The Kemps
- TV comedy drama
- BBC Two
- 2020 - 2023
- 2 episodes
Two music documentary spoofs following former Spandau Ballet superstars, siblings Martin and Gary Kemp. Also features Martin Kemp, Rhys Thomas, Perry Benson, Shirlie Kemp and Michael Kitchen
Press clippings
The Kemps: All Gold review
Latest satirical outing by rockumentarist Rhys Thomas.
Adam Sweeting, The Arts Desk, 30th December 2023The Kemps: All Gold review
A hilarious satire of rock'n'roll at its most ridiculous.
Ed Power, i Newspaper, 30th December 2023The Kemps: All Gold review
Spandau Ballet turn Spinal Tap in the funniest TV show of the season.
Michael Hogan, The Telegraph, 29th December 2023Gary and Martin Kemp: our verdict on Robbie, Beckham and more
The Spandau Ballet brothers bought a ticket to the world and struck gold - happily, they understand fame and ridicule better than other stars in their own celebrity documentary The Kemps: All Gold.
Hadley Freeman, The Sunday Times, 24th December 2023'The Kemps: All Gold' cast revealed
Music documentary spoof The Kemps: All Gold, a follow-up to the 2020 special The Kemps: All True, is coming to BBC Two this December. Guest stars include Christopher Eccleston, Adil Ray, Tamzin Outhwaite and Status Quo guitarist Francis Rossi.
British Comedy Guide, 16th November 2023The Kemps & Rhys Thomas shooting All True mockumentary sequel for BBC
Rhys Thomas has reunited with Spandau Ballet stars Martin and Gary Kemp for a sequel to their 2020 BBC mockumentary All True, with filming beginning today in London.
British Comedy Guide, 7th March 2023Kemps doc sequel scuppered by Covid - temporarily?
Filmmaker Rhys Thomas has revealed that following the success of The Kemps: All True there were plans for a sequel, but then Covid came along.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 20th February 2021Are Spandau Ballet's Gary and Martin Kemp the anti-Bros? Their mockumentary The Kemps: All True, written and directed by Rhys Thomas, was a knowing nod to the lovably unforgettable, occasionally rather dark, Matt and Luke Goss documentary, Bros: After the Screaming Stops, which taught the world a hard showbiz lesson: never underestimate the stupidity of Bros.
Could the Kemps' attempt at a two-man Spinal Tap be as funny with the protagonists in on the joke? The answer was yes, sprinkled with a few nos. Occasionally the jokes stuttered, and co-stars like Anna Maxwell Martin were wasted. As a vegetarian, I didn't feel offended enough by Gary's Wonge vegetarian food range that was 65% meat. However, the Kemps emerged as great sports, their acting background paid off with solid comic timing, and there was a firm grasp of rock cliches and the mockumentary style: "This is the very first time they've been back to their childhood home since their last documentary three years ago." As a side-note, Martin's film franchise idea "the hardest British bastards in the galaxy" (Daniel Mays as Dick Turpin: "Stand and deliver, you twats!") would probably work as a real pitch, and I deserve a cut for suggesting this.
Barbara Ellen, The Guardian, 12th July 2020The Kemps: All True review
Comedy gold, but how much was really true?
Carol Midgley, The Times, 6th July 2020The Kemps: All True, BBC Two review
pandau Ballet-boys show willing but spoof rock-doc misses the point.
Adam Sweeting, The Arts Desk, 6th July 2020