, too. It’s me wistfully thinking about youth. I’m not necessarily finding answers—although I did find one in ‘Waiting for the Band’—but these are the thoughts on my mind right now, and I believe they’re universal for everyone. As you grow older, you may be well thinking of these things.

“‘Waiting’ is about a 13-year-old me falling in love with music and becoming a fan. That feeling has never left me—the sense of nostalgia and lost youth. But there’s hope at the other end, still, because music is my driving force.”

In ‘Waiting for the Band,’ you talk about the thrill of being a fan. But what is it like being on the other side now?

“When I wrote that, I was really remembering those emotions I had as a fan. There was this particular moment: I was watching David Bowie at the Marquee Club in 1973. I was in front row and Bowie was dressed as Aladdin Sane, doing a television show for America. I was 13 then.

“There was a gap in between the songs. There I pulled a bangle off my wrist, handed it to him and called out his name, ‘David!’ He held it and, at the same time, looked into my eyes. He said, ‘Thank you.’ Everything vanished in the universe. But what he didn’t know was that a 13-year-old boy would knock him off No. 1 in the UK charts in 10 years’ time!

“But what I’m really saying is that that’s one of the biggest goosebumps moments I have ever had. Nothing compares to that. You don’t get goosebumps onstage; you’re working, you’re thinking of technical stuff and trying to give back to the fans what you experienced as a fan yourself.

“It’s funny, but that’s what it is. Now, I plan shows that will make the people feel good. I like being onstage, but nothing compares to being at an auditorium, the light suddenly going down, and hearing a voice saying, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, The Rolling Stones.’”

Isolation is another theme you explored

“The theme that cropped up in ‘The Haunted’ is the sense of isolation in the city. It’s a paradox, really, about how you can be surrounded by millions of people but still feel very alone. It’s a story of people struggling for validation, love, friendship from social media…I wrote that before the pandemic. But it was during lockdown that we started to record it and put the orchestra on…so I felt the lyrics gained more relevance than when I first wrote it.”

The album is very personal

“The theme is that everything is about me. I don’t have to lie anymore. When you get to my age, you have experienced highs and lows; divorce, marriage, euphoria, success and failure.

“When I was younger writing songs for Spandau, I had experienced so little in life, and so you make lots of stuff up, you borrow. There’s not a lot of truth to what you’re saying, really.

“I have autonomy here…at my age, you don’t want to be making records with a committee—you just want to live and die by your own mistakes…the songs I give you today are pieces of me.”

What does music mean to you now?

“But it means more to me now. I’m inspired by it more now…when I reached puberty, music gave me identity. And then in the 1980s, there was this feeling of wanting to create the next big thing myself. Music has been my complete roadmap. I pick up the guitar every single day. If I’m feeling depressed about something, it’s the instrument I go to.” INQ