Take That Odyssey: "Oh, girls would follow us"

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Tuesday, November 27, 2018

It's been 30 years since a resourceful director, Nigel Martin Smith, formed a boys' band in Manchester: Robbie Williams, Mark Owen, Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Jason Orange broke all records under the name Take That. Williams and Orange have been lost over the years, but even as a trio, Take That still has success.

Before going on tour in 2019, the band will celebrate its birthday with "Odyssey" – a slightly different best-of compilation that traces its history. In the interview, Gary Barlow, Mark Owen and Howard Donald talk about the crazy teens, the aging and the future of Take That.

n-tv.de: For a planned TV documentary, you have recently invited your fans to tell their favorite stories to action on mytakethatstory.com. What is your favorite personal memory of the last 30 years?

Gary Barlow: I decide for the first MTV Europe Music Awards 1994 at the Brandenburg Gate. I do not talk to you about the show itself, but about the party afterwards. All the artists slept at the Hilton and met at the bar. Rob and I put the music, Prince was there, George Michael, Annie Lennox – all! It was an amazing evening. Suddenly we had the impression of doing it.

What are the moments that come to mind, Mr. Donald and Owen?

Howard Donald: I remember very well the first time we had a real hysteria. It was at the Newcastle City Hall during our first tour in 1992. This volume! Not only did it scare you back, but this public energy literally drained you. Do you know that when your knees are shaking? I remember being very moved when I heard this cry before we went on stage.

Mark Owen: I'm going to take you to New York in 2010. We recorded our album "Progress" at Electric Lady Studios, Jimi Hendrix's studio in the West Village. We were all five in the same room – a group that has so much behind. Howard on drums, Jason on guitar, Gary on piano. All in the best city in the world. It was just wow. How did we get here from here? But we deserved to be in this studio. I must say – it's a little embarrbading – we only rented it for a day. (Laughter) But we felt like the biggest ones.

With "Odyssey", you do not publish a Best Of normal. Through interludes and audio recordings, the album rather tells the story of the group. How did you get this idea?

Barlow: When we considered doing a Best Of, we came to the conclusion that the time of such albums was over. All streaming providers, they already exist, everyone can put his best. So we wondered what we could do with all our work so that people would benefit. That's why we chose the album as a story. The songs do not appear chronologically, but in a particular sequence, like a concert. There are some new songs, but also old ones, which we have re-recorded. In addition to interludes and old interviews, we want to give listeners an idea of ​​the time and create a connection between yesterday and today.

Owen: We wanted to create a wormhole, a time machine.

If you dive into this wormhole and hear the interviews of that time, what do you feel then?

Owen: The voices! How our votes are …

Barlow: (acute) "We are working very hard and if things go well, we continue and one day we will be huge," said one of us. It's amazing. Separating the songs brought back many memories. At "Pray", for example, that immediately transported me in 1992. We five in a studio in Fulham.

Owen: At first, it was like watching another person, another life. It was really hard to identify it. It may be because we have had this great break between our two lives and our lives have changed. I think we hid the 90s for a long time. It was nice to come back now. This time does not move anymore, but to accept. We enjoy it now again. That's exactly what we had hoped for.

In all glory: It must have been a solitary period, no?

Barlow: That's it.

Donald: It was hard. The bigger the group grew, the more time we spent in hotels and airports. In some places, we were not even able to walk around the city without following one of the girls, watching each step or asking for photos.

Owen: Now, we wish that they follow us. (Laughter)

Donald: Do not get me wrong, I do not want to complain. It was awesome. But to a certain extent, of course, this has also affected family life. At the time, four of us were still living with their parents and that affected them. For example, if Marks Street was to be closed on her birthday, there were hundreds of girls and Happy Birthday was singing.

Owen: You thought so, but I think the neighbors were not so happy.

In 1995, Robbie Williams left, one year later, they dissolve the group. Then come the reunification, the temporary return of Williams, then the release of Jason Orange. Does your story really look like an odyssey?

Owen: That's it. Our path is well documented, everyone knows the ups and downs of our career. The title "Odyssey" seemed right to me. But this is not only felt for us. When we talk to our fans, they always tell us that it's also their journey. Not only were we on this odyssey.

What advice would you give to young Mark, Howard and Gary with your current knowledge?

