Martin and Shirlie Kemp ‘could feel George Michael’s presence’ while recording their debut album as a duo
Theirs was a match made in ’80s pop heaven.
He was the achingly handsome bass player in Spandau Ballet, while she was the petite blonde backing singer for Wham! who made the puffball skirt iconic.
This year, Martin and Shirlie Kemp are celebrating 31 years of marriage, and it doesn’t take long in their company to understand why the relationship has stood the test of time. They make each other laugh, there is no hint of ego and talking to them is easy, fascinating and heart-warming.
“We’re best friends,” says Shirlie, simply. “Martin is my family, he’s my home.”
Martin, 58, adds: “You have to look after the friendship. Love might come in and out and travel around a little bit, but the friendship has to be solid. We don’t really work at it, it just is.”
Shirlie, 57, gave up her pop career as one half of female duo Pepsi and Shirlie (she’s still best friends with Pepsi DeMacque) to be a full-time mum – daughter Harley and son Roman are now 30 and 26 – while Martin went on to become a successful actor, starring opposite brother Gary in hit Brit flick The Krays and playing gangster Steve Owen on EastEnders from 1998 until 2002.
Although Shirlie has still dabbled in music over the years, she assumed her performing days were behind her.
But earlier this year an opportunity came up to record a swing album with Martin, despite only ever having sung Islands In The Stream together at Christmas karaoke.
The result, In The Swing Of It, is released next month and will be followed next year by a mini tour, Big Band Broadway, which kicks off at London’s Royal Festival Hall.
There have been challenges to overcome during their three decades together, not least when Martin was diagnosed with two brain tumours in the mid-’90s and spent several years battling back to health following life-saving surgery to remove them. And they were left devastated three years ago by the death of close friend George Michael, who was godfather to Roman.
But Shirlie says recording the album has given her a new lease of life. “I’ve always put myself on the back-burner. I’ve liked being at home so this is a big jump for me. I honestly think it’s the best work I’ve ever done in my life, apart from raising the kids and being a wife.”
How did the album come about?
Shirlie: Well, now that Martin’s a theatre actor…
Martin: [laughing] I did Chicago in the West End. I absolutely loved my singing experience. I said to Shirlie: “Why don’t me and you do a song and have some fun with it?” So we went into the studio and she put down a vocal that blew everyone away.
S: I’m still amazed at how good our voices sound together. I don’t mean to blow my own trumpet! All these years and we never knew.
And your daughter Harley has written a couple of tracks especially for you…
M: Yes, it’s really touching to see Harley’s take on our relationship.
S: It goes to show that sometimes, when you’ve had a baby and give your life to them, they pay you back by writing a song for you!
M: First and foremost, what we’ve done is for us and the future grandkids to listen to. If anyone else likes it, that’s a bonus.
Shirlie, did you ever have any regrets about giving up your career to be a mum?
S: Never. When you’ve been in a band it’s a constant repeat of get on the aeroplane, go and promote this song – and travelling is hard. I had a baby and I wanted to give her security. I craved having a home and being a mum.
M: Shirlie was going insane to have a child.
S: I was broody from the moment I met him!
M: Harley was conceived on our wedding night.
S: She was born nine months after our wedding day. I had endometriosis, so I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to have a baby.
M: So when Harley came along it was really special, and Shirlie downed tools and said: “OK, I’m a mum now”.
You weren’t entirely comfortable with fame were you, Shirlie?
S: There was nothing I found attractive about being a pop star. I was always uncomfortable with celebrity and fame. I still am.
How do you think you’d have coped with that level of fame in the modern age of social media?
S: Oh my goodness. I don’t think it’s good. We were at an event the other night and this new generation of kids who have to promote themselves were taking selfies. They’re not really there for the ceremony, they’re there to have their picture taken. How long will it last? What is the talent?
M: When we did it, it was about promoting something. Now it’s people promoting themselves. But it’s a new way to do it.
S: It’s a mystery to me.
M: Yeah, but I’m a big believer in kids taking opportunities, and if there’s a pot of gold at the end of it, then great.
S: It’s just the pressure on them. I’m so lucky because neither of my kids are like that. They work.
M: They have a good work ethic, which we’re really pleased about.
Roman is doing really well hosting the breakfast show on Capital FM and Harley runs her own media company. You must be proud of them!
S: We are, and relieved. As a parent you want to see your kids doing what they love and are good at. They found that independently.
How did you manage to shield them from the spotlight?
S: We’ve never been a celebrity family, we’re just normal.
M: Harley didn’t enjoy us being famous at all.
