milly

Considering how much I despise the worm (the journalist, not Mark), I would have passed. Anyway, that interview has already been on yt for many years. I'll never understand why Mark accepted to talk to that guy - at the time, it was one of the things that bothered me, cause I thought Mark wasn't being a true friend to Gary (just like the time when he murdered BFG with Robbie).

Yeah. Robbie has denied the rumours, but I think they're just trying to create anticipation, an element of surprise and, basically, they're stirring fans' interest. I, for one. don't believe Robbie. The Sun may be trash, but, so far, they've never published news about TT that weren't true - they have, indeed, a person of contact with TT and every single one of thei news about the band has been right so far, so I don't think this one is an exception.

I would really want them to be very careful at least with the 1st 2 singles AND I want them to release both singles prior to the album. Once fans get their hands on the album, there's absolutely no reason for them anymore to buy a single, at least not in the digital format. As for Robbie, no matter how they handle the approach, we're still gonna suffer. I still haven't made my mind up yet whether I'd suffer more from a Robbie solo set or from him lending his vocals to Patience or RTW :P I'd say I'm even inclined to pay him NOT to sing on those songs; heck, I'd give him an hour for his solo part just so he wouldn't ruin the TT songs. Maybe he could mime? Nobody's paying to listen to him anyway, he just has to stand there and...be Robbie.

If Inside the Music and Hyde Park go well, the sales for the new album should be higher than III's , in my opinion. I hope it's not just wishful thinking on my part. Well, that's assuming that ITM rolls while it's spring in the northern hemisphere :P With Gary, you never know what "soon" and "very soon" mean :P I actually think that it's good that they're releasing another album so soon after III. From experience, I know that it's not very wise to dwell too much on things - it gives you time to question and doubt yourself and, usually, the 1st instinct is the right one. TT didn't have too much time for BW and we can all agree that it's their either best or 2nd to best album to date. They seem to be inspired while they're on tour or involved in other projects, so I wouldn't want them to wait a couple of years or more in between the albums, cause that would make them second guess themselves eventually. Besides, if they didn't put out this new album this year, the whole attention would be on the greatest hits album next year and the general public might get the impression that it's the end of TT. I'm really not crazy about the whole idea of a greatest hits album. I can see its utility, but, for fans, I don't really understand its purpose - most, if not all, fans already have all the albums containing the hits - and we hear them so much on all the gigs that we're actually sick of them by now and we're much more interested in their "non-hit" material/album tracks. Agree with you, Dylan - I'm sincerely starting to question whether Gary is using his brain cells or not. For the life of me, I can't understand his friendship with Robbie (I do believe that Gary forgave Robbie with all his heart and put the past behind, but I'm not so sure about Robbie; I still get the impression that friendship is one-sided, but I may be wrong). I admire him because he seems to be bigger than most of us, fans, but I wish he'd be level-headed where the band is concerned and see that this "revolving door" is doing them no favors.

