Quotes from Gary Kemp

I have a terrible fear of travel. Just before we go, I start to panic and tell my wife I don't want to go. It's ridiculous. But actually it's only when it's somewhere I've not been to before.

I am a person who holds the aesthetic high. I have suits made in Savile Row.

Why do I find it hard to write the next line?

Kevin Costner told me that 'True' was his and his wife's song. I'm not sure if that's a good thing because they split up soon after.

We never had books at home, but my dad, seeing how keen I was to read, took me to Islington Library when I was about eight and we pulled out two - a Biggles and a science fiction novel. I never got the ace fighter pilot but fell in love with all things to do with the future and space. Isaac Asimov soon became my guiding star.

Don't see the point in reading ghost-written autobiographies, even though some of these published lives may fascinate me. The 'ghost' is always present, manipulating an interview into first-person singular text, and it feels like I'm reading a lie.

I certainly wasn't a fan of Thatcher's politics. People liked to label us as children of Thatcher. What nonsense. The real children of Thatcher came in the 1990s, and had no interest in politics. The Oasis, Britpop scene.

Your life is the same wherever you go.

My brother Martin is two years younger than me. There has never been any competition between us - clearly he was the good-looking one; he was also very sporty, and I am not a football player.

I am a metrosexual and into male grooming - I moisturise, I exfoliate.

I keep my house tidy, because then I can think clearly. I feel the same about myself. Presenting yourself well is a working-class thing - my dad was a printer, but he wore a tie most days. The ungroomed look belongs more to the middle classes.

It's always an honour doing anything for your country.

Songwriting helps me sort out my personal problems. With acting, you're just a tool for someone's ideas.

The thought of going on tour with people like Toyah Wilcox is just appalling. I'm certainly not tempted.

Being onstage is a way of harnessing your vulnerability and using the adrenaline to be creative. It's a very vulnerable place to be - technically, emotionally, and physically - but I love it.

My instinct is to be very controlling.

I think I tried to control situations within my first marriage and I wasn't the easiest person to live with.

Love is family, support, priority, and understanding.

I love England. I don't really like places when they're too hot. It's my Celtic blood.

I love my children unconditionally.

In the '80s the band was 24/7. You were only as good as what you were producing at any given moment. Now my family is more important. I also think having the shock of your mum and dad dying humbles you slightly.

Pop music should be about young people.

For 24 hours a day, for 10 years, all I thought about was being in a band. That's all I did. I had no other social life. I don't want my life to be like that now. I've spent the past 10 years having a real life as well. But Spandau Ballet is such a difficult shadow to outrun.

I think my younger self would be more amazed to know I was doing an interview for 'The Spectator.'