Barlow: Buckle up your belt! You know, "Odyssey" is not an album for us. It's a very moving moment. We did it here, 30 years ago. I would say: good luck, we see each other on the other side. So many people and people have played a role in the last 30 years. It's not just us and our music. Thousands of others have helped us to be here now. And people always want to see us. It's a good time to stop and say, "Wow, look where we are."

What happens next with Take That?

Barlow: Usually, when we're touring or finishing an album, we're already planning the next one. We do not want this time. We want to enjoy it – because it marks the end of a wonderful time. So we do not know what the next step is. No idea

Owen: We want our tour to end well for the second part of the Take That story, which will please everyone, including the public. It will certainly do us good as a group not to talk about work. Our relationship can grow. And this, hopefully, will lead to something new. If you approach the 50s, like us, you think a little. And then? We must cut the tree, …

Barlow: … transplant, …

Owen: … water it, then he'll push back, hopefully.

Mr. Donald, you are the first member of the group to turn 50 this year. How was it to look in the mirror that morning?

Donald: Age does not mean anything, it's just a number. That's how I see things: I feel good, I'm always hungry to make music. We have a great friendship and a great perspective. Because we are going to take a break, but Take That will happen in the future.

How are you going to fill the group break?

Owen: I want to take care of my family and annoy them.

You traveled with your family for two months this summer.

Owen: Yes, it was wonderful. I have tried to learn to surf.

And?

Owen: I can now sit on the board, so I'm improving. In the meantime, I got up, but I did not know how to get down – so I ended up in coral and pebbles. That was the previous low point. The problem is this: in my mind, I feel like Patrick Swayze in "Point Break" when I'm on the board, but I see a picture and look more like Mister Bean trying to surf. It does not seem like it looks like it.

Mr. Barlow, you have not had the impression in recent years of being particularly good at not working.

Barlow: I'm not. From time to time, I try to do it consciously, but I really have to change that.

Why can you hurt so much without?

Barlow: I do not know. Maybe because I like it. But if we have our 50 concerts next year, I'll be ready for a break.

Owen: But I tell you, it can change. Maybe he'll say after the tour: In the studio!

Barlow: I probably do that!

Before you can get up, you still have some projects in front of you: in April, the musical "The Band", based on the music of Take That, arrives in Berlin. In German?

Barlow: As the songs do not tell the plot, they do not have to be translated, but the dialogue is translated.

Owen: It's really exciting!

Do you want to watch the German version?

Barlow: Of course, we come to the first – and we'll think: what are you talking about? (Laughter)

Why should people look at the room?

Donald: No matter which group you like, everyone can identify with the room. This is not about us, but about a group of girls who are very good friends, who lose sight of each other and find themselves in their 40s. It's a very moving story. The best part is of course the music. (Laughter) No, but in fact, many texts have received a very different meaning from the musical.

Owen: It's moving, we really had to pull ourselves together when we saw it for the first time.

Odyssey

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Mr. Barlow, you have also just published your second autobiography, "A Better Me". You describe for the first time the stillbirth of her daughter Poppy six years ago. Why did you decide to make this traumatic experience public?

Barlow: Autobiographies should give people a glimpse of your life, otherwise you can save them. But most importantly, I think it's important for us men to talk about things that change so much everyday life. Because men do not talk about something like that. Not like women do. Women are so good at supporting each other. It was one of my motivations. Honestly, I wanted to write with the heart of a 47-year-old man, a husband and a father.

You also describe in the book how cooking helped you in this difficult time.

Barlow: The food was both good and bad in my life. As far as families are concerned, it is certainly something good. You can also do it during a tour. We have different wardrobes, but at 5 pm we all gather to sit at the table and eat every night. When you think of our world today, how often does it happen? Less and less. It's sad because eating together is so important. A family that eats together also stays together.

Donald: When I come to Germany, I always feel that life here is a little more collaborative. It's the routine of eating together. Even in restaurants, there are communal tables where everyone sits side by side. I like it

When can we wait for your first cookbook, Herr Barlow?

Barlow: A cookbook? No!

Owen: what? I have been waiting for a long time.

Barlow: Certainly not. I do not make recipes, I follow them.

Nadine Wenzlick has spoken with Gary Barlow, Mark Owen and Howard Donald of Take That.

Take That are touring Germany in June 2019: Düsseldorf (15.6.), Berlin (20.6.), Hamburg (24.6.), Frankfurt (25.6.)

Source: n-tv.de