Ria

Maybe it's to raise the profile of the band in America? I mean the man to replace Simon Cowell, that's going to put his name into households immediately. But I agree, I don't think this is a good way of doing it. I hate to be pessimistic, but I can't imagine they're going to save the show. I only ever really liked the first series back when it was Pop Idol. I think the British public are getting a bit bored of it, just like Big Brother. The only good thing to come out of it is seeing the Barlow every week! I have to disagree with the whole 'enchanted no matter what he says' thing though. We're not completely stupid, just because we're fans.

No I agree, if it's true, but we don't know if it is do we? It just doesnt make sense though, Im pretty sure he can make a hell of a lot of money in far more satisfying ways. Even if you think money is a motivator, it can't be the only one.

Are always making him out to be a saint? His name has taken a serious beating on twitter since the news came out. It's not all positive and one sided. So there should be people willing to see the good in him just as there are obviously loads of people who see the bad. I think that yes, hes negotiated a high wage for himself, of course he has, but why is that necessarily a bad thing. However, I personally believe the main reason for him doing it is to find talent, I genuinely think he believes in it. Im sorry I know I always champion Gary, but that's just me Im afraid, I think the dude is fantastic...I probably wouldn't have said that 15 years ago though.

You should have seen the look I got from someone in HMV when I asked her where the CD singles were! :lol:

I know, I work in a secondary school, so I was very eager for this to go ahead! Haha! This was the last thing that was said about it: http://www.musicweek.com/story.asp?section...1044385&c=1 Theres loads of cuts in education too. We're going through redundancies at the moment

I wish they did still do physical copies of singles, no matter who it is. I hate downloading with a passion, seeing as apple has just been playing up for me for the past 2 hours! stressed!

Well said! I agree with everything you've said. I think Gary is always keen to find the next new talent. This isnt a new thing for him. He has his own record label, he wanted to be part of the scheme proposed by David Cameron. I think he genuinely believes in investing in new talent. Whether X Factor is the right way to go about it remains to be seen, but good luck to him I say!

I agree that we'll have to wait and see how this whole X Factor thing pans out, I'm not totally sold on the idea, but I've learned not to judge before the event itself. Especially with take that. I judged the new single on the 30 second clip and that was wrong because I quite like it now. I do find rob amusing, I think he handles interviewers well, better than the other TT members and especially when they ask stupid questions :lol: Back to the arrogance thing though, yes I think he does have an element of arrogance about him, but to be honest I don't care, for me, some people carry it off well, they deserve to be arrogant to certain extent and I think he's one of those people. Believe me, if he'd done something that disappointed me, I'd change my mind, but he hasn't....yet! But this is just my own personal opinion and I don't expect anyone to agree with me. And yes, he's someone I admire, I don't think that makes me weak though.

I know, I thought we were being cheated when they said 10 eps, thank god it got extended. Im just eagerly awaiting the moment arhtur finds out about merlin...oooh i hope its this series, coz then series 5 can be the pair of them taking everyone on as a true team! ooooh im gettin excited! :lol:

I've got to try and remember to download it before sunday!

I don't really remember back as far as the Never Forget musical and I dont think I read anything, so I can't really comment, but I can see why that would come across as arrogant. Maybe he's just bitter about the whole thing, because as I understood it, he wasn't particularly happy about others having the rights to his songs. But we get into the nitty gritty of contracts there, and thats something I avoid! lol! In terms of the fun, I think it's still there! Maybe just up against Robbie's clowning antics and behaviour, he looks more subdued...I mean who could upstage rob? He was great on the Chris Moyles marathon show, and other times he's been into the show. The kili climb was good too, and he was suffering with his back. Maybe there's just not so many opportunities for the light hearted interviews anymore and the focus is always on rob anyway. I think people are so quick to criticise Gary, they just want to knock him down a peg or 2 it seems, and scrutinise his every move. It'll get even worse come X Factor time! :( I don't think I can be critical of Gary I'm afraid because I guess I want to see him through rose tinted glasses...but what annoys me is that other members of the band are guilty of much worse and yet its never mentioned. In terms of role model, you can't go far worse than Gary in my opinion.

I guess it's the difference of having all songs on the album to an OK standard or having an album where some are absolute stunners, timeless classics! Its all down to preference at the end of the day. But I see what you're saying Progress is a much more unified album, but then does that mean that they all sound a bit samey? Regarding Howard- Yeah but then Gary had already written alot of the bac tracks, how much input did Howard have really? We only saw the occasional clips on LBDS, and the fact that he felt he had to push harder to have an input, isnt great in my opinion. Plus, Jason having a hidden track??? Whats that all about! I remember being at the o2 for BW tour and a group of lads singing (albeit drunkenly!) along to Wooden Boat, that was fantastic to see (no really, it was!) And the emotion he felt when singing How Did It Come To This....that was fantastic to see. I just can't see the same being true of Flowerbed. But maybe I'll be proved wrong. It's not the first time, and thats just today! The miming- It never occured to me actually! I'll have to go back and have a look, it sounded live to me, I can usually spot a mime a mile off unless its been recorded again to sound live, so that it doesnt sound finished. I really hope not, but if they did maybe theres a reason. I cant imagine its just sheer laziness.

I don't think he meant it as harshly as some people (not here) have implied. And how can it be egotistical if hes talking about others as well? I think he's genuinely proud of what they've achieved and they should be. They've pulled off a comeback from essentially being a laughing stock in the public eye. I'll admit, I was cynical when I heard they were coming back and then I saw the Ultimate Tour (Relight My Fire). It was that ability to know what their audience wanted without being afraid of who they were. Yes they were a boyband with cheesy but great pop songs, but theyve never shied away from their roots. Good for them, they should be proud of themselves.

I don't really know, just a feeling. Maybe because out of the 3 albums I feel it's the closest to their 90's stuff (Back For Good etc) That's exactly how I feel. Progress for me, ironically didn't feel like the natural progression for Take That. I felt that Howard and Jason were just on the brink of coming into their own, and it seems to have been overshadowed somewhat. I'll be honest, I don't like the new dynamic of the band, it now feels unbalanced, in the non-insane sense of the word...i think! :lol: Before Robbie, it felt balanced and prefessional I guess. I'm not going to get shot for saying that am i? :unsure:

That's interesting, I didn't think BW would appeal to males at all, but then I guess you have Shine, Rule The World (Tour Edition) etc. It is a brilliant album. I do love The Circus though, possibly because of my fond memories of the tour. I agree Kathy, Love Love is no RTW or Shine, but it definitely has grown on me ...in an instant! :lol: So does this mean we'll get a Tour Edition of Progress with Love Love included, much like they did for Beautiful World? They have said they've been writing again