Don't think I wasn't expecting the question, Kath :D Of course I wouldn't go to a "TT" concert without Gary - why should I? TT was build around Gary and is, mainly, Gary Barlow. That doesn't mean I don't acknowledge the input the other 3 boys have had in the band since the reunion, but the reality is the same as in the 90s: there wouldn't be a TT without Gary. You can't seriously tell me you'd consider Mark and Howard and possibly Jason a band? Honestly, putting aside the songwriting, who'd go to 2 hours of Mark Owen or Howard Donald vocals (it's a rhetorical question, cause we got the answer on Mark's solo tour)? The 3-4 of them work amazingly together, but, take Gary away from them, and you get 3 elements who wouldn't know what to make of themselves on the stage. The sound of TT has always been Gary and he'll always be. What would I listen to, anyway, on a TT gig without Gary? Mark singing BFG or A Million Love Songs or RTW or Patience? Robbie's input into the band is reduced to Progress. Everything Changes and a cover of CIBM - he was never a central element to the band. I don't think the analogy you're making is a fair one. Robbie's gigs have worked so far because of his "performance" skills and the tone of money he puts of the staging - even for Progress, most of the money went into his set part. I saw a couple of RW sets - only him and the band - and they were the most boring ones I've ever seen. Boring or not, Gary has at least the voice to keep the audience interested for 2 hours, Robbie managed to put his audience to sleep in less than 10 minutes, because, if you take away the antics and big numbers from his performance, there's nothing left to RW. I know you enjoyed his part on the Progress tour, but many fans didn't. It's only a taste matter. I agree with you that, on the Progress tour, the TT4 part was a bit lacklustre, but how could it not have been, when they used their biggest songs so early on in the show? Until then, nobody had been bored of RTW or Patience or Greatest Day. And the only money they spent on that 1st part was on Hold Up A Light. They threw a lot of money on Robbie's pyrotechnics - of course that makes for an impressive set, next to Robbie's shouting and to the drunk RW fans jumping up and down like they were possessed. Believe it or not, I do have friends who are RW fans :D And we did hang out together. But that doesn't mean I'd put myself through 2 hours of torture and listen to him scream or watch him pull the fingers to the audience. I'm quite fond of my ears still :P The worst Gary could do is bore me, but at least he wouldn't damage my ears or send me to prison for wanting to strangle him :P If given the opportunity to see TT as a 5 piece or at all, of course I'd go - I can't say I'd pass that chance. I'll probably support TT even if Robbie does come back; it's just that I'd rather not have to, that's all. Unlike TT5 fans who stop supporting the boys as soon as Robbie decides to leave again, I do support them even with him in the band. I don't enjoy it, but I do it. The only thing I WILL NOT support, no matter what, is a new kind of Progress album, where Robbie and Mark share the leads and Gary has only one song. It's one thing to put up with Robbie on tour, as long as the music and Gary's main vocals are still there, it's another thing to invest in an album that gives me no pleasure. I will never ever pay for Robbie's sub-average vocals, cause I usually listen to music to relax, not to want to bang my head against a wall.

I'm still not sure if "TT5 fans" reflects a reality. I know there is a very small number of fans who love TT in all its incarnations, but I always had the feeling that TT5 fans are nothing more than Robbie fans who "happen" to like TT too whenever he's back in the band - something like Elisabeth, if I'm not mistaken. I don't know many TT5 fans who support TT as a 4 or 3 piece as well, which, in my eyes, means they're not actually TT fans at all. I know these differences of opinion will never ever be settled, but that's what forums are about - to express our opinion and vent our frustration a bit, cause, at the end of the day, that's all we can do. The boys will do whatever they want anyway, regardless of what we think. Putting aside my dislike for Robbie, I honestly don't see how this "collab" is going to work - for the greatest hits album and for the tour. Are they gonna re-record all the hits in order to include Robbie's vocals (may God have mercy on us!! - putting Robbie on Never Forget was bad enough. I never heard Never Forget sound worse than on XF, when TT sang it with 1D and you could hear Robbie's awful backing vocals and harmonies), are they gonna have separate sections again on tour, like they did for Progress? Let's keep it real for a moment and admit that TT's "greatest hits" don't really include Robbie, aside from The Flood. Rule the World, Greatest Day, Patience, The Garden, Said It All, Hold Up A Light, Shine, even the old ones - Never Forget, BFG, A Million Love Songs, Nobody Else, How Deep is Your Love and so on, they never had anything to do with Robbie and I sincerely don't see what there is to celebrate about him in relation to the band. He just isn't relevant for the band's anniversary.

I don't do polls, Elisabeth, but I sure can read them - luckily for me, one neuron seems to be enough to get the job done :D There have been polls put up by various papers over the years about Robbie rejoining the band-I'll let you guess what the general consensus was. But that was not what I was referring to. It's enough to be on twitter from time to time or to enter a TT group on fb to realize what the general perception is on Robbie and TT. You and I are talking about different things, it seems. All you care about is money and fame and venue sizes, while I'm talking about what TT fans want. Of course Robbie rejoining TT means that they'll sell more, cause we're gonna have 2 fanbases combined, but that doesn't mean that TT fans will be happy about it. Whatever you may think of III, it will stand the test of time better than Progress and, if fans had to choose which one to listen to, I'm sure they'd pick III. Success and quality don't always go hand in hand. I don't even understand why you're so adamant about Robbie being in TT. You don't like TT anymore than we like Robbie - the difference is that we're being honest with our wishes and don't expect the boys to sell out just for the sake of some bucks. It's beyond me why you want Robbie to come back. I'm pretty sure the band's welfare is the last thing on your mind. I'd rather see TT in a venue of 2000-3000 people - heck, I'd go even for 200-300 - and enjoy them, than see them on a stadium with Robbie and have to fight the urge of throwing something at him. Still can't see how Robbie would "salvage" their "damaged reputation", when he himself is involved in tax schemes? And not only that, he and Ayda have a sexual harassment suit and he's involved in a couple more suits with other people. I may be a bit dim, but doesn't that mean that his scandalous behaviour would affect the band in a negative way? Most of the categories for Hyde Park are sold out and, considering we're talking about 50.000+ tickets, I think it's safe to say that, tax scandal or not, TT are doing just fine in UK without Robbie and they don't need him to distract anyone's attention.

