'I Know This Much' -- by Gary Kemp, Spandau Ballet's
prime mover -- is simply the freshest, most exciting and
best-written memoir to arrive for years. Gary's story
begins in North London, where the Kemp family rented a
home with no bathrooms and chickens in the yard. After a
couple of failed attempts to kill his brother Martin,
his parents gave him a guitar for Christmas. From
schoolyard battles between the Bowie Boys and the Prog
Rockers to Mrs Kemp's firm insistence on net curtains,
and from acting for the Children's Film Foundation to
manning a fruit and veg stall on Saturdays, Gary
brilliantly evokes an upbringing full of love,
creativity and optimism. As the Thatcher years begin,
Gary's account of the outrageous London club scene
centred around the Blitz and Billy's is just sizzling.
Out of this glamorous mayhem of kilt-wearing mascara'd
peacocks would emerge Spandau Ballet -- the band that
would define the era, and hold high the victorious
standard of the New Romantics.Gary's thrilling journey
with Spandau Ballet would see them record worldwide hits
such as 'True', 'Gold' and 'Through the Barricades',
play the biggest stadiums in the world and take to the
stage in togas when their luggage gets lost in flight.
Stallions, supermodels and dwarves would be hired for
video shoots, and through it all, Gary records the
wonderful friendships, and the slowly-building tensions,
that would eventually see five old friends facing each
other in court. 'I Know This Much' tells the story of
Spandau Ballet, but it's far more than a book about
being in a band. Whether it's meeting Ronnie Kray before
filming 'The Krays', sketching out the fashions and
subcultures of the day, or hanging out with Princess
Diana, this book offers a story on every page. And all
the more so because it's all written -- brilliantly --
by Gary himself. |
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