OVER my career as a showbiz reporter I’ve seen all sorts of bands burst on to the scene.
The success of one group in particular has given me the greatest pleasure over the years – Take That.
I interviewed the lads before the first singles, before the hits, before they came to, well, rule the world.
I now count Gary Barlow as one of my pals – he was even one of the Best Men at my wedding.
And now Take That have a new album, Wonderland, about to be released, along with their new single, Giant.
I’ve heard the single and album and they’re brilliant.
Gary, Howard Donald and Mark Owen nipped round for a chat at my home in Hollywood last week for a chinwag about their new music, and their latest tour.
Robbie Williams and Jason Orange have left the band for now so they are, as the lads jokingly called themselves on the last tour, what’s left of Take That!
“I’d forgotten we were a three, it just feels sort of normal now,” said Mark. “When people mention it we’re like, ‘What do you mean?’
“It’s a three-piece until we do the greatest hits tour,” added Howard. “We’re hoping for Rob and Jay to come back, that would be the ideal situation.”
“It keeps us guessing,” added Gary. “It keeps everything fresh. The point is, this is our second album as a three-piece and we’re enjoying it, we’re enjoying writing.”
The lads are confident Wonderland is going to live up to previous releases, and say it’ll make for a stunning live show, which arrives in Scotland at the Hydro for four nights in May.
“If we got to the point where we thought we were repeating ourselves we wouldn’t release it,” said Gary.
“It always feels like the music and touring goes hand-in-hand, and we’ve got a brand new live show to go with this.
“And it feels like we’ve got lots of challenges ahead now.”
I also had to ask Gary about those rumours – is he really going to be in the next Star Wars movie?
“I’m not a stormtrooper,” laughed Gary. “But I am in it! That’s all I can say. You can see my face. I can’t talk about it!
“The truth is now I’ve said that I’ll probably be out. By me saying that I’ve probably done myself out of a role.”
Maybe they should call it The Empire Strikes Back . . . For Good!
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