“Money gets you past the security gates!”

Martin Kemp is haunted by the fear of being famous but broke.

The 61-year-old Spandau Ballet bassist has a net worth of around $4 million, but said he was terrified of losing it all because if he did, he would be “outside the security gates” but still famous.

He has now channeled his paranoia into the main character of his first thriller novel, “The Game.”

Martin told the Times that he partly modeled himself on the fading ’80s pop star Johnny Klein from the book, imbuing him with his insecurities: “All over Spandau, I used the name Johnny Klein to check into hotels and reserve tables in restaurants.

“Johnny and I have this big fear – that one day we might lose everything and be famous but broke.

“Money protects you from the worst aspects of fame – it gets you behind the security gates.

“But being famous without having money is hard and I’ve always been afraid of it. I’ve seen it happen to friends.

“You’re still famous, but you have to endure the embarrassment of having to explain why you’re taking the bus.”

Martin’s fear of being broke stems in part from his difficulty finding work after being diagnosed with a brain tumor while working as an actor in Los Angeles in the mid-1990s.

He underwent groundbreaking surgery in the UK, but his recovery took so long that he was out of work and forced to take the bus and eat baked beans to save money.

Martin admitted: “Yes, we lost almost everything, so I know how it feels. Even more than in an autobiography, in fiction I can explore those really dark feelings. The fear and shame of being back where you started.”

In Martin’s thriller, the character Johnny sleeps all over the place and hoards mountains of cocaine.

But Martin, who has been married to his wife, singer Shirlie Holliman (61), since 2008, insisted: “I never cheated on Shirlie, everyone knows that. But there is some truth in that. There were times in my life when I could have taken a different path.”

“Oh, nobody is making advances to me, everyone knows Shirlie is perfect. And she’ll still think I’m a pin-up girl when I’m 90, and that’s what counts.

“And besides, all men like my wife, don’t they?”

Martin also said that “The Game” was entirely his work and that he did not seek help from a ghostwriter.

Although Johnny’s womanizing and drug abuse are completely out of character for him, he admitted, “We all have a box of violence inside us. I have a box of things inside me that I know are bad.”

“But as a writer, you can take those toys out and play with them and then put them back in.”