Martin Kemp reveals the music that made him 🎶
Get to know the Spandau Ballet star better!
Martin Kemp is a hugely successful musician, actor and presenter who hosts The Mix Tape on Greatest Hits Radio every Friday from 7pm to get you ready for the weekend.
You might recognise him from chart-topping new wave band Spandau Ballet, which he formed with his younger brother Gary in 1979. Throughout their time together, the band enjoyed numerous hits including ‘Gold’ and ‘True’.
Martin is also an actor and has starred in a number of notable films and TV series including London-based soap EastEnders, where he played character Steve Owen.
We've asked Martin a few music-related questions to help you get to know the 80s hitmaker a bit better.
What is Martin Kemp's favourite 80s track?
He told us: "One of my favourite records from the 80s has got to be The Communards’ ‘Don’t Leave Me This Way’. I go out and do these 80s nights DJing up and down the country and one of the highlights of the night is always ‘Don’t Leave Me This Way’.
"It is such a sing-a-long song and feel good. It is one song that I would never ever for the rest of my life get bored of, it’s the best."
What is Martin Kemp's favourite 80s band?
Martin revealed: "What a lot of people don’t know about me is that I have been through everything, from heavy rock to prog rock to glam rock to punk, but one of my favourite types of music has to be soul.
"One of my favourite bands from the 80s or late 70s is The Gap Band. Absolutely brilliant songs, one of my favourites is ‘Oops Upside Your Head’, just a brilliant track."
What is Martin Kemp's favourite song from the 70s, 80s and 90s?
"One of my favourite songs from the 70s, 80s and 90s has to be the brilliant ‘Ziggy Stardust.' " Martin told us.
"When I was a kid, my brother was obsessed with him and we used to share a bedroom in my mum and dad’s house. Every morning I would wake up staring at a million pictures of David Bowie, all staring down at me straight in the eye. All I could do was look into those weird coloured eyes that he had and it rubbed off on me and I became obsessed."
What is The Mix Tape with Martin Kemp?
Martin Kemp brings you three hours of hand-picked songs from the 70s, 80s and 90s to get you ready for the weekend on his Greatest Hits Radio show.
When can I listen to Martin Kemp on Greatest Hits Radio?
You can listen to Martin on The Mix Tape with Martin Kemp every Friday night from 7pm.
Martin Kemp to DJ at Rewind Festival
As Rewind Festival returns in 2023 with an incredible line-up of 80s artists, we'll get to see Martin Kemp DJing at Rewind Scotland, Rewind North and Rewind South this July and August.
Where can I listen to Greatest Hits Radio?
You can find Greatest Hits Radio on your traditional radio and we're on FM and DAB in many places across the UK, but there are other ways to listen to our station.
You can listen to Greatest Hits Radio on our free app, on our website as well as on your smart speakers.
How do I download the Greatest Hits Radio app?
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To play Greatest Hits Radio on your smart speaker use one of the commands below:
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Check out the other Greatest Hits Radio presenters:
Check out some of the biggest shows and presenters on Greatest Hits Radio below.
Ken Bruce
Greatest Hits Radio is the home of the legend that is Ken Bruce, weekdays 10am-1pm - including PopMaster, the UK's biggest music quiz for 25 years and counting.
Find out more about Ken and PopMaster.
Simon Mayo
Simon Mayo hosts Drivetime every weekday at 4pm and The Album Show on Sundays from 1pm.
Simon said of his Drivetime show: "I think the thing about Drivetime is that it is like the flip side of breakfast. You kind of know what an awful lot of people are doing, it's the end of most people's day, they're doing some final bits of work, they're shutting the laptop, they're doing a bit of food preparation, they're driving home. I think it is that sense of camaraderie, it's the end of the day, people want to be cheered up and they want to spend some time with some decent folk on the radio!"
Find out more about Simon Mayo here.
Paul Gambaccini
Paul brings us his famous America's Greatest Hits programme every Saturday between 5pm-7pm, featuring two hours of the Greatest Hits that made it big in America.
Sharing some of the things he loves about his show, Paul said: "Radio is the perfect form of one-to-one communication. TV can be direct, too, but the camera operator is always in your line of vision! I enjoy sharing my favourite music, and my admittedly freakish knowledge of it, with people who care about that music. I love the opportunity for challenging talk overs, too!"