It seems it's a certainty that Robbie will be back with the boys next year "to help them commemorate their astonishing rise" <_< Here I was thinking that their astonishing rise was due exactly to his absence :P Can't say I'm surprised, but I'm definitely not a happy bunny. I can put up with Robbie for a gig or two, but I don't like the idea of him writing with the boys and doing a whole tour with them. With my luck, they'll include Romania on their tour list next year and, the only time I'll probably get to see them, I'll have to put up with the Robbie show :( Why can't the boys get it through their heads that most TT fans DON'T want Robbie back?

Dylandog - if you know any of BSB's songs during the 90s, that's about it about them and that's what's gonna draw people into seeing them. They have been releasing new material since their comeback, but nothing of significance. I've tried listening to their new songs and, to me, they're stuck at the same age as they were in the 90s, unlike TT who have managed to produce mature music since 2005. BSB have been touring extensively with NKOTB - that should tell you all about the quality of their music :P As for the Vegas shows, unfortunately, you're right and they do have the advantage of being American over TT :( I'm still hoping good taste will prevail, but I don't hold my breath, cause I've seen what most people prefer nowadays.

For the life of me, I can't imagine BSB doing a Vegas show :/ I hope TT announce soon their shows as well. I imagine - and I hope - that Gary's name and reputation as a songwriter in America will attract more interest than a band whose name reflects the nature of their gigs.

Vevo video for Ascension:

Can Cowell be more arrogant and self-absorbed? I live for the day when someone will throw eggs at him again. Well, I'd replace eggs with something else, but I'm trying to be a lady :angel:

Nope, nothing yet :(

HAPPY EASTER to everyone who celebrates it today! Sorry about your car, Kath. I don't actually understand what it was done to it, cause I haven't got a car, but I hope it can be fixed quickly and you won't have to lose too much money. A couple of hundred pounds sounds quite expensive to me - it's what my sister makes as a teacher each month. I'm with you, dylandog. If they go down the electronic route again, that will be an album I won't be purchasing. It will go down the same route as Progress for me. Hopefully, what was unexpected for the boys was that Gary's latest projects would rub off on them and influence their sound :P One can only dream :D I'm not set on them rediscovering the sound of BW, but I do want them to follow a more acoustic path and let the vocals shine instead of drowning them in all that electronical effects. I had Better stuck in my head all night. I'd be happy with an album that had that sound, but I don't know if most fans would love it.

Gary and Holly on Graham Norton today: http://www.filefactory.com/stream/11bz5lp61iah I wish Holly were as graceful about Gary as Gary is about him and the other artists. Holly seems a bit self-centered and - this may be just my impression - a bit jealous of all the attention Gary is garnering.

I, for one, would love to hear Gary sing Moment :D I asked Roycey on twitter if he'd nominate one of the songs on Fly for an Ivor next year and he liked my tweet. Maybe we get lucky and next year Gary adds another Ivor to his collection. I agree with you, dylandog. Gary doesn't seem very concerned with politics. I'm sure he supports the monarchy, but I'd say that's as far as his political views go. His one appearance with David Cameron seems to be the stem of all the hatred he attracts :unsure:

The press at the time "embellished" the story as they pleased - so much for journalistic objectivity and truth. They made it sound as if Gary had been on trial, when, in fact, his name hadn't even been mentioned in court; they also made it sound as if Gary had been lying about the money and withholding information, something which, again, wasn't true, as he had declared where he had invested his money and nobody had stopped the State till then from claiming tax on that money. They also forgot to mention that it took the authorities 10 YEARS to decide whether the scheme was in the realm of legality or not. There were JUDGES who had invested in that scheme - I'd say that, for a society, that should be considerably more worrying than a simple artist following his accountants' advice. But the papers conveniently ignored that part of the story and focused on one of their favorite characters - Gary. In case some of you didn't catch on, I truly, deeply, madly despise papers and the so called journalists :lol:

Fly tops the soundtrack chart this week :) Another no 1 for Gary. So, so happy for him :yahoo: :cheer: I'm really loving Fly, Moment, Living Inside My Heart, People Like You, Determination and The Sky's the Limit :dance:

I saw something about 1D on tumblr, but I haven't seen any article so far. 2 years ago, it took literally only a few minutes for the whole press to pick on Gary's involvement- I use the term loosely, because I have no doubt in my mind that there had been a plot for a while and the papers had just been waiting for the right time to link Gary's name to something scandalous and what better time than after the documentary that was propelling him to new heights?!

