Martin Kemp's ego was out of control

27 June 2020

Martin Kemp's ego got out of control when he first found fame in Spandau Ballet.

Martin Kemp

The 58-year-old musician - who has children Harley, 30, and Roman, 27, with wife Shirlie - admitted his first stint with the 'Gold' hitmakers was his "biggest learning curve" because he ultimately discovered he was happier leading a "normal life" than abusing his fame.

He told Closer magazine: "My learning curves came really early on in my life when I was in Spandau Ballet - I was in the band for a long time, 10 years.

"I think for the first half of it, I was letting my ego run away with itself and believing I was Elvis Presley, and then the second half of it was coming down off that cloud and realising you have more fun in normal life. I think that was my biggest learning curve."

In the 1990s, Martin suffered two benign brain tumours and had a metal plate inserted into his skull, and he believes his medical ordeal finally turned him into an "adult", so he views it as the "best thing" to ever happen to him.

He said: "That whole period in my life turned me from a boy to a man.

"Up until that point, I'd been in Spandau Ballet since I was 17 and I'd been in TV since I was 10, so everything in my life was up, up, up.

"All of a sudden, it got to 1995 and it was like I was in a car crash.

"I always look back on that four-year period not as the worst thing that ever happened to me, but the best because I was lucky enough to come through it and it also turned me into an adult.

"I appreciated my family and being around them so much more than I did before. Before the brain tumour everything was about me, and after, everything was about my family."