Gary Kemp, the 65 year old Spandau Ballet guitarist, has candidly opened up about his emotional journey through therapy. Speaking to The Times, Gary revealed that he initially felt “fine” during the sessions until the conversation turned to his family.
The musician, who lost both parents within two days of each other in 2009, admitted there were many things he hadn’t “grieved for properly”. He described how his addiction to the 24-hour news cycle and resulting sleep deprivation due to anxiety led him to seek help, despite concerns about appearing like a “whingeing, self obsessed rock star”.
Acknowledging his “privilege”, Gary said: “I was addicted to the 24-hour news cycle. I wasn’t sleeping and was very anxious. … It was all fine until the therapist said, ‘Tell me a bit about your family,’ and that was it. I couldn’t talk for 10 minutes. I just fell apart.
“My parents, my life … so many things I haven’t grieved for properly. I have a life of complete privilege. I hate the idea of the whingeing, self-obsessed rock star.
“But maybe privilege is part of the problem. The life I’ve had compared with where my brother [Spandau Ballet bandmate Martin Kemp], my parents and I came from is just mind-blowing.”, reports Surrey Live.
Martin Kemp, Gary’s younger brother and fellow band member, has also been open about his health concerns, recently sharing a grim outlook on his future lifespan.
During an emotional episode of the podcast ‘Death, Martin and Roman’, which he co-hosts with his son Roman, Martin opened up about his mortality.
Asked by Roman how long he thinks he has left, Martin gave a candid response: “I’ll be really honest with you, 10 years. I don’t know how long I’ve got left but I will tell you, since I was the age of 34, when I went through all of that brain tumour scare, I spent two years of my life thinking I was going to die,” he admitted.
He reflected further, saying: “And I think, after that, everything else, every day, every year, every month that I’ve lived, every experience that I’ve had has been a bonus.”
Martin also shared his acceptance of death and contentment with his life, adding: “I thought: ‘If I go, do you know what? What a life’ and that was back then. So, every year that I live, every month that I’m alive now is like a bonus. I would be happy if I got to 80, that gives me 18 years.”