milly

I have to agree with you, Kath - to a certain extent, of course :D Gary still is very funny during interviews, but only when he feels comfortable. I noticed that he seems at ease whenever he gives interviews to Heart Fm, for instance. He probably needs someone to bounce off and banter with - in the behind-the-scenes for III, he was again very funny. But it's true that this is a side of him that we don't get to see as often as we used to, anymore. I know you think it's arrogance on his part, but I believe that, the more exposure he got on tv, the more self-aware he became. He knows that he has too much to lose now and he probably thinks he can't afford to make any mistakes, cause, as we know, anything he says always takes a turn for the worse in the papers. Let's remember the duet with himself on the New Year's Eve Bash - what was supposed to be a funny, quite tender moment was suddenly perceived as arrogance, infatuation, self-indulgence. When you constantly get this kind of reactions from the press and some of the public, you start being careful with what you say and do. But the man has recently learnt how to stand on his head, so maybe his sense of humour will make a comeback for good, now that he got some blood flow to his brain :P Everyone knows by now that Gary rehearses, indeed, his lines for the in-between the songs. Mark is more natural, in this way. But there were plenty of moments on Gary's solo tour where he deviated from the set lines and made some hilarious introductions. Not everyone can be spontaneous on every gig, especially during a long tour. I've seen plenty of big artists do the same on their tours - they repeat the same jokes and the same lines over and over again, but I haven't seen any of them being put down for this by the reviewers- aside from Gary. Even Robbie, who's considered to be a lose canon, has rehearsed jokes on his tour. Even actors/comedians do the same, so it's not really fair to hold it against a guy whose job is to sing, not to entertain. I know you don't like Gary, Kath, and that's fine, cause nobody can force you to like him, especially as a person, but can you honestly tell me that this moment from his solo tour is boring?

Elisabeth, are you a TT fan?

May be right about what? Elisabeth, you are really clinging here; I guess the guy could be - and IS - the biggest jerk to grace earth, but he says 2 nice words about Robbie and he's suddenly someone worth listening to? Why not?! Let's ignore all evidence of the contrary! :huh:

Nope, Gary never said anything to or about him. He's shown remarkable restraint :D I know this will sound nasty, but it's the only explanation I have for Mcwormick's "sympathy" towards Mark - I think he empathises with anyone who doesn't quite make it in the music industry. Or maybe he truly likes Mark. But allow me to be skeptic about that. The man praises the likes of 1D and Kanye West, so I wouldn't put too much price on his musical taste. He also thinks Chris Martin is a great live singer (I do like Chris, but he's more miss than hit when it comes to live performing) AND, the most important thing, he thinks Robbie is the 2nd coming!!! :D "The biggest absence is, once again, Robbie Williams, who (LET'S NOT DWELL ON MCWORMICK's GRAMMAR SKILLS!! :P ) solo career has exhibited more character, imagination and daring than that of any of his former band mates. His return for 2010s Progress put a belated spring in Take That’s dance steps, pushing them away from formulaic Coldplay-by-numbers and into a surprisingly invigorating realm of joyously bonkers sci-fi stadium electropop. Now Williams has once again threatened to overshadow his former comrades by releasing a previously unannounced album on the same day. It is a typically cheeky move from Williams, and, as if to rub it in, he’s baring both cheeks on the cover. Under The Radar Volume 1 is a collection of Williams’ B-sides, rarities, demos and out-takes available only through his own website. It is clearly not intended to rival Take That in the charts but nevertheless is crammed full of the kind of sparkle, mischief and pop eccentricity that makes Take That’s more sleekly designed offering appear dully conformist." http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/c...orward-fun.html That's why I never give any credit to "critics" :D They have their own agenda, which, usually, has nothing to do with the item they review.

Yeah, the interview was recorded right at the time of TAODN. I tried to watch it, but I lost interest after a while, cause I found Mark incoherent in parts and having difficulties in finding his words. Neill Mcworm is a journalist (for The Telegraph, go figure!), who attempted to break into music, but fell flat on his nose and now, he's very frustrated with certain people who find success and are appreciated by the masses. He seems to take pleasure in putting Gary down, every chance he gets. He has a fascinating obsession with Gary: Neil McCormick ‏@neil_mccormick 12 Dec 2012 Was Gary Barlow busy? RT @bestfitmusic Nirvana to reform for Hurricane Sandy concert, with Paul McCartney as Kurt. Neil McCormick ‏@neil_mccormick 20 Aug 2011 Casting Gary Barlow as Mr Nasty is like casting Charlie Chaplin as Hitler, only not nearly as funny. #zzzzzfactor Neil McCormick ‏@neil_mccormick 5 Jun 2009 It doesn't matter how much Gary Barlow buffs up, he still looks like the Fat Controller. An accountant in charge of a boy band Neil McCormick ‏@neil_mccormick 6 Jun 2009 Dimly recall in hotel bar last night giving my Gary Barlow is the Fat Controller rap to woman who turned out to be Gary's business partner Neil McCormick ‏@neil_mccormick 25 Aug 2011 The Steaming Turds? RT @TheSun_Bizarre: Gary Barlow wants your help naming his new band He's deleted some of the posts he made on twitter about Gary. He reviews everything Gary does and suffice it to say that the bile he's showing towards Gary in his articles would put The Guardian's "journalists" to shame. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/l...ena-review.html Basically, he's a jerk - when he published an awful review of Gary's solo tour, comments started pouring in (from fans and general public) highlighting the unfairness of the article - McWorm, in his huge wisdom, lashed out on twitter at Gary's fans and at Gary and encouraged his own followers to gang on Gary's fans. Neil McCormick ‏@neil_mccormick 6 Apr 2014 Another day, another torrent of abuse. Even I feel like being mean to me after my Gary Barlow review. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/l...ena-review.html … I really really really find him a bad excuse for a human being. And yes, Dylan, you're right: Mcworm, in his big hypocrisy, is a Robbie fan and doesn't miss any opportunity to compare Gary to Robbie. That's why I said I didn't appreciate Mark accepting to do an interview with him. I thought it was almost like backstabbing Gary. As for Mark's voice, although I don't like it, I think it's actually better nowadays. Whenever I see videos of him in the 90s attempting to sing, I cringe. He's got better at singing, from my point of view, but there's so much he can do with his voice limitations.

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.