Gary Kemp To Release Third Solo Album ‘This Destination’ - Noise11.com
Gary Kemp This Destination

Gary Kemp This Destination

Gary Kemp To Release Third Solo Album ‘This Destination’

by Paul Cashmere on January 16, 2025

in News

Former Spandau Ballet co-founder Gary Kemp will release his third solo album ‘This Destination’ on 31 January 2025.

A preview of the album ‘Put Your Head Up’ is out now.

Since 2018, Gary has been touring as part of Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets performing the early songs of Pink Floyd with the Floyd founder. Guy Pratt, who played bass for Pink Floyd since 1987 and was also a member of Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets, also plays on this album.

Gary’s previous solo albums were ‘Little Bruises’ in 1995 and ‘Insolo’ in 2021.

About the songs:

The first song composed for the album was the arresting and cinematic ‘Take The Wheel’ – a piece of music which evokes the vivid imagery of a couple leaning forward against a windscreen trying to see the road through the rain.

Kemp pleads, “Is there anybody out there who can take the wheel?”. The lyric is a genuine call for somebody, anybody to step in and take over.

The symmetry in the writing process came in the form of the very last song penned for the album, its title track, ‘This Destination’. Kemp said, “It’s about my relationship with music. Whatever I’m going through, whatever conflict arises, the process of making music is my resolution. That’s my destination.”

Elsewhere on the album, Kemp reflects on his relationship with the City in which he’s spent his life. ‘Borrowed Town’ reckons with the notion that London belongs to no one. The ever-changing cultural hub is something we all inhabit but can never claim ownership over. Kemp says, “London is in constant flux. When you live here, you’re just borrowing it for a time.”

Kemp also recalls a remarkable moment in the album’s conception when a spell of writer’s block was broken by an unexpected intervention by a fellow musician. He’d been sitting by the piano for hours to avail when the phone rang:

“It was Richard Hawley. We chatted for a while and I told him I’d been going round in circles trying to write something that day. He said ‘Okay, here’s what you do. Go over to the piano and sit down’”. Kemp obliged. “‘Put your hands out over the keys. I’m going to go now, and you’re going to write a fucking brilliant song.’”

Sure enough, the encounter led to Gary producing the McCartney-esque ‘Work’ – a semi-autobiographical tune in which he celebrates the unsung heroics of a parent’s everyday life. In ‘Work’, Kemp embarks on a trip down memory lane in an evocative account of his Mum and Dad’s working life. He says, “I remember going into the factory with my Dad one morning. I have this vivid recollection of the moment he put his brown overalls on over his clothes. To me he was Superman putting on his cape.”

The song’s outro builds into an uplift of staccato strings while Kemp repeats the mantra “Got to make it work”. The statement almost takes on new meaning with each repetition – partly summarising the song’s narrative whilst also acknowledging the pressure we put on ourselves in every aspect of life; from relationships to health issues to career decisions.

It’s on the album’s final track ‘I Know Where I’m Going’ that Kemp reaches his resolution. He sings, “I know where I’m going, I plan to take a rest there”. Clearly Kemp finds his peace of mind on the album’s full circle moment. He said, “It’s the most personal on the record… It had to go last – it just made sense”.

TRACKLISTINGS

FORMAT: Standard CD
1. Borrowed Town
2. This Destination
3. Put Your Head Up
4. Take the Wheel
5. Dancing in Bed
6. Windswept Street (1978)
7. Johnny’s Coming Home
8. At the Chateau
9. Work
10. Giving it Up
11. I Know Where I’m Going

FORMAT: Deluxe CD

1. Borrowed Town
2. This Destination
3. Put Your Head Up
4. Take the Wheel
5. Dancing in Bed
6. Windswept Street (1978)
7. Johnny’s Coming Home
8. At the Chateau
9. Work
10. Giving it Up
11. I Know Where I’m Going

Bonus tracks:
12. Boy
13. True (live acoustic version)
14. Through the Barricades (live acoustic version)

FORMAT: Vinyl

Side A
1. Borrowed Town
2. This Destination
3. Put Your Head Up
4. Take the Wheel
5. Dancing in Bed
6. Windswept Street (1978)

Side B
1. Johnny’s Coming Home
2. At the Chateau
3. Work
4. Giving it Up
5. I Know Where I’m Going

Stay updated with your free Noise11.com daily music news email alert. Subscribe to Noise11 Music News here

Be the first to see NOISE11.com’s newest interviews and special features on YOUTUBE and updated regularly. See things first SUBSCRIBE here: Noise11 on YouTube SUBSCRIBE

Noise11.com

Noise11 is now on Bluesky. Follow us at

Related Posts

Bryan Adams at Rod Laver Arena 6 Feb 2024 photo by Richard Nicholson supplied by Frontier Touring
Bryan Adams Is So Happy It Hurts In Melbourne #REVIEW

A Bryan Adams show is a party for 14000. The first night of the Australian So Happy It Hurts tour was held at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne. Adams had the fans at song one.

2 hours ago
Hans Zimmer photo by Suzanne Teresa
German Film Composer Hans Zimmer To Tour Australia

German film score composer Hans Zimmer will perform his works live in Australia in April.

9 hours ago
Kylie Selects Mallrat To Open Australian Tour

Mallrat will open for Kylie Minogue on the upcoming Tension tour across Australia.

1 day ago
Annie Lennox photo by Ros O'Gorman
Annie Lennox Announces Line-up for The Circle

Annie Lennox will be joined by an exciting line-up of guests for a fundraising concert in March.

3 days ago
Singer Brian Canham Pseudo Echo performs at the Palais Theatre in St Kilda on Wednesday 13 December 2017. Photo by Ros O'Gorman
Pseudo Echo ‘Love An Adventure’ Will Introduce New Members New Parts of Australia

The Pseudo Echo tour will give new members Valentina Taylor (backing vocals) and Andrea Krakovska (guitar) their first national tour with the band.

January 28, 2025
Christopher Cross, Photo By Ros O'Gorman
Toto and Christopher Cross To Play Melbourne and Sydney

Toto and Christopher Cross will perform a double headliner in Sydney and Melbourne in April.

January 28, 2025
The Stranglers in Australia photo by Ros OGorman, music news, noise11.com
Adam Clayton of U2 Owns The Stranglers’ Bass J.J. Burnel Played On ‘Peaches’

A relic of rock history, the bass guitar J.J. Burnel used to record The Stranglers’ classic ‘Peaches’ with is now owned by Adam Clayton of U2.

January 27, 2025