Martin Kemp: ‘Roman & I Know Each Other A Lot Better Now’

A visit to Ireland sees father and son Martin and Roman Kemp kayaking in County Cork, hearing about myths and legends in County Meath and learning about Europe’s biggest Halloween Festival in Derry City. Their three-part Channel 4 series Martin & Roman’s Irish Road Trip is more than just a travelogue, finds Margaret Hussey – they open up to each other and find sharing the journey is cathartic. C&TH sits down with Martin to get the inside scoop.

Q&A: Martin Kemp On Martin & Roman’s Irish Road Trip

Martin and his son Roman learned more about eachother on their Irish roadtrip. (Sphere Abacus/Channel 4)

Hi Martin. You and Roman are back on our screens with your road trip around Ireland. Tell us about it.

We were in Dublin, up in Derry, we went all around the country. The coastline is one of the most amazing coastlines that you can ever come across. We were out canoeing, learned about banshees wailing and got involved.

What did you learn about Ireland?

It’s an amazing place. I lived there for a couple of years during the 80s when I was in Spandau Ballet and I had always spoken to Ro about how beautiful it was. I always said to him, ‘One day I am going to show you,’ and that’s kind of the premise for the show. But what we discovered along the way wasn’t so much of me showing him, ‘oh, this happened, this is that place’. It’s not like that – it’s about us discovering Ireland together. We looked into not just the places but the myths and the legends that surrounded them. There were so many wonderful stories.

You covered a lot, from Halloween in Derry to the Hill of Tara and Boyne Valley in County Meath…

I love Northern Ireland. I spend a lot of time there and so does Ro because he films The Finish Line game show there with Sarah Greene. But as much time as he has spent there, he has never discovered it. We learned about the Halloween parade, how it started in a pub in Derry 40 years ago. We were discovering not just Ireland but each other as well.

What did you learn about each other?

We realised that I like the idea of people telling me a myth and a legend and believing that story, whereas Ro needs something that he can touch and see. He needs something tangible. Ro was much happier when we went to the Neolithic sites and saw the stones that were thousands of years old, the markings on the walls, whereas I was happier with somebody telling me there was a vampire buried upside down at the end of their garden! My brain was running wild with that story.

Martin Kemp: ‘Everyone talks about Ireland as having the gift of the gab and that’s true.’ (Sphere Abacus/Channel 4)

Were you inspired?

The whole place is inspiring. Storytelling is in their DNA. It’s interesting that everyone talks about Ireland as having the gift of the gab and that’s true.

You lived in Dublin in the mid 80s during your Spandau Ballet days. Could you remember much about it?

I remember the people were so friendly and forthcoming. My wife Shirlie and I got engaged in Dublin and she dragged me into a ring shop to buy her engagement ring in Grafton Street.

Would you go back with Shirlie?

We get to go back to Dublin quite a bit for work. I do television there from time to time. And I go back quite a lot when I do my 80s shows.

Do you have Irish ancestry? There was a big Irish population in North London where you grew up.

My mum always said to me we had Irish roots, but when Roman and I looked into our DNA, they weren’t, they were Germanic. But who knows, at one point, our family might have gone to Ireland.

You met people who organise wakes in Ireland and saw how the Irish handle grief. What did you think about that?

We talked to the people who hire wailers for the wakes. I could not get my head around it at first. You pay for someone to wail while you grieve. It’s an old tradition and we spoke to people about that and the sound of banshees that can be heard before a death or if something terrible is going to happen. Funerals are a celebration of life in Ireland and don’t we all want that.

Martin Kemp: ‘Anything where you have a joint experience brings you closer.’ (Sphere Abacus/Channel 4)

Did it bring you and Roman closer together?

Anything where you have a joint experience brings you closer. As much as we think we know each other, I think we know each other a lot better now.

You’ve got your Back to the 80s DJ parties. What else are you up to?

The 80s shows swallow me at the moment. I do that three days a week. It’s a big commitment. I can’t tell you how much fun I have with that. We can play to 1,200 people and when they sing, they sing every single word. When you get that many people singing at the same time, the volume is overwhelming. I love doing it. I think working in this business, you don’t know what is coming through your door next. I seem to spend more time these days saying no to things than I do saying yes! But I think that’s purely because I’ve reached a point in my life where I do what I am going to enjoy.

Would you like to do another travel series somewhere?

I would love to take Ro to New Orleans. That place is also filled with myths, legends and music. It’s about storytelling as well.

And your biggest takeaway from the show?

How much fun we had together. It was the quiet moments when we were just in the pub together or when we were travelling in the car. It’s me and Ro being me and Ro.

Martin & Roman’s Irish Road Trip begins tonight at 8pm on Channel 4. Catch up at channel4.com