Martin Kemp
Martin Kemp | |
---|---|
Born | Martin John Kemp 10 October 1961 Islington, London, England |
Education | Central Foundation Boys' School |
Occupations |
|
Years active | 1972–present |
Television | EastEnders (1998–2002) |
Spouse | |
Children | 2, Roman |
Relatives | Gary Kemp (brother) |
Musical career | |
Genres | |
Instrument(s) | Bass guitar |
Years active | 1979–present |
Labels |
|
Martin John Kemp (born 10 October 1961) is an English musician and actor, best known as the bassist in the new wave band Spandau Ballet and for his role as Steve Owen in EastEnders.
He is the younger brother of
Early life
Kemp was born to Frank and Eileen Kemp at their house in
Kemp grew up in north London and attended Central Foundation Boys' School, Islington. After leaving school at 16, he began an apprenticeship in a print factory [5] but soon became disenchanted.[5]
Spandau Ballet
Kemp's life changed when Steve Dagger, the manager of his brother Gary's band the Gentry, suggested Martin should replace the band's bass-player.[6] Kemp learned to play bass in three months and performed for the first time with the Gentry at a college party.[6] Eventually the band was renamed Spandau Ballet and Kemp left his printing job to concentrate on the band full-time.[7]
Spandau Ballet went on to have a great deal of success in the New Romantic era, with four of their albums reaching the top ten of the UK Albums Chart. True also gave the band their first UK number-one album and, with the album's title track, single. Kemp also performed with the band on the popular 1984 famine-relief-project song "Do They Know It's Christmas?", written by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure. Because of a dispute over royalties, the band split up in the early 1990s.[8][9]
Spandau Ballet announced they had reformed at a press conference on HMS Belfast on 25 March 2009.[10] The band also announced a world tour, beginning with dates in the UK and Ireland in October 2009.
Later career
Kemp and his brother Gary returned to acting in 1990, both appearing in the British film The Krays, in which they played the notorious gangster twins Ronald and Reginald Kray. Their performances received a great deal of critical acclaim.[11][12][13] After The Krays, Martin Kemp moved to Los Angeles in the early 1990s and made appearances in television series such as The Outer Limits and Highlander: The Series. He also appeared in several Hollywood films, including Waxwork II: Lost in Time (1992) and Embrace of the Vampire (1994).
In 1995, Kemp moved back to the United Kingdom and took a break from acting for a short while, recovering from removal of two benign
Kemp signed a contract with ITV in 2002 and starred in several television dramas, including The Brides in the Bath, in which he played real-life murderer George Smith, and Can't Buy Me Love opposite fellow EastEnders star Michelle Collins, which was based on a true story about a man who conned his wife and friends into believing he had won the lottery. He also starred in the short-lived crime drama series Family in 2003. From 2004 to 2007, he was the face of furniture chain ScS.[23] He starred in a low-budget British film titled Back in Business which had a limited release in a few cinemas in February 2007 and one month later was released on DVD. He founded his own production company and in March 2008 directed a low-budget 20-minute short film entitled Karma Magnet,[24] which starred his brother Gary and featured Martin's wife and son, Shirlie and Roman. This was released only online.
Kemp appeared on a celebrity special of
Kemp was announced as the thirteenth celebrity to participate in the summer series of Celebrity Big Brother 2012. Kemp appeared in the final episode and was placed third on 7 September 2012.[26]
From February to April 2016, Kemp appeared as The Childcatcher in the UK and Ireland tour of the musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, alongside Jason Manford, Phil Jupitus and Michelle Collins.[27]
Kemp hosted the first series of "Martin Kemp's Murder Files", aired from November 2016, on the UK TV channel
In December 2017, he appeared as
In November 2019, Kemp and his wife released their first album together as Martin & Shirlie, titled In the Swing of It via
In June 2020, Kemp, with his son
In February 2021, Kemp appeared in
In December 2021, Kemp appeared as Father Christmas as part of a government campaign to encourage people to get their coronavirus vaccinations ahead of the Christmas holidays.[33][34]
In January 2023, Kemp appeared alongside his wife
Personal life
Kemp has been married to
He is a patron of British/Irish charity the Encephalitis Society.[40] At the time he became a patron, he confirmed that he had controlled epilepsy since the 1990s, as a result of two brain tumours.[40] Following surgery to remove the tumours, Kemp had a protective metal plate implanted over his brain under the scalp.[41] The plate is unnoticeable but not undetectable; during an appearance on the Frank Skinner Show in 2002, Kemp jokingly remarked he could never slip quietly through metal-detectors at airports, as the plate would set the alarm off.
