Today, I welcome Shirlie Kemp to the podcast. She was an 80s icon: a backing dancer for Wham! who ACTUALLY APPEARED IN THE MUSIC VIDEO FOR 'LAST CHRISTMAS', as well as being a best friend to George Michael until his untimely death in 2016 at the age of 53. She was also one-half of the pop duo Pepsi & Shirlie and the wife of Martin Kemp, of Spandau Ballet fame (fun fact: their son, Roman, is the Capital Radio DJ).
Shirlie joins me to talk about what went on behind the scenes of fame and her memories of George, including the last conversation they ever had. She talks about her challenging council estate upbringing, feeling a failure at school and developing an eating disorder in her teens. We also discuss her long journey to self-confidence as a woman and how she and Martin coped with his brain tumour diagnosis in 1995, and what got them through those tough times as a couple. And we touch on the mean photography teacher whose criticism she will NEVER FORGET (but more fool him, because now she's an amazing photographer so there).
Thank you for coming on How To Fail, Shirlie: you are truly the loveliest woman.
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The How To Fail Live tour has now started! I will be at various venues around the UK and Ireland over the next two months, sharing my failure manifesto with the help of some very special guests. Limited tickets left! These events are not recorded as podcasts so the only way to be there is to book tickets via www.faneproductions.com/howtofail
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The Sunday Times Top 5 bestselling book of the podcast, How To Fail: Everything I've Ever Learned From Things Going Wrong by Elizabeth Day, is out now and is available here.
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Shirlie and Martin Kemp are releasing a joint album, In The Swing of It, next month. You can pre-order it here.
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This season of How To Fail With Elizabeth Day is hosted by Elizabeth Day, produced by Naomi Mantin and Chris Sharp and sponsored by Sweaty Betty. Sweaty Betty are offering listeners 20% off full-price items with the code HOWTOFAIL
To contact us, email howtofailpod@gmail.com
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Social Media:
Elizabeth Day @elizabday
Shirlie Kemp @shirliekemp
Sweaty Betty @sweatybetty
S5, Ep8 How to Fail: Jess Phillips
S5, Ep7 How to Fail: Meera Syal
S5, Ep6 How to Fail: Samin Nosrat
S5, Ep5 How to Fail: Dame Kelly Holmes
S5, Ep4 How to Fail: Francesca Segal
S5, Ep3 How to Fail: Emeli Sandé
S5, Ep2 How To Fail: FLEABAG IS BACK
S5, Ep1 How to Fail: Nigel Slater
S4, Ep8 How to Fail: Jamie Laing
S4, Ep7 How to Fail: Nesrine Malik
S4, Ep6 How to Fail: Andy McNab
S4, Ep5 How to Fail: Charly Cox
S4, Ep4 How to Fail: Mo Gawdat
S4, Ep3 How to Fail: Tracey Thorn
S4, Ep2 How to Fail: John Crace
S4, Ep1 How to Fail: Vicky McClure
S3, Ep9 How to Fail: Haemin Sunim
S3 BONUS EPISODE How to Fail: Kristen Roupenian
S3, Ep8 How to Fail: Pandora Sykes
S3, Ep7 How to Fail: Sharmaine Lovegrove
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