Find out more about Paul Gambaccini here.
Alex Lester
The Dark Lord keeps you company in the small hours. Join him for the Music Marathon from 1am and the Best Time Of The Day Show 4-6am weekdays.
Alex brings: "Your favourite songs. Bizarre insights and unusual thoughts," to his show and told us that he loves that during his show: "It's just the two of us. You and me. (Against the world)."
Find out more about Alex Lester here.
Jenny Powell
Jenny plays the biggest songs of the 70s, 80s and 90s on Greatest Hits Radio to kickstart your weekend, every Saturday and Sunday from 6am.
On Jenny's show, listeners can look forward to The Breakfast Club, which she says is: "A warm-up for the weekend, full of positive vibes and feel-good factor when you wake up on Saturdays and Sundays. I insist you have a dance with me on the Kitchen Disco, I share some fun news stories from the previous week on The Headliners and get you smiling no matter what, sharing some of my favourite tracks from the 70s, 80, and 90s."
Find out more about Jenny Powell here.
Andy Crane
Join Andy's late-night community of music and company, Sunday-Thursday at 10pm.
Andy has three hours of the biggest songs from the 70s, 80s and 90s as well as The Top 10 at 10 and Midnight Music Marathon. His show is full of: "Great music and plenty of laughing."
Find out more about Andy Crane here.
Martin Kemp
Join our resident pop star Martin Kemp as he kicks off your Friday night with his Mixtape – three hours of handpicked essential weekend songs from the 70s, 80s and 90s to get you in the mood and dancing round the kitchen.
Then on Saturdays, it's side-two as he brings you nothing but the greatest decade of all time on The 80s Mixtape.
Get your teenage kicks in the company of THE 80s poster boy on Greatest Hits Radio!
Find out more about Martin Kemp here.
Jackie Brambles
Jackie Brambles hosts The Evening Show every Monday to Thursday from 7pm - 10pm.
Jackie promises to deliver: "Great music and great conversations! Every night we're joined by one of your favourite artists of the 70s, 80s and 90s for an in-depth chat about the highs and lows of their careers and their musical influences over the years."
Find out more about Jackie Brambles here.
Kate Thornton
Join Kate at the weekend.
Saturday afternoons are all about the best 70s, 80s & 90s pop soundtrack, bringing you the weekend Good Times – expect One Hit Wonders, Anthems, Nostalgia and plenty of opportunities for you to get involved in the show live.
On Sundays, it's 'The UK Pop 40' as Kate counts down the UK Top 40 as it was on this day in history – exactly where the chart should be. Get the tape recorder out the loft!
Find out more about Kate Thornton here.
Richard Allinson
Weekend Good Times never sounded so good!
He's a broadcasting legend with a voice like silk that, alongside the Biggest Songs of the 70s, 80s & 90s, make the perfect weekend soundtrack – Saturday and Sundays at 9am.
Saturdays kick off with your chance to guess the year on The Top 10 Til 10, while Sundays are reserved for an hour of your special songs and dedications.
Speaking about his show, Richard said: "The idea is to recreate all those great memories I have of weekends growing up, a bunch of us meeting up to buy clothes, records, maybe sort a date…everything happened on a weekend and we remember the records we played at that time."
Find out more about Richard Allinson here.
Des Paul
Join Des for Rhythm Of The Night every Friday and Saturday night from 10pm, where he plays all the greatest soul, funk, disco and Motown hits to start your weekend.
Des explained what he loves the most about his show: "The favourite bit of presenting Rhythm of the Night is when listeners contact me to say how much they've loved hearing a particular track and then tell us all about when and where they used to hear it."
Find out more about Des Paul here.
Ken Bruce joins our presenter line-up
We have a fantastic line-up of presenters here on Greatest Hits Radio, and it's about to get even bigger with the addition of Ken Bruce! We're excited to welcome him to our station from 3rd April where he'll host a mid-morning show!
Read more:
Everything you need to know about 'Gold' hitmakers Spandau Ballet
Everything you need to know about Drivetime with Simon Mayo on Greatest Hits Radio
Get to know Greatest Hits Radio weekend presenter Pat Sharp