Gary Kemp has announced his third solo album.
The 65-year-old musician – who is best known as the lead guitarist, backing vocalist, and principal songwriter for the new wave band Spandau Ballet – will release ‘This Destination’ on January 31 2025 through East West Records, and the record has been preceded by his new single ‘Put Your Head Up’, which is out now.
He said: “The song is essentially a conversation I was having with myself, trying to encourage positivity in the face of life’s usual buffeting headwinds. “
Lyrically, the 11-track record marks a journey in discovery for Gary, who suffered a lapse in self-belief in the years following the Coronavirus pandemic, and the ‘Gold’ hitmaker explained that the title track serves as an ode to how he uses music to navigate through tough times in life.
He 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.”
Production of the album was plagued by a spell of writer’s block but that was eventually helped by Gary’s fellow musician Richard Hawley, who was a member of Longpigs in the 1990s before going onto his own solo career.
Gary explained: “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.
“Put your hands out over the keys. I’m going to go now, and you’re going to write a f****** brilliant song.”
The album – which follows on from ‘Little Bruises’ in 1995 and ‘INSOLO’ in 2021 – will be released in a range of formats, including on red gold vinyl, a standard CD, a deluxe CD and across digital streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music.
The deluxe version of the album features three bonus tracks in the form of ‘Boy’ and live acoustic versions of ‘True’ and ‘Through the Barricades’.
Pre-order/pre-save at https://lnk.to/GaryKempThisDestination.
Watch the new music video for ‘Put Your Head Up at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxdX1v1XXzI.