And he admits that after Hadley left, Spandau tried to recruit another famous singer who stepped down just as they were about to go into rehearsals. Kemp refuses to reveal who, although there have been rumors that it was Seal, which certainly would have been interesting. “Then we ended up with the wrong person. It was all just wrong, ”he says.

He also admits that he tends to hang on to things for too long. “It’s a bit like when my first marriage fell apart, it took me a while to get over it. But imagine if you walk into an office when you’re 21, and there’s four other guys in the room, and someone says, ‘Oh, by the way, that’s your only job and you’re gonna have to spend the rest of your life together. It’s a weird idea. Why would anyone want to be in a band forever?

Kemp lives in a central London square, in an 18th century neoclassical house, with his second wife, costume designer Lauren Barber, 42, and three sons, Milo (16), Kit (12) and Rex (9) . He also has a son Finlay (29) from his first marriage to actress Sadie Frost (who later married Jude Law). It’s a beautifully decorated space, filled with antiques and Victorian paintings that Kemp collects, and there’s a Steinway piano in a front room, where he composes.

He cites family as the main reason he hasn’t been more musically prolific. “We’re trying to create decent human beings, and you can’t be on tour for that,” he says. But, alongside his parentage, he found time to develop a second acting career, particularly focusing on theatrical work (Kemp appeared in three plays by Harold Pinter directed by Jamie Lloyd). “It’s the most scary thing you can do in your life,” he says. “Even the most seasoned actors are building blocks before they continue. It’s like jumping into cold water. But you know you will feel great after coming out. In addition, he notes “I can walk to the West End and back, and see my kids at any time.”

He is less interested in movies and television, although last year he starred with his brother Martin in a mock documentary, The Kemps: All True, as comically exaggerated versions of themselves struggling to record a album. A sequel is in progress. “It was a lot of fun putting a pin on my claims.” And he remains proud of his breakthrough with Martin in the 1990 gangster biopic The Krays, though he admits he never watched 2015’s Legend, in which Tom Hardy played the two Kray twins with great success. . “I would only become bitter and twisted.”