On 20 January 2006, Kemp opened a new
Kemp is a lifelong Arsenal fan, having been born and raised in the Highbury area.[43]
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1990 | The Krays | Reggie Kray | |
1992 | Waxwork II: Lost in Time | Baron Von Frankenstein | |
Daydream Believer |
Digby Olsen | ||
1993 | Aspen Extreme | Franz Hauser | |
Desire | Gordon Lewis | ||
1994 | Fleshtone | Matthew Greco | |
Boca | Reb | ||
1995 | Embrace of the Vampire | Vampire | |
Cyber Bandits | Jack Morris | ||
1998 | Monk Dawson | David Allenby | |
1999 | Sugar Town | Jonesy | |
2007 | Back in Business | Will Spencer | |
2010 | The Rapture | Victor Walker | |
2011 | Jack Falls | Dr. Lawrence | |
How to Stop Being a Loser | Zeus | ||
2012 | Strippers vs Werewolves | Mickey | |
2013 | The Best Years | Simon McKnight | |
2015 | Assassin | Lee Alberts | |
Age of Kill | Sam Blake | ||
2020 | The Loss Adjuster | Lee Leicester |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1972 | Jackanory | Extra | Unknown episode[3] |
The Edwardians |
Extra | Unknown episode[3] | |
Mind Where You Are Going | Extra | TV film[3] | |
1973 | A Picture of Katherine Mansfield | Extra | Unknown episode[3] |
Scribble | Extra | Unknown episode[3] | |
The Tomorrow People | Extra | Unknown episode[3] | |
Oranges and Lemons | Extra | Unknown episode[3] | |
Dixon of Dock Green | Boy | Episode: "Eye Witness"[3] | |
1975 | Play for Today | Lad | Episode: "Rumpole of the Bailey"[3] |
1976 | The Glittering Prizes | Graham Black | Episode: "A Country Life" |
1992 | Growing Rich | Driver | All 6 episodes |
1993 | Highlander: The Series | Alfred Cahill | Episode: "Avenging Angel" |
1994 | Murder Between Friends | Bill Fontanille | TV film |
1995 | The Outer Limits | Michael Deighton | Episode: "Blood Brothers" |
1996 | Tales from the Crypt | Lieutenant Luger | Episode: "Escape" |
1998 | The Bill | Tom Marsh | Episode: "The Bus Driver's Prayer" |
Supply & Demand | Eddie McEwan | All 6 episodes | |
1998-2002 | EastEnders | Steve Owen | 324 episodes |
2002 | Daddy's Girl | Chris Cooper | TV film |
2003 | Serious & Organised | DC Jack Finn | All 6 episodes |
Family | Joey Cutler | All 6 episodes | |
The Brides in the Bath | George Joseph Smith | TV film | |
2004 | Where the Heart Is | Ian Thorpe | Episode: "Skin Deep" |
Can't Buy Me Love | Alan Harris | TV film | |
2006 | Agatha Christie's Marple | Jackie Afflick | Episode: "Sleeping Murder" |
Love Lies Bleeding | Mark Terry | Both 2 episodes | |
2008 | Heartbeat | Mick Revill | Episode: "Bully Boys" |
2010 | Waterloo Road | Mr. Burley | Episode: #6.5 |
2012 | Hustle | Harry Holmes | Episode: "Picasso Finger Painting" |
2016 | Would I Lie To You? | Himself | Episode: 1 season 10 |
Brian Pern: 45 Years of Prog and Roll |
Himself | 2 episodes | |
Birds of a Feather | Vince | 2 episodes | |
2017 | Murder in Successville | Himself | Episode: "A Murder in Ye Olde Successville" |
Father Brown | Dennis Nelson | Episode: "The Chedworth Cyclone" | |
2020 | The Kemps: All True | Martin Kemp | TV film |
2021 | McDonald & Dodds | Mick Elkins | Episode: "The Man Who Wasn't There" |
2022 | The Horne Section TV Show | Martin Kemp | Episode 2 |
2023 | Murder, They Hope | John | Episode: "Blood Actually" |
The Kemps: All Gold | Martin Kemp | TV film |
As director
Bibliography
- Kemp, M. (2000). True: The Autobiography of Martin Kemp. Orion. ISBN 0-7528-3264-6.
- Kemp, Shirley; Kemp, Martin (2020). Shirlie and Martin Kemp: It's a Love Story. London: Mirror Books. ISBN 978-1913406363.
See also
References
- ^ Kemp, Martin. True: the Autobiography of Martin Kemp. p. 12.
- ^ True: the Autobiography of Martin Kemp. p. 18.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j True: the Autobiography of Martin Kemp. p. 20.
- ^ True: the Autobiography of Martin Kemp. p. 21.
- ^ a b True: the Autobiography of Martin Kemp. p. 31.
- ^ a b True: the Autobiography of Martin Kemp. p. 39.
- ^ True: the Autobiography of Martin Kemp. p. 46.
- ^ "Spandau Ballet in court over royalties". BBC News. 27 January 1999. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
- ^ "Spandau court bid fails". BBC News. 30 April 1999. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
- ^ "Spandau Reform for a World Tour". BBC News. 25 March 2009. Retrieved 26 March 2009.
- ^ "The Krays". Thespinningimage.co.uk. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
- ^ "The Krays film review". Channel4.com. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
- ^ "The Krays". Time Out London. Archived from the original on 23 July 2010. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
- ^ True: the Autobiography of Martin Kemp. p. 3.
- ^ Deans, Jason (21 October 2003). "This was your life, say BBC bosses". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
- ^ Ramazzotti, Giorgina (4 May 2023). "When George Michael surprised an emotional Martin Kemp on 'This Is Your Life'". Smooth Radio. Global. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
- ^ Julia Day (26 July 2001). "Martin Kemp quits EastEnders". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
- ^ "Backstage at the Quick Awards". News.bbc.co.uk. 10 September 2002. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
- ^ "TheCustard.tv". Thecustard.tv. Archived from the original on 28 June 2011. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
- ^ "National Television Awards: The winners". News.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
- ^ "EastEnders sweeps soap awards". News.bbc.co.uk. 19 May 2002. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
- ^ "Eastenders cleans up soap awards". News.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
- ^ "IMDB Artist Work". IMDB. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
- ^ "Karma Magnet". Dread Central. 18 March 2013. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
- ^ Helen Earnshaw (31 January 2012). "Martin Kemp Talks Stalker". Femalefirst.co.uk. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
- ^ Wheeler, Rachael (7 September 2012). "Martin Kemp comes third in the CBB final, just as we realised we quite fancy him after all". Retrieved 7 November 2015.
- ^ "Martin Kemp revels in his next villainous role as The Child Catcher in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang". Daily Echo. 6 February 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
- ^ Laws, Roz (10 April 2017). "World's biggest panto is coming back to Brum with Bradley Walsh". birminghammail. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
- ^ "Martin and Shirlie Kemp announce new album 'In the Swing of It'". Sony Music UK. 6 September 2019.
- ^ Halliwell, Rachel (December 2020). "Better Together". Costco Connection. Vol. 24, no. 9. Costco Wholesale UK Ltd. p. 37.
- ^ "DNA Journey". itv.com/presscentre. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
- ^ "Martin and Roman Kemp make bumper return to ITV across Saturday and Sunday mornings". itv.com/presscentre. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
- ^ "Martin Kemp transforms into Father Christmas for booster jab campaign film". Whitchurch Herald. 7 December 2021. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
- ^ Volpe, Sam (7 December 2021). "'Book your jabs' urges Spandau Ballet star Martin Kemp - while dressed as Father Christmas". Evening Chronicle. Retrieved 7 February 2013.
- ^ True: the Autobiography of Martin Kemp. p. 141.
- ^ True: the Autobiography of Martin Kemp. p. 79.
- ^ True: the Autobiography of Martin Kemp. p. 123.
- ^ True: the Autobiography of Martin Kemp. p. 194.
- ^ "SHMR LIMITED people - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
- ^ a b "The Encephalitis Society Newsletter" (PDF). Autumn 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 December 2007. Retrieved 31 December 2008.
- ^ True: the Autobiography of Martin Kemp. p. 216.
- ^ "Spandau star is just the tonic". Thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
- ^ "Lawro's Premier League and EFL Cup final predictions v Martin Kemp". BBC Sport. 25 February 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2021.