milly

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.

That would be amazing. Unfortunately, with all the upcoming projects for Gary and TT, I don't see it happening ... ever :( I was surprised to hear the public's reaction to Gary appearing last night at Jason Donovan's concert. I almost got deaf from all that screaming :D If I didn't know better, I'd have thought half of Gary's fanbase was in that venue :) https://www.periscope.tv/w/1ypKdykLqzLGW That certainly bodes well for him if he ever decides on going solo again. And I see no reason for him to do so again, without parting with TT, of course. His voice sounds better than ever - even the Asian papers picked up on that -, he seems to be inspired to write and to experiment with music and, while I love III, his offerings outside the band have been more interesting and more full of substance than his work with TT. I'd say that the pairing between Gary and Eliot is way more successful than the partnership between Gary, Mark and Howard, at least from my perspective. Mark has his own style and, to me, it doesn't seem too versatile, which, in the end, leads to a monotonous output. Gary and Eliot are more alike music wise and their collaboration pays off because they enhance each other's ideas; for Gary and Mark, the collaboration seems more of a compromise and a struggle to find a middle ground. As Gary said, Mark isn't "happy unless he's done it", which, to me, reflects the way they work - Mark pushes for his ideas, Gary takes a step back and we get a "neutral" product that is pleasant, likeable, but that doesn't say much about any of the 2 - well, maybe a bit more about Mark.

I know it's really selfish of me, but, based on what I've heard lately from Gary, I really want a new solo album.

Dylandog, you can listen to the whole album for free on Deezer: http://www.deezer.com/album/12652068

Living inside my heart is growing on me too, Jay :) Glad to see you like Fly. Gary and Eliot did a good job writing that song. It's a great album to work out on :dance:

Unfortunately, the track co-written by Gary and Mark is one of the tracks I don't like. In my defense, I disliked it before I knew who had written it, just like I loved The Sky's the Limit without knowing that Gary had no involvement in it. Dylandog - check your inbox :)

These are the writing credits for Fly: Ascension - Holly and Gary Eagle will fly again- Howard Jones Out of the sky - Ben Mark,Mark Owen and Gary Moment- Gary Touching hearts and skies- Midge Ure Sky is the limit - Nik Kershaw Living inside my heart- Martin Fry,Gary Barlow Without your love- Glenn Gregory,Berenice Scott,Gary Fly- Eliot and Gary Determination- Peter Cox,Richard Drummie,Eliot,Gary Pray-Glenn Gregory,Martyn Ware People like you- Eliot ,Gary Thrill me- Andy McCluskey,Gary You could download the album from iTunes if you want to avoid Amazon.

A false eye? :lol: He does have a lazy eye, which is more evident when he sings and his eyebrow moves a la Elton, but, otherwise, he has no problem with the eyes. For me, his eyes are his best physical attribute :wub: http://f***yeahgarybarlow.tumblr.com/post/62552964600

It's really worth buying the album, dylandog. And this comes from someone who isn't too keen on the 80s music. I bought the album for Ascension, but I discovered other great songs: Fly and Moment are stunning, Determination is very catchy, The Sky's the Limit (although not written by Gary) is very beautiful as well. A solid album overall. There are 2-3 tracks I don't connect with, but, since I was expecting to like only Ascension, I can't complain :D

Gary last night at the launch of the album: The album is no 1 on the soundtracks chart and it's doing really well on Amazon : #14 and #16 and on iTunes : #15 It would be nice if it charted inside top 40 on Friday, so it can add commercial success to the critical acclaim.

I hope I'm right more than anyone else, dylandog, cause I don't even have a smartphone :cry: And I really want to be able to watch Inside the Music. Fingers and toes crossed :)

I don't think it's gonna be on tv, but I can't be sure about it. It would be nice if all the "episodes" were uploaded on Gary's VEVO, as it would ensure that more people know about them. Wherever they'll be, I'm really looking forward to them. As for the haters, they're just gonna have an excuse to externalize what they are already thinking. Lately, I've been looking at the comments on Gary's videos - especially the documentaries and the SISYL medley -. I was surprised to notice a lot of positive comments from casual listeners and from an increasing number of Americans. It's quite the opposite to what you would find on twitter, which means that, in the end, haters are just louder on social media, but they don't represent the majority.

Maybe Inside the Music will give the album a new push and will get it to 600k soon.

Waiting for the day when we can celebrate III going double platinum :no:

It may be complimentary, but it also looks as if they're trying to steal TT's thunder in America.

I've tried checking on BPI, Jay, but, for some reason, when I type in TT, nothing about them appears :/ This has never happened before. Maybe somebody else has more luck than me: https://www.bpi.co.uk/certified-awards.aspx It works when I search for Gary, but not for TT <_<

Does anyone have any idea why The Flood is #190 on iTunes this morning? Was it played anywhere on tv?

There's Filmon, there's Hola and lots of live streaming links :) How do you think the rest of Europe or Asia watches UK shows?:)

Well, BSB should take a step back :P Nobody can put on a live show like TT and this is TT's time to shine :D

We're talking about them on the main thread and there are lots of pictures on Gary's twitter. I wouldn't say the gig was huge, but the crowd wasn't small either - there were quite a few fans there for the boys, considering they haven't been to Singapore in 20 years. I'm surprised the TT groups you're in don't mention the gigs, cause my twitter and fb timelines have been full of pics and videos from both gigs.

Wow, you were actually there, iamstrong. Doubly jealous: that you got to see the boys live today and that you got to visit Singapore :) I'm glad you enjoyed the concert. The crowd really did seem to go wild on Pray and I got the impression Gary did his best to impress the public - he pulled out the big notes, he held them for quite some time (and not only on Pray). He usually does that when he feels the support of the audience. We've had some great days this week, with all the excitement of the boys re-visiting Asia after all this time. It's nice to see them explore some other parts of the world, outside their usual comfort zone: UK, Ireland, Germany, Italy. As you say, dylandog, it doesn't matter that it's not arenas or stadiums. Actually, the crowd in Bangkok and Singapore wasn't small at all, which is quite an accomplishment for a group that hasn't promoted anything there in years and years. Oh, I forgot: I really loved the surprise the fans in Bangkok prepared for the boys, with all the signs saying "Want You Back". It reminded me of a similar surprise we prepared for Lara Fabian, when she 1st came to Romania - 5000 signs saying "Tu nous a manque/We Missed You".