Good thing I had to work the past few days and I didn't have time for twitter, cause I have a penchant of getting into arguments with idiots. The tax thing is really starting to grate on me now. Whether he did it under advice or not, the money has been paid back, but it seems like haters can't move on. I don't know why nobody mentions Adele being involved in similar tax schemes or lots of other celebs. It seems that Gary's biggest flaw is having manners and not talking back. And I certainly can't understand people who can't dissociate between the person and the artist. I dislike lots of artists as persons, but I can still acknowledge their musical talent. When it comes to Gary, all attacks inevitably lead to his dismissal as a musician, which I find very unfair.

Gary on This Morning talking about Fly: And an album review: http://linkis.com/thisisnotretro.com/7MN8D Pippa, you're absolutely right. Had Gary's story gone otherwise, he may have never changed and become the incredible artist he is nowadays. According to his sayings, he was getting a bit cocky in the 90s; I guess what happened - although hugely unfair in my opinion, but apparently necessary - taught him the lesson of humility and gave him the chance to experience real life and important matters, cause, until then, he had been practically married to his music and career and he needed to rediscover the true meaning of life. To this day, I still like 12M 11D, but, unfortunately, I don't think we'll ever have justice for it. Lie to Me and Walk are great songs that could have been hits for any artist but Gary. Everything that happened around that time "cursed" the album and, no matter how good it might have been, it would still have flopped for Gary. But, had 12M 11D not flopped, we might not have had SISYL or FN or Fly, all 3 of which are incredible albums. So, I guess everything happens for a reason in life.

Too bad my idols were cartoons characters :lol: : the prince from The Little Mermaid, Mamoru from Sailor Moon :lol: Gary was smarter for choosing better idols :P I'm really happy for him. He seems to be in a good place lately and that transpires not only on his face, but also in his work.

I would have thought too that Gary was involved in composing the music for Thrill Me, but, according to this article, he wasn't: http://www.digitalspy.com/music/news/a7875...ream-come-true/ The funniest part of the article is at the end (it just popped in my head when I read Pippa's last sentence :D ): "Finally, Gary said that the project was a "dream" and that looking at his heroes fills him with excitement for his own career: "It gives me hope, it really does!" Andy responded: "If we sold as many records as him, we'd have hope as well!"" As pippa said, Gary has done so much work over the years in so many musical areas that his coming years are covered - he won't be out of work very soon even if TT were to split up (which I doubt will happen). I'm with Pippa on this one. I can't see it happening for Mark at this moment. Thanks to TT, he's had much more chances than any other artist in his position, but, for some reason, it just didn't work. His fans are TT fans mostly and they are used to a certain sound; or, as you pointed out, dylandog, Mark's solo music is just too removed from what TT fans like. I think that's where the contradiction and his "curse" lie.

I honestly don't see Mark putting out another solo album, unless it's to get some form of critical acclaim. But I don't know if it's worth the embarrassment of being called a flop again. He practically gave away for free the tickets to his last tour - I doubt he made any profit. Is nobody loving Determination? I feel like getting up to dance when I hear it :dance:

It seems that Andy McCluskey wrote the music for Thrill Me and Gary wrote the lyrics. I don't want to offend anyone, but, to me, the TT sound is more commercial than Gary's solo work. I can understand why people say that Gary's output is more commercial than Mark's, but, for some reason, I always interpret it as something pejorative. To me, Gary's solo work - be it SISYL or the musicals/movies soundtracks - sounds anything but commercial. I know that personal/meaningful and commercial are not mutually exclusive, but the term always cheapens the product for me. I would agree with both of you that Mark is more experimental in his music, but I get the feeling that he's experimenting simply because he still hasn't quite found his lane, whereas Gary has always loved being pop and has unashamedly asserted it since he was a kid. Now, like you said, dylandog, it's only a matter of taste. I, for one, prefer pop MUSIC (I can't strengthen the word enough - music as in opposed to noise), but there are obviously people who prefer Mark's approach to music and even his voice.