Former Spandau Ballet co-founder Gary Kemp will release his third solo album ‘This Destination’ on 31 January 2025.
A preview of the album ‘Put Your Head Up’ is out now.
Since 2018, Gary has been touring as part of Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets performing the early songs of Pink Floyd with the Floyd founder. Guy Pratt, who played bass for Pink Floyd since 1987 and was also a member of Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets, also plays on this album.
Gary’s previous solo albums were ‘Little Bruises’ in 1995 and ‘Insolo’ in 2021.
About the songs:
The first song composed for the album was the arresting and cinematic ‘Take The Wheel’ – a piece of music which evokes the vivid imagery of a couple leaning forward against a windscreen trying to see the road through the rain.
Kemp pleads, “Is there anybody out there who can take the wheel?”. The lyric is a genuine call for somebody, anybody to step in and take over.
The symmetry in the writing process came in the form of the very last song penned for the album, its title track, ‘This Destination’. Kemp said, “It’s about my relationship with music. Whatever I’m going through, whatever conflict arises, the process of making music is my resolution. That’s my destination.”
Elsewhere on the album, Kemp reflects on his relationship with the City in which he’s spent his life. ‘Borrowed Town’ reckons with the notion that London belongs to no one. The ever-changing cultural hub is something we all inhabit but can never claim ownership over. Kemp says, “London is in constant flux. When you live here, you’re just borrowing it for a time.”
Kemp also recalls a remarkable moment in the album’s conception when a spell of writer’s block was broken by an unexpected intervention by a fellow musician. He’d been sitting by the piano for hours to avail when the phone rang:
“It was Richard Hawley. We chatted for a while and I told him I’d been going round in circles trying to write something that day. He said ‘Okay, here’s what you do. Go over to the piano and sit down’”. Kemp obliged. “‘Put your hands out over the keys. I’m going to go now, and you’re going to write a fucking brilliant song.’”
Sure enough, the encounter led to Gary producing the McCartney-esque ‘Work’ – a semi-autobiographical tune in which he celebrates the unsung heroics of a parent’s everyday life. In ‘Work’, Kemp embarks on a trip down memory lane in an evocative account of his Mum and Dad’s working life. He says, “I remember going into the factory with my Dad one morning. I have this vivid recollection of the moment he put his brown overalls on over his clothes. To me he was Superman putting on his cape.”
The song’s outro builds into an uplift of staccato strings while Kemp repeats the mantra “Got to make it work”. The statement almost takes on new meaning with each repetition – partly summarising the song’s narrative whilst also acknowledging the pressure we put on ourselves in every aspect of life; from relationships to health issues to career decisions.
It’s on the album’s final track ‘I Know Where I’m Going’ that Kemp reaches his resolution. He sings, “I know where I’m going, I plan to take a rest there”. Clearly Kemp finds his peace of mind on the album’s full circle moment. He said, “It’s the most personal on the record… It had to go last – it just made sense”.
TRACKLISTINGS
FORMAT: Standard CD
1. Borrowed Town
2. This Destination
3. Put Your Head Up
4. Take the Wheel
5. Dancing in Bed
6. Windswept Street (1978)
7. Johnny’s Coming Home
8. At the Chateau
9. Work
10. Giving it Up
11. I Know Where I’m Going
FORMAT: Deluxe CD
1. Borrowed Town
2. This Destination
3. Put Your Head Up
4. Take the Wheel
5. Dancing in Bed
6. Windswept Street (1978)
7. Johnny’s Coming Home
8. At the Chateau
9. Work
10. Giving it Up
11. I Know Where I’m Going
Bonus tracks:
12. Boy
13. True (live acoustic version)
14. Through the Barricades (live acoustic version)
FORMAT: Vinyl
Side A
1. Borrowed Town
2. This Destination
3. Put Your Head Up
4. Take the Wheel
5. Dancing in Bed
6. Windswept Street (1978)
Side B
1. Johnny’s Coming Home
2. At the Chateau
3. Work
4. Giving it Up
5. I Know Where I’m Going
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