Born in London, England, Gary Kemp grew up in a working class family in the Islington area. From an early age he was active in children’s theatre and drama clubs and even acted in various Children’s Film Foundation television productions This singer / songwriter always had a deep love for glam rock and progressive rock and in the 1970s he formed his first band with Steve Norman, John Keeble and Tony Hadley and called themselves “Roots“. Going through several name and stylistic changes, eventually becoming the iconic Spandau Ballett and performing for the first time as such in 1979. Receiving considerable success, they prided themselves on being the leading face of contemporary fashion and music with an impressive 23 hit singles and a combined total of more than 500 weeks in the UK charts. Gary Kemp is best known as the lead guitarist, backing vocalist and principal songwriter for the New Romantic band but after their final album in 1989, Kemp began acting on this big screen alongside his brother where he played Ronnie Kray in the award winning 1990 film ‘The Krays‘. The film’s success brought on a new focus for Kemp and ultimately slowing things for Spandau Ballet. Kemp went on to feature in films such as ‘The Bodyguard‘ alongside Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner and Quentin Tarantino flick ‘Killing Zoe‘ as well as numerous television roles.
In 2021, Gary Kemp released an 11 song follow up album to his solo debut, titled ‘INSOLO‘ which features heavy themes of solitude as well as a nostalgic lens on life. With all songs written by Kemp himself, he also played all of the guitars on the album. Other instrumentals were handled by a star studded cast including Guy Pratt (Pink Floyd), Ged Lynch (Peter Gabriel), Roger Taylor (Queen) and Matt Clifford (The Rolling Stones). The third song on the album titled ‘Waiting for the Band‘ is a poignant track which was inspired by Kemp’s attendance at two pivotal David Bowie shows in 1973. He tells a story about David Bowie’s October show in 1973 at the Marquee Club in London’s Soho which was a major rock and roll hub since the mid-1960s and being a 14-year-old dreamer, desperately waiting in line to see his role model. For a story so rich in memory it is without question why on July 9th, they released a professionally animated lyric video for the track, triggering a wave of sentiment for old and new fans alike.
The cartoon illustrated music video for ‘Waiting for the Band‘ begins with a slow zoom in to a storybook and as the book opens, the viewers are taken back in time to the 1970s. Immediately, we’re introduced to our young protagonist who we can assume represents a youthful Gary Kemp, applying face paint with a determined face in his bedroom next to an iconic David Bowie poster. The singer himself cites David Bowie as his ‘Messiah’ as a boy and often talks about his memories dressing up and painting his face to resemble the Glam Rock god. After successfully painting the famed ‘Ziggy Stardust’ lightning bolt on his face, he sits in the mirror staring gleefully at what he has down, almost with a sense of pride. Speaking to his memories as an impressionable boy with pure optimism and desire to seek out his favorite rock star in person. This is depicted in the next scene by our animated Kemp, sneaking out of his bedroom window and onto the city bus, vinyl record in hand. These scenes are quite fitting and emotive as the lyrics slowly fade in read “Painting up our faces proved our dedication” and “We were kids and we were bold, never thought that we’d grow old”. I wanted to point out how perfectly dated our main character’s outfit is. Horizontal stripes were one of the biggest fashion trends at the time and bright colors were everywhere. His multi-colored collared shirt under those denim overalls really helps set the scene for this video.
Finally, after painstakingly making it through the night, our fresh faced Kemp stands in awe outside a brightly lit adult venue (loosely based on the Marquee Club). You can see the “golden ticket” in his hand reading “David Bowie – Live One Night Only” as an apprehensive young Kemp eagerly waits in line, clutching at both his ticket and his ‘Aladdin Sane’ Bowie vinyl. When talking about these memories, the singer recalls waiting in line for an exclusive David Bowie performance where only 200 fans would be allowed in for the all-day shoot and the exigency of entering the venue. Through these scenes outside of the club, lyrics tie in to the story as they read “Waiting for the band to come on“. The lyric font choice was clever as it appears to be a child’s handwriting. The lyrics are perfectly placed throughout the video so as not to dominate over the heartfelt visuals. We’re left feeling hopeless as our character comes face to face with a burly security guard who points to the sign that reads “Must be at least 18 to enter“. The teary eyed boy turns away in complete humiliation as the adults in the line whisper about him and he eventually breaks down seemingly behind the club, tears streaming down his face. A subtle detail that’s easily missed in this scene, is the blue and red face paint watered down in his tears as he cries and eventually drops onto his vinyl record. This attention to detail is superb and certainly worth applauding.
Just when we thought there was no hope for our beloved boy, we see a man standing in the doorway of the stage door. Now almost as heavily invested as our character, fans and Kemp alike, look on in astonishment at none other than David Bowie himself. Fully clad in his well-known 1974 ‘Rebel Rebel‘ outfit consisting of his abstract patterned blouse, red overalls and knotted silk polka-dotted scarf. The outfit is uncanny and once again, the illustrator knocks his likeness out of the park. Bowie looks at the crying boy with deep concern and attempts to wipe the tears from his face. This scene is probably the most powerful of them all, as the boy becomes face to face with his idol, both lightning bolt painted faces staring at each other with different types of admiration. The video ends with a slow zoom out of the ‘Aladdin Sane‘ album but this time, it brandishes David Bowie’s signature and in that moment, it was all worth it.
This lyric video features a more nostalgic theme of childhood wonder. It is more cinematic in the sense of it’s storytelling and modern 2D style animation and who better to be inspired by than Disney, the true pioneers of cartoon based storytelling. Watching Disney movies is a staple to anybody’s upbringing and watching Gary Kemp’s lyric video is meant to stir up those sentimental feelings. The illustration style is comparable to Disney’s modern art style you see in Anastasia, Treasure Planet and Thumbelina with the drawings becoming brighter, more detailed and polished. In this music video and similar to other cartoons of this style, you’ll notice the highly detailed backgrounds such as the city buildings behind the boy. The animated characters and objects tend to boast more flat solid colors in comparison to the backdrops which feature grainier and more elaborate color schemes. This animation style is one of the most recognizable which is why it’s powerful when geared toward evocative themes.
Check out the lyric video for Gary Kemp’s ‘Waiting for the Band‘ on YouTube here: