TOO MUCH, featuring Queen’s Roger Taylor on drums, is the follow up to AHEAD OF THE GAME and came out of a feeling of being overpowered by the global bad news that constantly seems to beat us down. Gary elaborates saying:
“That feeling of helplessness and exhaustion that it sometimes creates in us. That sense that there’s too much going on to ever be able to change anything can make you retreat into the shell of your family. I was hit by it one day and sat at the piano – my usual solace along with the guitar – and this tune and lyric came out in one sitting. If felt like comfort to declaim it and not write a song about what we should all be doing”.
As with Ahead Of The Game, Charlie Lightening directed the stunning video for Too Much. The film complements the reflective nature of the song by showing Meaghan Grace, a lead dancer with the Royal Ballet at The National Opera, in an urban setting. The ballet routine was choreographed by Melanie Hamrick, formerly of the American Ballet Theater, and performed in Camden’s Alexandra Road Estate, a post-war brutalist masterpiece designed by Neave Brown, featured in many films including Clockwork Orange and Kingsman.
Gary Kemp ‘I wanted the dancer to be like my alter ego, my wish-fulfillment character, feeling free and expressive, while the real me is struggling to deal with the “crisis” surrounding him.’
LISTEN HERE
The track features Richard Jones from The Feeling & Loup Garoux on bass, along with Matt Clifford who plays keyboards for the Rolling Stones playing French Horn. For the drums on TOO MUCH Gary turned to someone whom he’d known since the mid 80’s
“During recording I sent a couple of songs over to my friend Roger Taylor from Queen, wondering if he fancied playing drums on anything. He chose this and I’m so glad he did. The power in his playing seems to help the lyric and lift the song just at the right moment.”
