In The Swing Of It

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And then it just unravelled itself, and there was no marketing ploy from us or an, 'Ooh, let's go and do an album just for the sake it' moment.

Martin and Shirlie Kemp have announced plans to release their first ever album together, something they both believe their late friend George Michael “would have loved”. Shirlie pretty much retired from music after the birth of Harleymoon in 1989, and she says: "I was exhausted of it all, and that whole celebrity thing. For Martin Kemp and his wife Shirlie, recording a Swing album together has been as much of a surprise to them as it will no doubt be to their fans.Shirlie and I have made this album and what we discovered was that the words that we sing to each other are the words that we say to each other. This year, Martin and Shirlie Kemp are celebrating 31 years of marriage, and it doesn’t take long in their company to understand why the relationship has stood the test of time.

It wasn’t great that he was unable to work and it made things tough, but at the same time, they had their mum and dad every day. But earlier this year an opportunity came up to record a swing album with Martin, despite only ever having sung Islands In The Stream together at Christmas karaoke. Spandau Ballet went on to have a great deal of success in the New Romantic era, with four of their albums reaching the top ten of the UK Albums Chart.As Doris Day fan Shirlie puts it: “The love songs of the 50s make you feel happy – they’re about how great love is. I’m a real homebody and I am scared, because I’m thinking, ‘Just how long will I be away from home for? For someone who had such a successful career back in the day – both as a backing singer for close friends George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley in Wham!

The record came about after Martin was demoing a solo album with Brian Rawling, the veteran producer of Cher’s Believe and David Bowie’s Heathen as well as Girls Aloud, Tina Turner and One Direction. Separately the '80s icons have enjoyed huge chart success over the decades with the Brit Award-winning Spandau Ballet and as one half of Pepsi and Shirlie, touring with best friend George Michael when they were backing singers in the glory days of Wham!The success of Martin Kemp and Shirlie Holliman's marriage is something that brings joy to 1980s pop fans. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Shirlie reveals Martin had rejected previous offers of solo records, saying: “Martin kept turning the idea down. I wasn't comfortable with that, and once I'd had my daughter I was so happy to be at home with her knowing that Martin was still going out working. In 2012, Kemp finished third in the tenth series of Celebrity Big Brother, and in 2017 he appeared as a judge on the BBC series Let It Shine.