I’m John Elliott, popular culture editor at Fourth Estate and the editor of Gary Kemp’s terrific new memoir I Know This Much.

Working with Gary has been a lot of fun, and he’s been in and out of the office for the last few months – checking out the covers we’ve designed, asking for tweaks to the text and even discussing what colour the casing of the book should be (“sand or chino-coloured”?).

Our first task was finalising the text – which wasn’t difficult, as Gary’s a seriously good writer (no need for a ghost here).

The book tells the story of the band of course, but it’s also a great deal more than that.

The opening chapters give a wonderfully warm picture of growing up in working class Islington in the Sixties and Seventies, and offer a brilliant portrait of his mum Eileen, dad Frank and brother Martin.

It was an era when the memory of the Second World War loomed large – kids like Gary played on bombsites – but Londoners were also beginning to loosen up, as the British music scene started to really take off.

Gary’s writing about the need for an urban working class kid to look good is up there with Nick Hornby, as is his description of the various music-tribes he pledged allegiance to in the school yard of Dame Alice Owen’s (Bowie Boys v Prog Rockers, Rod Stewart fans v fake West Coasters).

Barbara Ellen in the Observer has already written of the book as “fascinating social history” – and one of my favourite sections is Gary’s account of the scene at the Blitz club, from which a whole generation of marvellously free spirits sprung.

When Spandau Ballet are up and running, Gary’s tales of life in a very hip – and eventually very big – band are funnier than any I’ve found in books by other music stars, and a lot less repetitive too.

One of the best bits of the book is about playing Live Aid, and Gary’s writing about the minute levels of social distinction between pop stars – after being ignored by his hero David Bowie – is brilliant, and another bit I love his meeting, in Broadmoor, with the terrifying Ronnie Kray.

The book is wonderful read and we’ve just published it – complete with a pic taken by Terry O’Neill on the cover, in which Gary is looking slightly menacing, as he was filming The Krays at the time.

Inside the pictures of Gary’s family are properly atmospheric, even slightly haunting, and the ones of the band reveal the zenith of New Romantic style.

So with the book back from the printers and looking very handsome indeed, it was time for Gary, me and the team here at Fourth Estate to head out for a few drinks to celebrate publication.

Michelle (our publicity director) had secured a room at Soho’s Groucho Club, and John Bond – the boss – was picking up the tab.

As the guests were arriving – including, could you believe it, Led Zeppelin’s awesome guitarist Jimmy Page, and, no less, David Gilmour of Pink Floyd – I was to be found not, sadly, drinking but scribbling a speech in a quiet corner.

Speech over – a great relief – it was party time, and the evening was a cracker.

Jimmy Page turned out to be both a very mellow and charming character, but sadly, he told the Fourth Estate team he wasn’t on for doing his autobiography – what a book that would be!

Meanwhile, Martin Kemp – Gary’s brother – arrived, along with Rory Bremner, Sadie Frost, Alain De Botton, Chas Smash of Madness, Kelly Hoppen, and a gang of the original style-setters from the Blitz, who were all looking superb (hats off to Chris Sullivan, who was rivalling Gary – the last of the snappy dressers – for best suit of the evening).

Gary was having a raucous time with his old mucker John Keeble – Spandau Ballet’s drummer – and was doing a good job of both thanking everyone involved with the book, and ordering more champagne – excellent man!

I hope you enjoy reading Gary’s book as much as he and everyone at Fourth Estate has enjoyed working on it!

 

Fantastic news for Fourth Estate’s Dylan Jones – author of Cameron on Cameron – his book has been shortlisted for Channel Four’s Political Book of the Year Award. In August the book made headlines everywhere from the Guardian to the Daily Mail – and proved to be the most talked-about book of the summer. It’s great to see Dylan’s hard work rewarded.

In late May he was on the ground covering the by-election in Crewe and Nantwich for the book, and still managed to have his manuscript ready for publication in August.

Other authors on the Channel Four shortlist include John Prescott and Cherie Blair for their autobiographies, and the late political journalist Hugo Young, whose posthumous papers have been published.