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Talk Art
Gary Kemp
We meet Gary Kemp, one of the UK’s most successful songwriters of the past 40 years. As guitarist and founding member of the most influential and iconic band of the 80s, Spandau Ballet, he was responsible for writing the words and music for 23 hit singles and albums, including modern day standards like True and Gold. We discuss his passion for the Arts & Crafts movement, William Morris, collecting, and living with, Edward William Godwin furniture, the 70s and 80s creative scene in London, and why art and design is so important to his life.
Gary’s songs have had an extraordinary combined total of over 500 weeks in the charts and are hits all over the world. They’ve generated over 25 million record sales and the songs were part of the soundtrack to the 80s. Last year, he received the BMI Icon Award at the 2023 BMI London Awards for his contributions to popular culture and music. He joined an elite group that includes The Bee Gees, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Ray Davies, Peter Gabriel, Queen, Sting, and Van Morrison.
Kemp’s songs have proven truly timeless. The ubiquitous hit single True has logged over 5 million air plays in North America alone, and his songs have featured in an incredible 100 feature films over the years including Sixteen Candles, The Wedding Singer, Charlie’s Angels, Pixels and Crazy Stupid Love as well as countless TV programs including The Simpsons, Spin City, Gilmore Girls (all three times each) Euphoria, Modern Family and, Ugly Betty plus many, many more.
In 2012, he was presented with the Ivor Novello's prestigious Outstanding Song Collection award. Gary has also won numerous awards and accolades for his work in Spandau Ballet, including an MTV award, a Brit and a Q award.
In recent years, Gary has become synonymous with the Rockonteurs podcast which he hosts with fellow musician Guy Pratt, interviewing music legends and becoming the most listened to music podcast in the UK. Gary is a Trustee of the Theatres Trust with a passion for keeping theatres at the heart of communities.
Gary grew up in Islington (born October 16, 1959) and attended local grammar school Dame Alice Owens and Anna Scher’s Children’s Theatre drama club, becoming a child actor in film and TV before concentrating on playing guitar and songwriting and forming Spandau Ballet . In the 90s, Gary decided to return to acting, starring in numerous films including hugely successful British crime thriller, The Krays and Hollywood blockbuster, The Bodyguard. He has continued to feature regularly on stage and in film and TV.
Follow @GaryJKemp
Visit https://www.garykemp.com to learn more about his new album This Destination, out now.
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1. Introducing Talk Art
39:25||Season 1, Ep. 1Welcome to Talk Art! Actor Russell Tovey and gallerist Robert Diament discuss how they first became friends a decade ago, plus more recent adventures at Frieze Art Fair, the Turner Prize, South London Gallery and other exhibition highlights in London, as well as Robert's gallery relocating to the seaside town of Margate, Kent.2. Sir Michael Craig-Martin CBE
01:05:51||Season 1, Ep. 2Russell & Robert talk with leading artist Sir Michael Craig-Martin CBE exploring 50 years of art-making. From his early 1960s work as a conceptual artist culminating in the seminal ‘An Oak Tree’ (1973) through to more recent decades as an internationally-renowned painter, sculptor and printmaker as well as his influential role as a teacher to two generations of Young British Artists at Goldsmiths.3. Pedro Pascal
01:00:02||Season 1, Ep. 3Russell & Robert talk with leading actor Pedro Pascal, star of Narcos, Game of Thrones and forthcoming Star Wars 'The Mandalorian'. They discuss his favourite artist, a classic painting on display at Museum of Modern Art that offered Pedro comfort when he moved to New York in the mid 1990s, as well as his more recent art experiences at Tate Modern and Frieze Art Fair whilst filming in London for his latest movie Wonder Woman 1984.4. Sarah Hadland and Laura Aikman
53:37||Season 1, Ep. 4We celebrate the holidays with two dear friends, the actresses Sarah Hadland and Laura Aikman (both stars of The Job Lot comedy sitcom with Russell). Topics include Olafur Eliasson’s melting ice installation highlighting climate change, Yayoi Kusama’s infinity mirrored room, the paintings of LS Lowry, Beryl Cook, Picasso and Ed Ruscha. Plus we discover which guest once pole danced for Madonna! Happy Christmas everyone. We will return in Spring 2019 with a weekly season. Love Russell and Robert X5. Louisa Buck
50:02||Season 1, Ep. 5Robert & Russell chat with leading British art critic and author Louisa Buck, columnist for the Art Newspaper and a judge of the Turner Prize in 2005. They explore how the art world has evolved since the 1980s and 90s, discover which artwork Grayson Perry made as a commission to commemorate the birth of Louisa's daughter as well as revealing the best, and very worst, interviews she's conducted. Happy International Women's Day!6. Martin Creed
01:00:57||Season 1, Ep. 6Robert & Russell meet legendary artist and ‘poet of the everyday’ Martin Creed (and his dog Jimmy). Find out why this Turner Prize winner doesn’t read reviews of his own work, who his favourite comedians are and how music has informed his art. We delve deep into Creed’s creative output spanning more than 30 years. From a giant kinetic sculpture with the word MOTHERS lit up in neon, a live performance where athletes run through the Tate as fast as they can, to a more recent handmade textile work: a multicoloured neck-warmer (worn by the artist during this very interview).7. Sadie Coles
46:12||Season 1, Ep. 7Robert & Russell meet gallerist Sadie Coles, one of the world’s most respected and successful art dealers. Discover why she set up her gallery in London after managing Jeff Koons’ studio in New York in the mid 1990s; how she first discovered the work of Sarah Lucas and John Currin; the skill of representing new artists on the primary market and the importance of taking a longterm view. We discuss feminism and equality in the workplace and why it's good to be collegiate. Finally we explore childhood trips to visit Tutankhamun at the British Museum, a memorable performance by mime artist/choreographer Lindsay Kemp and a pivotal Nancy Grossman exhibition.
8. Tracey Emin CBE
01:07:57||Season 1, Ep. 8Robert & Russell meet Tracey Emin CBE, one of the world’s most respected, successful and controversial artists. During an hour-long private tour of her current solo exhibition ‘A Fortnight of Tears’, we explore her mother’s recent death, grief, everlasting love, the supernatural, insomnia and abortion. Tracey reveals that nature is one of her biggest influences and how working in a small South of France studio enabled the artist to wholeheartedly and triumphantly return to painting. Learn more about her longterm connection to the work of Edvard Munch, her return to her childhood hometown of Margate and why, surprisingly, she doesn’t keep a diary. For images of all works discussed in this episode, visit our Instagram @TalkArt Please leave us a review and rating if you’ve enjoyed this episode!9. Ryan Gander OBE
56:50||Season 1, Ep. 9Russell & Robert chat to leading conceptual artist Ryan Gander OBE. We explore artist persona, designing a kitchen sink, family ties, the soul of objects and why his art has been so commercially successful in Japan. Ryan reveals how a limited edition Rolex watch transformed into an artwork, why he worked with glow-in-the-dark concrete, the importance of empathy and why we should all ‘let the world take a turn'. For images of works discussed in this episode, visit our Instagram @TalkArt. Ryan’s new BBC Four documentary ‘Me, My Selfie and I’ is available to view on iPlayer until mid April 2019. Please leave us a review and rating if you’ve enjoyed this episode!