Bay Splayer Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 one for the 80`s fans... spandau ballet... i heard a rumour (cant remember where from) that martin kemp couldnt actually play bass very well and mimed during gigs whilst someone else played. any one know anything about this or is it all b****cks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doctor_of_the_bass Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 Recall them (Spandex Bullet) on Live Aid in '85 - he was definitely playing his Wal and it was certainly live - he came on and did a very quick `dagada baa bap' style slap and pull motif - I think the rumour may be testic Les! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galilee Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 My wife used to snog his poster when she was younger, and she still goes gooey if she sees the video for True. I therefore bet he can't play for toffee. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjb Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 Alot of those rumours were probably started by hard rock fans who hated their stuff back in the 80s! I'm not a fan, but as far as I can tell, they all looked like they could play. Duran Duran had a similar thing with their bassist didn't they? Again, not a great fan of their stuff, but John Taylor was and is a decent player who came up with some memorable lines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bay Splayer Posted August 13, 2008 Author Share Posted August 13, 2008 i`m no duran fan but have to admit john taylor seems like he can play ok (or maybe he too just mimes better ) not familiar enough with spandau to know one way or the other he probably did play but i thought if milli vanilli could get away with it, then so could spandau milli bloke topped himself in the end didnt he? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubinga5 Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 [quote name='uptonmark' post='261766' date='Aug 13 2008, 05:52 PM']i`m no duran fan but have to admit john taylor seems like he can play ok (or maybe he too just mimes better ) not familiar enough with spandau to know one way or the other he probably did play but i thought if milli vanilli could get away with it, then so could spandau milli bloke topped himself in the end didnt he?[/quote] I dont know about M Kemp, but John Taylor can def play!! I saw a very old YouTube clip of him on Bernard Edwards old Stingray which he owns...He is a very good bass player. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bay Splayer Posted August 13, 2008 Author Share Posted August 13, 2008 [quote name='bubinga5' post='261806' date='Aug 13 2008, 06:38 PM']I dont know about M Kemp, but John Taylor can def play!! I saw a very old YouTube clip of him on Bernard Edwards old Stingray which he owns...[b]He is a very good bass player[/b].[/quote] aint we all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MoJo Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 Don't know about his playing ability but I recall hearing that his brother wrote the bass lines and taught them to him Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubinga5 Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 [quote name='uptonmark' post='261829' date='Aug 13 2008, 07:15 PM']aint we all [/quote] Speak for yourself.......Dohhh!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brummie Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 I had a bass teacher earlier in the year (I had to give up for a bit due to ill health) who used to be a session musician, help told me one horror story that he sometimes had to play bass on tracks recorded by chart bands and then spend time teaching the bands actual bass player how to play the song in a very basic way - I always imagined one of them bass players was Martina Kemp, he wouldn't admit who the bands were - I'd love to know. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ped Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 [quote name='bubinga5' post='261806' date='Aug 13 2008, 06:38 PM']I dont know about M Kemp, but John Taylor can def play!! I saw a very old YouTube clip of him on Bernard Edwards old Stingray which he owns...He is a very good bass player.[/quote] John's bass tech cut the old strings which Bernard loved from the bass and fitted new ones without John's permission. He went mental! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brummie Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 [quote name='ped' post='262109' date='Aug 14 2008, 12:43 AM']John's bass tech cut the old strings which Bernard loved from the bass and fitted new ones without John's permission. He went mental![/quote] Oops! too late for sellotape. How did you get info like that, JT was a year above me at junior school but probably doesn't remember me, there must have only been a certain quata of bass talent issued to our school because I'm still barely adequate. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ped Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 [quote name='brummie' post='262113' date='Aug 14 2008, 12:57 AM']Oops! too late for sellotape. How did you get info like that, JT was a year above me at junior school but probably doesn't remember me, there must have only been a certain quata of bass talent issued to our school because I'm still barely adequate. Cheers[/quote] That's cool, I will ask him - my best friend's uncle is Simon Le bon so we are 'round his house sometimes. What I didn't realise is that Bernard's bass and lots of other instruments were in the basement once when I went over but I didn't know until my friend mentioned it some time after!!! Do'h Simon played me and my friend the 'new' Duran album which I was struggling to be polite about and a few weeks later they scrapped it (this was in 2004?) which was quite funny! Cheers ped Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SusiQ58 Posted June 14, 2021 Share Posted June 14, 2021 Martin Kemp was taught by his Brother Gary to play bass guitar & picked it up in just 3 months, I saw them in an interview tears ago talking about these (untrue) rumours, he can sing too btw!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SusiQ58 Posted June 14, 2021 Share Posted June 14, 2021 Martin could play, he picked it up in just 3 mths after lessons from his Brother Gary, saw it in an interview with them years ago, addressing these (very untrue) rumours, so there!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waddo Soqable Posted June 14, 2021 Share Posted June 14, 2021 I'm fairly certain on the tune Chant no1, don't need this pressure on... the "Spands" were more than a little "assisted" on the recording by well known black funk type outfit of the day ( who's name escapes me unfortunately) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted June 14, 2021 Share Posted June 14, 2021 I know he mimed - or at least used to - on True, he says so in his book, as it was a synth bassline. Fair play to him, he’s not miming cos he couldn’t play it, but keeping “ahem” true to the sound of the recording. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted June 14, 2021 Share Posted June 14, 2021 1 hour ago, Waddo Soqable said: I'm fairly certain on the tune Chant no1, don't need this pressure on... the "Spands" were more than a little "assisted" on the recording by well known black funk type outfit of the day ( who's name escapes me unfortunately) Beggar and Co - formed from members of Light of the World 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casapete Posted June 14, 2021 Share Posted June 14, 2021 3 hours ago, SusiQ58 said: Martin Kemp was taught by his Brother Gary to play bass guitar & picked it up in just 3 months, I saw them in an interview tears ago talking about these (untrue) rumours, he can sing too btw!! I'm not sure about 'sing' to be honest - here's him and his better half crucifying a classic....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waddo Soqable Posted June 14, 2021 Share Posted June 14, 2021 1 hour ago, TheGreek said: Beggar and Co - formed from members of Light of the World We!l done, it was bugging me who it was !... I bet those guys did most of the "heavy lifting" on the track too, I'm sure I've heard Trevor Nelson talking about it somewhere... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waddo Soqable Posted June 14, 2021 Share Posted June 14, 2021 10 minutes ago, casapete said: I'm not sure about 'sing' to be honest - here's him and his better half crucifying a classic....... Sheesh!... Inspired by old Michael Bubble no doubt.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nail Soup Posted June 14, 2021 Share Posted June 14, 2021 The first three Spandau singles were pretty original sounding…. I never knew they had ‘help’ though. Not keen on anything afterwards. Not sure how if I rate Martin as a player though…… but that’s probably because I’m jealous that he was recruited and trained on bass on the basis of his good looks😃. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waddo Soqable Posted June 14, 2021 Share Posted June 14, 2021 2 minutes ago, Nail Soup said: The first three Spandau singles were pretty original sounding…. I never knew they had ‘help’ though. Not keen on anything afterwards. Not sure how if I rate Martin as a player though…… but that’s probably because I’m jealous that he was recruited and trained on bass on the basis of his good looks😃. Probably more just that he was whats-his-face's brother.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted June 14, 2021 Share Posted June 14, 2021 Apparently their Mum made Gary let Martin in the band.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobbayne Posted June 14, 2021 Share Posted June 14, 2021 4 minutes ago, TheGreek said: Apparently their Mum made Gary let Martin in the band.... This much is true. 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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