S: Her first real experience of it was the kids at school marching towards her, chanting: “Your dad’s Martin Kemp!” I had to take her out of the school actually because it upset her so much.
M: She was at school when I was doing EastEnders, so that fame level was huge.
S: They used to shout “Steve!” at her and she’d get very upset. She’d say back: “He’s not Steve! He’s my dad, Martin!”
What about Roman?
M: Oh, he loved it. Loved the attention, loved the whole thing.
S: And Harley used to be so mean to him! Kids would say: “Is Roman’s dad Martin Kemp?” And Harley would say: “No, he’s lying”.
M: They were chalk and cheese.
S: She never wanted anything to do with it.
Were you ever worried about them going off the rails?
M: No. I don’t remember telling my kids off. If they did something wrong, they knew we were upset and they were embarrassed.
S: We never had a nanny. Martin was so sick for all that time so he was at home a lot. It wasn’t great that he was unable to work and it made things tough, but at the same time, they had their mum and dad every day. I think that gave them a great quality of life.
M: We brought our kids up, so the four of us were best friends. We were in it together.
S: I think a lot of kids who go off the rails, there’s a void, something empty in their lives. But our kids were our favourite people. I couldn’t wait for school to finish so I could see them again!
Martin, you underwent brain surgery twice, plus radiotherapy. That must have really tested you both.
M: It affects the people around you much more. When I got better I could still see the aftershocks with Shirlie and the family. It lingered on. It was five years of really tough times.
S: That was the toughest time. I was emotionally and physically drained because I had two small children and a husband in hospital. I didn’t want to show them how terrified I was. I was furious. Why is he sick? Who’s going to make him better?
M: But life isn’t smooth, is it? It goes up and down for everyone.
S: It’s traumatising to walk into an intensive care unit and see someone you don’t even recognise because they’re so poorly. It was so sudden. He went from literally nothing wrong to: “Oh my god, you’ve got two tumours and we’re going to operate next week.”
Did it ultimately bring you closer together?
M: It either pulls you apart or pushes you together. For us, it brought us even closer.
S: I realised I couldn’t live without him.
How do you remember the ’80s?
M: It was the last of the great pop cultures. You went from punk in the late-’70s through to New Romantics and the skinheads. Pop culture these days seems to be sitting behind a computer and Facebook, social media. When we were growing up you wore the clothes to represent the music you liked.
S: So much of your identity was about that.
M: Fashion and music went hand in hand. And I think we can look back at the ’80s now as this incredible era because it was the last we saw of it.
Which current music do you admire?
M: I like Ed Sheeran. I love what he does.
S: But there are some incredible female singers out there. Ariana Grande’s voice is exceptional.
Are there any plans to get Spandau back together, Martin?
M: I’m a big believer in never say never, I’m too old to look at it any other way. I hope the other guys see it that way as well.
S: I would love to see Spandau back together again.
M: If we ever went out again, it would have to be the five of us.
And how likely is that?
M: A big ask. We spent 10 intensive years together at the top and that’s a long time for any band. It took a toll on our friendships and that’s always difficult.
Are you in touch?
M: Not so much. We drop the odd email here and there, but it’s only the same as anyone else with their work friends. I’m so proud of Spandau and I wouldn’t want to trample on the legacy at all, so that’s what I want to look after.
What’s been the best thing about making this album?
S: Realising that I’m not all done yet. My life became the same old, same old. Now I have a diary! I have photo shoots to do!
M: I haven’t seen Shirlie as happy as this for years. She’s got an excitement back that had disappeared. Sometimes you need to give your mojo a boost. Some people might call it a midlife crisis where you feel you need a change and I think that’s what Shirlie has discovered.
S: For women in their 50s, we’ve also got the menopause to deal with. I’ve been speaking to loads of women about it and it makes me really sad that so many of us are suffering. This is taking my mind off any emotions the menopause throws at me!
And how about you, Martin?
M: All of a sudden the kids grow up and leave and there’s that empty nest syndrome. You need to fill it. I suffered from it terribly. It was always our house that the kids would come to, Roman would bring his mates round to watch the football, and Harley would have her mates round. So in a way making this record…
S: …Has been our new baby!
What do you think George would have made of it?
M: Oh, he would have approved.
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S: He would’ve been desperate to come round to listen to it.
M: He would’ve been round like a shot. George was supportive no matter what any of us did. He was so supportive of Roman when he was starting out. He was part of our family. A lovely man.
S: I think he’d have wished he’d thought of it! I could feel him while I was singing, I knew he was smiling at this. Could this gift have come from him? I don’t know. It’s a lovely thought, though.
- Martin and Shirlie’s album In The Swing Of It is out November 22 with Sony Music
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