Better Man

Yep! You can listen to all lives from that period and Rob is so good in them! Many gems!! After that bad period we always had that time now you can take all these lives from him (and Gary!) and mood is becoming better. Thank to them!

Good listening, good ending and very kind words to and about Robbie from this lady. Bless her and see you on tour!

How was it good!! All these lives during Covid.

Better Man is a part of the Carnival in Rio ;)

2nd March 2025 01 127 Little Mix 02 125 Lady Gaga 03 80 Robbie Williams and Take That 04 23 Spice Girls 04 23 Kylie and Dannii Minogue Thank you guys!

But maybe I'm wrong. The connectors look like British.

Seems it's China according a language on these notes 😇

Very good video and thoughts!!

Meet the hottest new Greater Manchester band with a number one album and fans like Noel Gallagher and Robbie Williams Story by Jenna Campbell • 23h • Head down Park Lane in Leigh and you’ll find Spinners Mill, a Grade II-listed cotton mill dating back to 1913. Designed by Bolton architects Bradshaw, Gass & Hope - the masterminds behind Manchester’s Stock Exchange and The Royal Exchange - it’s steeped in history. A celebrated landmark of the British industrial revolution, its neo-Baroque influenced architecture, staircase towers and engine houses make it quite the sight, while its huge chimney emerges from behind lines of houses, making it instantly recognisable as you drive into the town. Today, visitors can explore the mill, see the original steam engine and stop by its plethora of shops and businesses - from its micro pub and tea room, to its record shop and archery centre. A place that means so much to its local residents seems like the fitting location to meet up with another Leigh gem. Or should that be gems? Precisely, Thom Rylance, Katie Lloyd, Joe Singleton and Robert Lally, who are better known as indie pop quartet, The Lottery Winners. Like many in Leigh they have a soft spot for the mill. In fact, they have a soft spot for many of the town’s best known landmarks, especially the pubs where they first started gigging over 15 years ago. Starting out performing at watering holes like The Railway, Colliers Rest, Boars Head and The Avenue to sometimes fewer than ten people, to selling out some of Manchester’s most revered venues, and performing to tens of thousands at the UK’s biggest festivals including Glastonbury, their journey has been nothing short of inspiring. Though they signed to record label Modern Sky UK in 2019, prior to this they toured independently and released a number of singles throughout the 2010s. Their self-titled first album landed in 2020 and was quickly followed up by ‘Something to Leave the House For’ the following year. But it was their next, ‘Anxiety Replacement Therapy’ that really caught people’s attention, landing them a Number 1. In the UK charts. “It’s solid really to have done that especially in Leigh,” says Thom as he bunches up on a sofa alongside his bandmates. “We’re the first band from Leigh to get a number one album. And we were just in Manchester the other day and people were asking for pictures - that’s crazy to us, we love that.” They’re certainly a band on the up with a dynamism that has caught the attention of countless musicians, many of whom they’ve already supported on stage including Tom Jones, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Blossoms and Nickelback, amongst others. As well as supporting Noel Gallagher at Wigan’s Robin Park last summer, the Oasis frontman even gave Thom one of his guitars. While fellow Manchester music legend, Happy Mondays Shaun Ryder also sings of the album version of their track ‘Money’, which may explain why his bandmate Bez joined The Lottery Winners on stage during their three-night residency at Manchester Academy this past December playing, as you might expect, the maracas. And their connections with household names hasn’t stopped there. Rather serendipitously, their 2024 hit single ‘You’ Again’ featuring Reverend & The Makers’ Jon McClure, made the BBC Radio 1 A-List and caught the attention of hitmaker Robbie Williams who subsequently reached out to the band. Since then, lead singer Thom has stuck up quite the friendship with the former Take That member. “Rob, I call him Rob, reached out because he heard our song and then he said he did a proper deep dive and watched everything on YouTube and every interview of us,” recalls Thom. “He Facetimed me and we had a good chat for an hour and half, now we’re calling each other four or five times a week. “Sometimes it’s in Lidl, sometimes when I’m in bed, sometimes when I’m on the toilet, we’ve become so close, we’ve become best friends,” he says with a glint in his eye. “He’s become a friend and a mentor. He’s always been one of my idols. “Just an incredible command of an audience. The first song I ever sang in public was at primary school - it was Robbie’s hit ‘Strong’. I remember being really nervous before but loving doing it.” So it must be quite a pinch-me moment for the band to look out on the next 12 months ahead and realise that not only are they currently on their own UK and Europe headline tour, but they’ll also be joining Robbie Williams on his massive EU and UK stadium tour. It’s a run of shows that involves performing to thousands at major venues including Emirates Stadium in London, Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium, Bath’s Royal Crescent, and the Co-Op Arena in Manchester. “This tour means so much to us. It’s absolutely massive - look at the venues,” adds Thom. “We’re going to throw everything we have at it and it’s going to turn us into superstars in our own right. We’re very grateful to Robbie for the opportunity.” There’s some obvious - and quite understandable - nerves from the band, but Thom also feels very much up for the challenge. “I’m ready for it, some venues are huge in terms of capacity, it’s crazy and we’re so grateful. “The stage is my favourite place on earth, I feel like an alien all the time, everywhere I go in any kind of social situations, but as soon as I’m on stage I just feel like me, I feel confident and I love it. “The bubble of touring and being in that little world of just us and nothing else really matters, that’s where I want to live all the time. “I’m also looking forward to hanging out with Robbie, he’s honestly one of the funniest, most entertaining people on and off stage that I’ve ever met.” In a matter of weeks their next album KOKO is due out too. Delayed slightly due to “manufacturing challenges”, it’ll feature long-term collaborator Frank Turner on the track ‘Dirt And Gold', as well as Nickelback's Chad Kroeger on ‘Ragdoll’, as well as link ups with Shed Seven, and the aforementioned ‘You Again’ with Reverend & The Makers. The frontman has admitted that while getting to number 1 for their last album was amazing, the comedown was immediate and had them pondering whether they could top it. That said, the band have always been known for their honest and authentic songwriting, something which they’ve been keen to continue on their latest record. “I think with our songs we never really worry about what they’re going to sound like, which is probably a problem and why we have no hits, but we just let the songs be what they are, it sounds cheesy but I think I’m just an antenna and all the songs are just floating around and you’ll just pick one,” he admits. “The worst thing in the world is a disingenuous song, I think it sounds really transparent, if you don’t mean it people won’t connect to it, so we always just mean everything we say and do, and people resonate with it.” Set for release on March 21, ‘Keep on keeping on’ is a phrase that Thom kept coming back to as he wrote the album. As someone who is very open about having ADHD, the songwriting on this album, and with previous records, has been very cathartic and a chance for him to reflect on some challenging periods in his life. “I’ve got ADHD and I struggled a lot at school and I was kicked out of two schools which left me feeling like I was a broken person, I didn’t know what was wrong with me. On the new record, the track ‘UFO’ is a spiritual cousin to ‘Letter To Myself’, the poignant fan favourite track from the band’s 2023 No.1 album in which Thom addressed his 12-year-old self. As he’s explained previously: “UFO is about how I felt when I’d go to a new school after I’d been expelled. “My UFO was in my bedroom, playing guitar, as that was how I’d get into outer space: my weird zone of playing guitar and writing songs. “My alien friends in my headphones - Nirvana, The Smiths, Oasis - they took me away to another world, one that was so separate from feeling like an alien no-one wanted to talk to in a new classroom.” As well as writing songs that deeply connect with their fans, the band have been very keen to use their rising profile to speak about issues ranging from mental health and ADHD to the barriers for working-class musicians trying to make it into the industry today - something they can identify with having worked their way up the ranks. “While we do have a small platform, it is a platform and there’s things we’re passionate about and like to spread awareness for. Things like ADHD which Robbie also has, or the problems in the industry or how hard it is for working class people to get into the industry, we’ve been speaking to kids in schools, doing workshops, and doing what we can to try and help out.” When The Lottery Winners first started out, they, like many others before them, had to pick a suitable band name. Though Thom isn’t a fan of it now, at the time, it felt rather fitting for a band with little capital or a limited fanbase at this early stage. “It was just a terrible decision we made a long time ago and we can’t do much with it,” he jokes. “We had no money and we were borrowing gear, catching lifts everywhere and we thought it would be funny and ironic.” Now, as they continue their tour of iconic venues up and down the country, hope for a second number 1 album for their hometown, and prepare to join one of their biggest idols on stage this summer, it must really feel like they’ve hit the jackpot.

