dylan62

For me Milly Jeremy Jordan has given the most all round performance. I love his voice and from the clips I've seen he interpreted the part extremely well. I'm hoping to make an overnight trip to London to see The Girls and FN in one hit, as I live someway from London so an overnight stay is as much as I can afford. I'm not convinced by Alfie in all honestly. However, I'm taking two aunts to see him and Michael Ball in concert in November so I'll have the opportunity to hear him live. I'm hoping the clip isn't representative of his work in FN. He's had a stellar career in musical theatre so perhaps I'm being over critical. Thanks for the links - JC would be an interesting choice. He's won a Tony for his stage work and isn't a bad dancer. The FN role is quite demanding so I'm not sure if he has the physical strength for the role and perhaps he's also a little too young for the part. I agree that there must be a number of excellent performers who'd do the role justice. It's a shame that Michael Ball isn't younger (or physically fitter) because I saw him in an awful production of Mack and Mabel earlier this year. Whilst the show was mediocre he was absolutely outstanding. A fantastic theatre performer - I was taken aback by how good he was.

This thread has been very quiet for some time. Thought I'd mention that I came across a YT clip of Alfie Boe singing Neverland last week. There's a rumour that he's being lined up for FN when it opens in the West End, so interested to know what you all think of his interpretation. It's difficult to assess properly based on a performance outside of the musical itself, but personally I think it's a delicate song and he over sings in parts. Sorry, I don't have a link - my rubbish IT skills again.

Ken Loach is a fantastic director, one of our best. His work is raw and very authentic . I can't imagine what it's like to meet someone you admire greatly. I'm so shy I think I'd just stare and say absolutely nothing! So pleased he was lovely and genuine :)

I can hardly understand Elton these days. The quality of his voice has deteriorated considerably over time, although he still has a lovely tone. I generally don't have a problem understanding modern singers although I did hear one of Zayn Malik's song not long ago and I really struggled to understand anything the lad was saying!! I don't know if it was representative of his singing style, but the lyrics were inaudible. In general singers don't appear to consider diction that important. My parents were jazz lovers so I frequently listened to singers like Ella Fitzgerald who had the most wonderful tone and fabulous diction. Gary is more of an old fashioned singer in that respect and one of the few who often sounds better live than on a recording.

Interesting you should say that about Gary's voice. I noted that the YT clip I referred to earlier someone commented that they couldn't hear him breathe. It hadn't occurred to me but she was right. His vocal technique was so good on that section that his voice was seamless. Occasionally he doesn't have enough of a rounded vowel sound and very occasionally there is a nasal quality to his voice, but overall he has very, very good vocal technique helped by the fact that he rarely over sings. I haven't listened to any of Adele's live tour but I know that she's received fantastic reviews. I do think she sounds far better in her lower range and I don't like the quality of her voice when she hits higher notes. I agree re the video with Ronan and yes, the roughness in his voice sounds too contrived. I think far too many modern singers equate shouting with quality, when the opposite is true.

I don't know what the equivalent is legally. My brother specialises in criminal law. There are two strands in the UK: a person can train as a solicitor or a barrister which I think takes longer. It does sound like once you've qualified you'll have a similar role to my brother. In simple terms he gets to wear the 'funny wig' on his head :) I wonder how Jay fills his time? I know he has a passion for travelling, in which case he must be a world expert. In terms of the HP gig, it would literally have been just down the road from where he lives. He and Howard were very close at one time and it's such a shame if that relationship hasn't survived Jay's departure. Gary is indeed in a good place at the moment and I bet there were times over the past four years when he thought he'd never reach this point. I do wonder why he takes on so many projects but psychologically it may stem from his prolonger period in the 'wilderness.'

Oh thanks, Milly. Hope all goes well with your exams!!! The TT album should come out after your November exams so something to look forward to :) My 'little' brother the brains of the family is a barrister - I'm sure everything will go well - will keep my fingers crossed for you. It's a long, long time since my uni exams and post grad work. My son has just completed his AS exams and will be applying to university later this year so I have some idea of the stress you must be going through, even if I'm not experiencing it directly. Gary appears to have spent the whole of the summer period in the US and seems to enjoy the lifestyle out there. I saw a recent photo of him with JC so their friendship has obviously continued since JC's move to the states. I don't really like reality type music shows that much but I will give Let It Shine a go when it airs next year.

