And the Welcome to another episode of Soda Jerka on songwriting. This is Simon here as always with Brian and joining us for

episode 205 is an Ivanovela winning English musician, songwriter and actor best

known as the principal songwriter and lead guitarist for one of the most successful

bands of the new romantic era Spandau Ballet.

He penned all 23 of the group's hit singles, including to cut a long story short chant number one true gold and

through the barricades as this reaches you he's just released a very fine new solo

album in solo his first since 1995's little bruises and we had the pleasure of catching up

with him recently to hear all about that and much more. We're delighted to welcome the great

Gary Kemp to the show. Gary was born in London in 1959 and grew up in Islington and the first music he remembers hearing was the sound of an upright piano emanating from the pub next door.

An artistic child, not to mention an avid reader from a very young age, he attended the local Anashire Children's Theatre Drama Club and went on to work as an actor in film and TV throughout his teens.

He received his first guitar from his parents when he was 11 and within just a couple of months had written his first two songs.

He later performed a couple of his own compositions at a school prize giving attended by the then Bishop of Stepney, Trevor Huddleston, who was so impressed he turned up with the camp family home a few days later with a cassette recorder on which Gary could document his musical ideas.

How nice to have that kind of encouragement early on?

Yeah, it must have been invaluable.

Gary would form one of his first bands with fellow drama club member Phil Bagnels,

soon to make a name for himself in Quadraphina, of course.

And in 1975, they appeared on television together playing America's

Sandman on the I TV kids show you must be joking. You can actually watch that

performance on YouTube and I have to say it's pretty impressive. Yeah, you sent me the link and I was amazed how it accomplished.

They were actually given they were only what 15 or 16 or something like that.

Yeah, yeah, really worth checking out.

Gary was heavily into artists like Bowie, the Kinks, the who, and various

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