Martin Kemp: Spandau Ballet and Duran Duran were like Oasis and Blur
6 July 2020, 14:17
The former Spandau Ballet bassist has compared the rivalry of the 80s bands to that of Oasis and Blur or The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.
Martin Kemp says Spandau Ballet and Duran Duran were "like Oasis and Blur".
The 58-year-old star was the bassist for Spandau Ballet, has looked back at the group's chart rivalry with the Hungry Like The Wolf outfit.
Talking in an interview with NME about the band's 1984 face-off against Duran Duran on Pop Quiz, Kemp recalled: "I can't remember the final score, but I know we lost against Duran Duran. That was great and an iconic show. I was always proud of the fact that Spandau and Duran Duran were like Oasis and Blur or The Beatles and the Rolling Stones - where you pick two bands of a generation and you're either on one side or the other. But I still live by the fact I believe Duran Duran cheated on Pop Quiz!"
After being reminded that they were beaten by 12 points, he added: "We were ridiculously competitive. Whatever they did, we tried to beat - and vice versa. To the point where it wasn't just about what number we were at in the charts, it was about how much money we'd spent on our recent completely overpriced videos and which location we went to film them. Even to the point where we were once at a party and the competition pathetically turned into who could stay up the latest."
However, the former EastEnders star maintained that the rivalry wasn't nasty: "Whenever we met the boys, it was only friendly – and still is."
READ MORE: Liam Gallagher's kids like Nirvana more than Oasis or Blur
Spandau Ballet and Duran Duran may have always been friendly, but their former bandmate Tony Hadley is on less than good terms with them right now.
The 60-year-old has slammed their mockumentary Kemps: All True - which is widely deemed a spoof of Bros' documentary After The Screaming Stops.
Hadley was also not happy about Spandau Ballet's iconic Gold single being used for the Bold washing powder advert and took to social media to insist it had nothing to do with him.
I’ve now had several people asking if that’s me singing on the new Bold detergent advert? I can promise you it’s definitely not me singing! Love Tone xx
— Tony Hadley (@TheTonyHadley) May 6, 2020
Speaking to The Sun, he added: "It’s embarrassing. I posted a social media disclaimer saying, ‘This was nothing to do with me’."
Johnny Vaughan learns the bass with Blur's Alex James