I agree. The relationship between the three seems a strong and genuine one. I often think about Jay - he's disappeared off the radar completely. It would be lovely to see him attend at least one of their live shows. I understand that Rob was at the Hyde Park gig, but I've yet to read anything to suggest that Jay has supported them. If true I find that quite sad. I understand his wish to remove himself from public life but TT has given him a life he could only have dreamt off 25 years ago and it would be lovely to see him support them at least on some level. You're also right Pippa in that until recently TT garnered positive press which if it wasn't for the tax issue would have continued. I hope The Girls musical turns out to be a great success and I'm hoping to go down to see it in the West End some time in January. However, for me the most important thing is for TT to produce a fantastic album. In all honesty I haven't fully enjoyed any of their albums post Circus which is a long time ago. Praying the new offering harks back to a more traditional TT sound.

I guess you're right Milly. I don't have a very thick skin but if you're in the public eye I suppose you get use to all the abuse directed your way. Given the level of humiliation Gary experienced in the late 90's the stuff thrown at him now probably doesn't have the same impact. His personal tragedy will have put things in perspective as well. Yes, that's the video I linked onto a day or so ago. To balance it out I sometimes click on the video of his medley from his last tour which now has over a million views. The comments are mostly lovely and so appreciative with a large majority of them from oversees viewers many of whom have become aware of Gary only recently. I've just come back from secondary root canal surgery, dosed up to the eyeballs, swollen face and feeling sorry for myself:) On the plus side I've taken two days holiday so will watch a TT DVD, and given that I can't eat anything of any significance for two days I may also loose some weight - everything has a silver lining. :)

Agree with you, Pippa. I watched X Factor around that time. I haven't watched it since Gary left so I can't comment on this years show. However, it doesn't sound as though it's improved. It peaked some years ago and has been on a downward spiral ever since. On a side note I clicked onto a BBC promo video for Gary's new show: Let It Shine. The comments were brutal - my, oh my people have long memories. I think Gary's setting himself up for a hammering. Even if the show's good, there'll be fallout from the critics and public alike. It will probably follow the tried and tested formula for these types of shows and they're already going out of fashion. In my view Gary should have kept a wide birth and concentrated on TT and his existing theatre commitments.

Milly, I think they'd settle for ID :) or even Westlife!!! I didn't watch X Factor so I can't comment on the group but most young lads would probably go for the world wide success of ID ( and their bank balance) over TT and their longevity but limited world success. That is of course unless they're really musicians at heart - sorry all ID fans out there.

Following The Flood , Eight Letters should have been the second single off the album. I know many people rate Kidz but I think it was a strange choice, and for me represents everything I dislike about Progress. The video is fun but in my view the song wasn't worthy of a single release. The Flood wasn't representative of Progress as a whole and neither was EL - but both songs were head and shoulders better than the 'electronic stuff'. Boring as it is they should have stuck to their tried and tested formula - to deviate too far from it was a mistake in my view, although sales figures were of course huge. Would the album have sold so much if Kidz had been the first release - not a chance in my view. However, I do think sales would still have been strong if EL had been the initial single.

I don't think HUAL would have been successful. It's a song which comes to life in a live show but not such much as a recording. I'm probably in the minority here but I think it would tank as a single release. If I was to choose a Mark lead single then I'd go for WAFD - although if I'm honest I don't think that would do well either, although it's a great album song. Many of TT's recent releases haven't actually been single worthy material. Good solid album songs but lacking the overall quality or catchy appeal required for a successful single. Their forthcoming album really does need 3 or 4 single worthy songs. I think the album may do poorly if they can't recreate the sound of BW/Circus.

There are so, so many to choose from. I'm happy to go with Eight Letters.

