Gary Kemp's written memoir, I Know This Much, explores many themes such as Soho, Spandau, love, death, music, and growing up in 1960's London. It is written well and will definitely engage the reader from cover to cover.
At the start, we are able to explore the feelings expressed by Gary on the day of the court case against his own friends, Tony, John and Steve, and how they were once one, a wonderful band, Spandau Ballet, and wonders why it all fell apart in the first place. The embarassment, the sadness of it all. Why did this happen? Why did one man, a successful songwriter, have to be betrayed by his friends?
Soon after we are flash forwarded to Christmas 1969, where the disappointment of getting a guitar for Christmas soon turns into inspiration of starting a band of his own. We learn about life as a baby, his parents and how money was tight, sharing a house with other members of the family, and the notorious little pranks played on his brother Martin, which ended in a smacked back side. I could detect a note of jealousy as soon as I read this and was able to empathise, having a younger brother of my own, which when he was born, craved all the attention.
Throughout the book we learn about his education, the nicknames he was given for owning a jacket with G on it, how he met each Spandau Ballet member (they were known as The Makers then), and how Spandau rose to fame.
Personally, my spine chills after looking after the second set of pictures when he goes to meet Ronnie Kray in prison, in the late 1980's, after splitting up with Spandau and prior to filming the Krays movie with brother Martin. As we all know, they did a really good job, and this is how they got their claim to fame in the acting department. I feel for him when he breaks up with his first wife, who he has a young son with, but I lose all this tension when he eventually wins the court case against the trio, and victory that should have been his in the first place. When Spandau ballet plan to reform in 2009, Gary tells us about that adrenaline rush, and the gladness that the fabulous five have finally made up and going back on tour again.
The saddest part of I Know This Much is the loss of his Mum and Dad, a few weeks apart from each other. To lose the two special people who raised and nurtured you is a very heartbreaking time, though in some respects, was the best way to say goodbye to them, after years of pain and trouble. Gary tells us about his feelings about losing his Dad first, having resuscitated him after he suffered a severe heart attack on the loo in his Islington home, which has no outcome, and he dies 24 hours later, soon to be followed by Mrs Kemp.
In conclusion, I really loved reading this book, I didn't lose interest one bit, it was very gripping, engaging, and funny, especially the bits when John used to get drunk on stage and play the wrong notes. I would definitely recommend this to a friend and fellow Spandettes, newbies or experienced. 10 out of 10.
Flea
