Martin John Kempis 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 Gary Kemp, who is also a member of Spandau Ballet and an actor. In 2012, Kemp finished third in the tenth series of Celebrity Big Brother, and in 2017 he appeared as a judge on the BBC series Let It Shine.
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. Kemp learned to play bass in three months and performed for the first time with the Gentry at a college party. Eventually the band was renamed Spandau Ballet and Kemp left his printing job to concentrate on the band full-time.
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.
Spandau Ballet announced they had reformed at a press conference on HMS Belfast on 25 March 2009. The band also announced a world tour, beginning with dates in the UK and Ireland in October 2009.