As I wasn't into TT at the time I didn't realised this rumour was going around or that the press had run with it. I do remember the press coverage during Gary's solo period (brutal in all honesty) but I don't recall the Bee Gees angle at all. It's quite funny when you think of it :)

Seriously, I had to check it wasn't April 1st :) I've never heard this 'urban myth' story.

I don't get the love for TD. IMO it doesn't come close to TT's best work. It's a catchy pop song and enjoyable to listen to, but no more than that. Although I really like LMG, again it's far from Gary's best work and isn't anywhere near the quality of songs such as Forever Love.

If Gary is still friends with Roycey then he has a big heart, and is more than a little forgiving. I now recall that Roycey had a meltdown on twitter because Gary didn't drop everything to see the fan he (Roycey) had promised a meet and greet to. I think in the tweet he was very disparaging towards Gary and used the hashtag Dying Inside, which was the reason for the absolute revulsion of fans. Roycey ended up blocking many fans and sometime later he deleted the critical tweet. I remember thinking at the time it was a strange thing for a friend to do, and in such a public manner. In terms of DI, I'm surprised he released it at all. When I went to his solo concert he sang the song but for me it didn't sit right in an arena. It worked in the small intimate Radio 2 gig, but the arena was too impersonal. How he actually sings the lyrics without breaking down I simply don't know. It's one of the most personal songs I've ever heard and I can't imagine Gary will ever write something so close to his heart ever again - the lyrics are simply wonderful and authentic.

I try to temper my feelings for Mark's voice with an objective assessment of his songs. He is a talented song writer and has written some great songs. However, like you Milly I sometimes struggle to separate the two, although in the case of Babe I actually hate the song as well as the vocals. I'm sure some people dislike LMG because they don't like Gary or his vocals. Then again he is the dominant force on TD so it may simply be based on the song itself. One of the reasons I chose LMG over TD was based on hearing both live. I think LMG comes across as a stronger song in a live situation than TD does.

I don't see Gary releasing DI. It's far too personal and it wont make any impact chart wise as it's neither catchy or commercial. There are many wonderfully crafted songs which don't make the mainstream and DI falls into that category. The relationship between Roycey and Gary's seems to be a strange one. They seemed to have a friendship during X Factor and following Gary's departure, but Roycey tweeted something really unpleasant when Gary refused to meet with a fan who Roycey picked to go to one of the lll tour shows. I don't recall the wording exactly but it really was uncalled for and TT/Gary fans reacted strongly to it at the time. I'm therefore unsure as to the status of their friendship at the moment.

Oh Milly, I don't think I can make a decision on this one. DI has the most heart felt, poignant lyrics (probably Gary's best) and RTW has the most beautiful melody and orchestration. However, I will say this much: I find it very difficult to listen to DI because the lyrics are so heart breaking, whilst I can sing along and get swept away with BW - plus it's a commercial sounding song whereas DI is anything but.

I like both songs but LMG edges it for me, although I expect most people will go with TD.

I've recently bought some of their old albums. I've been shocked by how few songs are sung by the others. Gary really did dominate back then. I agree Milly he's written some................................. absolute horrors :) Really, really bad. It's strange to hear songs on an album such as BFG, NF and HBTT - and then really weak songs with few redeeming features.

Objectively .... because Mark was cute back then. The song itself is pants!!! :)

Thanks Milly. You know one of the highlights of the Hyde Park show was Cry, partly because it was a new song I'd never heard live before. In all honesty I could almost guess the set list and the position of each song in the show - that's how little change there is. I adore TT and my criticisms certainly don't take away from how fabulous they are live, but......... if someone goes to see them on a regular basis there really is a familiarity which after a while does get a little galling. It would have been wonderful to hear CMH and WYBTFM at that show. Both songs would have fitted in so well, and as they were on stage for less than 2 hours adding both of them wouldn't have been difficult. Extra production wasn't needed as both could have been placed towards the end of the show as a ballad section on the second stage. For the 25th anniversary tour the set list will almost pick itself. I guess for any lll show they'll showcase some songs off the new album which means yet again fantastic songs from previous albums will be ignored. In terms of the poll I'm not surprised at the songs chosen, although I didn't expect so many votes for HDIYL.