In fact, Gary did a performance of 3 songs & interview this Thursday: Back For Good If There Is No Song About It (feat. Colbie Ciallat) - a brand new song People Watching (Sam Fender's cover)

Better start a seperate thread for Gary!

Well done and thanks, Gaz! I do like this new Sam's song very much. When Springsteen meets Kings Of Convenience! Gary Barlow performs his cover of 'People Watching' by Sam Fender, featuring the BBC Concert Orchestra for the 100th Radio 2 Piano Room, recorded live at the BBC's legendary Maida Vale Studios. Arranger/conductor: Fiona Brice.

I do like this post :)

You could be right, Liz. Very fast giving up of the bigger success - it's Robbie's style since ~2013. I'd very sad if even World Cup (Club) is not happenning as scheduled. It would be a disaster and really bad luck. I sttill HOPE Robbie himself will come to Brasil or Japan this March, otherwise what's purpose to change the dates for these markets?? There were not big movies in theaters during last 1month.

No, there was no any explanation about this song since Rudebox Radio unfortunately.

Yes, I agree. After U2, TT and Ed concert tours I still waiting for the round scene for Robbie... Yes, let's do this.

Here it is. LOL

This skit with a monkey is the one we were waited at the BAFTA! 😄😄 OK, at least it was me. So, thanks to The Brits for that!

Do you mean Dua Lipa? :) It's great!

He had a cabaret jacket during his 2013 Tour! :)

Hey Tess, are you ready? :)

Yes! We had a thread of Forbidden Road! Where it is now...☹️