Martin Kemp - Shirlie and Martin Kemp: Its a Love Story

First published by Mirror Books in 2020

Mirror Books is part of Reach plc
10 Lower Thames Street
London EC3R 6EN

www.mirrorbooks.co.uk

Shirlie and Martin Kemp

The rights of Shirlie and Martin Kemp to be identified as the authors
of this book have been asserted, in accordance with the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior
written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of
binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar
condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

eBook ISBN 978-1-913406-35-6

Typeset by Danny Lyle

Printed and bound in Great Britain by
CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon, CR0 4YY

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

All photographs are authors own unless otherwise stated.

Every effort has been made to fulfil requirements with regard to
reproducing copyright material. The author and publisher will be
glad to rectify any omissions at the earliest opportunity.

Cover image: Mark Hayman / Fabulous Magazine / News Licensing

Dedicated to our beautiful Yog.
Without you this love story
wouldnt have been possible.

Foreword
by Noel Fitzpatrick

As a teenage boy growing up on a farm in the Irish countryside in the early 80s, the highlight of my week was Top of the Pops. I saved 50p pieces for the wind-up box on the side of the television so I could marvel at the glitz and glamour perched on the old sofa in our living room. I could only dream of the kind of pop star cool that Martin & Shirlie presented to the world. I saved up coupons so that I could get stickers of Spandau Ballet and Wham! to adorn the door of the pink cupboard in my bedroom.

Like many young men in the early 80s, I wanted to be Martin and I wanted to date Shirlie. Spandau and Wham! defined the pop greatness of the decade. Martin as the suave, quaffed and velvet clad bassist of Spandau Ballet was the epitome of New Romantic louche glamour and Shirlie was exquisitely beautiful in her white dress and whiter hair, with the voice of an angel as she danced and performed backing vocals for Wham! I was infatuated with both of them. I felt that I needed to go to the confessional and declare my love for Shirlie and envy of Martin as forbidden sins which says all that needs to be said. They were simply magical, awe-inspiring and so very very cool.

The 80s were in my mind halcyon days for musicians, and the Kemps are undoubtedly that eras most enduring love story; four decades on they are still obviously besotted with one another. If ever two people were simply meant to be for each other Shirlie and Martin are those two people. They were and are each others destiny. They radiated beauty from the stage and television screen - so how wonderful then, to find out many years later that they radiate even greater beauty from within. Theyre two of the kindest, most compassionate, caring and considerate people I have ever met. To see how they protect, respect and complement each other, for me at least, is life-affirming.

Their careers saw them rise to dizzying heights of stardom, selling 50 million albums between their respective bands, and with that came the trappings of success, but they have never taken anything for granted, least of all each other. Together theyve faced some incredibly tough challenges, but despite life and death battles their love, passion and commitment to one another remains as strong today as ever. In an industry that can be fickle, they are two of the most genuine people one could hope to meet, always contributing goodness to the world without exception. Their integrity and truth shine brightly in their children Harley and Roman, who are grounded in sincerity, which is truly a credit to their legacy of love.

For me Martin and Shirlie are role models. Their romance is the stuff that dreams are made of and is a real-life testament to the power of unconditional love; their loyalty to each other and honesty with each other is an anchor of rare serenity and solidarity of purpose - and their profound friendship should inspire all of us to try to become the people we dream of not just on TOTPs - but in real life.

For these two beautiful friends, the fire of their love burns even more brightly than the first light they shared with me from a TV screen in 1982 - a beacon of hope for all of us True New Romantics. To be in their company is to be in the most wonderful of places and to call them friends my truly great honour. I know that theirs is a love that transcends space and time for it was written in the stars, which shall forever shine a path for all of us lucky enough to have shared its light and its warmth.

Shirlie and Martin, may your love shine forever.

Noel Fitzpatrick

This is a Love Story

But this is a love story with a difference. Because most love stories end when the boy gets the girl. But thats where were going to start.

Our love story started almost 40 years ago when, in many ways, the world looked and felt very different. There were hundreds of things we now totally take for granted, and it seems weird to imagine a time without them. Yet back then, they were brand new. Like pound coins! Our love story is priceless but its almost exactly the same age as the round pound.

In 1983, CDs had only just been released the idea that in the future, you would be able to listen to any music you wanted to, in any place, at any time, would have blown our minds. (To be honest, the Sony Walkman had blown everyones minds, as well as the contents of their wallets Wham! and Spandau fans were spending a lot of money on batteries!) We were heading for one of the hottest summers on record. Everything felt new, and everyone felt restless as though something very exciting was about to happen.

It was a brilliant time to be making music. Boundaries were blurring, and the charts were a celebration of punk, pop, new wave and everything in between. Technology was evolving, and taste was, too for the first time, no one had to commit to any one style or genre. You could go anywhere in the world and be anyone you wanted to be, as long as you were young and up for it. If you were talented, ambitious and liked to experiment, it was a time to shine.

Of course, it helped that we had plenty of talented, ambitious friends. Our love flourished because we knew how to bring out the best in each other, but we were also extremely lucky to know so many people who understood how to bring out the best in us. Were still close to some of the people who knew us right back in the beginning, and I think they would all say that, ultimately, we havent changed at all.

We know how it feels to be caught in the spotlight, surrounded by buzz, and to be told were at the centre of everything. We also know what its like to feel crushed, lonely and frightened, caught in a maze of hospital corridors, fighting fate, as though its just the two of us against the world. From the outside, it may look as though weve been to heaven and hell. The truth is that every moment has been heavenly as long as weve been able to create memories together. Weve managed it from opposite sides of the world, and we do it best when were side by side on the sofa.

When you live life in the public eye, people feel as though they know you well. It makes sense. Pictures of our early dates were in the papers. Our oldest friends and colleagues are household names. Seen from a distance, our life together must seem quite glamorous. But we want to show you that the glamorous bits arent the best, or most memorable, parts of our lives.