Spandau Ballet musician and local resident Gary Kemp

WHEN he is not playing his guitar, or writing a new tune with his band Spandau Ballet, musician Gary Kemp is cycling for “fitness, camaraderie and stories.”

Mr Kemp, the lead guitarist and songwriter of Spandau Ballet, has lived in the area for three decades and grew up in Islington.

He said he first became seriously involved in cycling in his late forties and used to regularly cycle around the Outer Circle in Regent’s Park before opting for the peace of the countryside.

He said: “There is no question that cycling is good for your mental health. It elevates me, I always feel hugely positive afterwards.

“It’s very much like making music – you only think of the next eight bars, and when you’re on a bike you’re only thinking of the next eight yards. Mentally when you’re on a bike, no matter how old you are, you’re still 14 years old, you still feel childlike.

“I don’t like competing with the traffic, I think that is one of the trickiest things. And that’s probably why I like a bit more peace on the country lanes nowadays.”

Mr Kemp has since cycled the L’Etape du Tour, a mass participation event racing a stage of the Tour de France, climbed the hills of the Tourmalet in the Pyrenees on a bike and spent four days cycling from Chamonix to Nice.

He said he enjoys the “community” found in cycling. “I don’t play any kind of team sport. I’m not in a football team,” he said.

“It became the closest you can get to a team sport. I use it solely for fitness, camaraderie and stories. I love the aesthetics of cycling, spending three hours on a bike and really digging into your own personal resources of stamina.

“I used to ride quite a lot with cyclists around Regent’s Park and we always used to enjoy the camaraderie and the coffee afterwards.

“But now I cycle with my wife and I think it’s one of the great moments of togetherness that we have, when all we’re dealing with is the road in front of us and the beauty that is around us.”

Mr Kemp, known for writing hit Spandau ­Ballet songs such as Gold and True, said there can often be unnecessary tensions between cyclists and motorists on ­London’s roads.

“People find any excuse to be tribal,” he said. “We’re living in a time of hate rather than love. And that’s just the way it is.

“London is made up mostly of roads, that’s where our tribes are.

“If you’re in a car you’re suddenly anti-cyclist and if you’re on a bike you’re suddenly anti-people driving cars.

“Neither of which make any sense, because there are bad drivers and bad riders.

“It’s obviously a sport, when you are wearing Lycra and on a carbon bike with sunglasses on and you are trying to do fitness, there will be ­people that won’t get it. People are annoyed by other people’s passions sometimes and it’s a shame but it’s just the way life is and it gets highlighted on the road.”

He said he also likes to cycle on his own, and has taken a bike while on tour with Spandau Ballet, assembling it in hotel rooms before going out for rides.

He added: “I am my own boss on a bike. A bike gives you great autonomy, you don’t have to worry about parking, you just go out from your front door and stay on your bike until you get home. I like the access you get under your own steam.

“I’m not interested in electric bikes, it’s all about being your own engine. All those miles you’re able to travel under your own steam is a real joy. You often come back with a fresher mind and new ideas.”