Interview with Take That
“Just have a little paaaatience.” Take That could’ve sung that to their fans ten years ago when they broke up shortly after Robbie Williams’ departure from the band.
They’re back. The ultimate boy band from the 90s that caused hysteria amongst teenage girls and reeked of money for record companies, who had finally found the “novel”, money-inducing idea they were looking for, has reformed. And so what if Robbie Williams didn’t join his four former bandmates? Who needs him anyway? Take That Minus Robbie are doing fine without the megastar, selling out in every venue. We met up with Mark Owen and Jason Orange in London for a chat. And judging from their timidity, it was obvious that they had been out of the spotlight for too long.
The classic question: why and when did you guys decide to reform?
JO: Why? Well, we did this documentary. I’ll tell you the story quickly if you like. Our old record company phoned our ex-manager and said, “We’re going to re-release the greatest hits of Take That. Would the boys like to get together and talk about it and do some promotion maybe?” And we said, “Yeah, we’ll do this documentary.” It got so well-received in the UK – lots of people tuned in to watch it – it reminded people who we were and people started to talk about us again. A tour promoter in the UK offered us some money to go on tour, and we said, “Yeah, we’ll do it.” We did the tour and then a record label offered us some more money to do a record. We said, “Yeah, we’ll do it.”
So it’s for money?
JO: No. But I wouldn’t do it for free! (Laughs)
MO: I think it was the challenge as well and the chance to be creative. I think there are so many aspects that come into it – the chance to heal. Some wounds still remained from when the band ended and we never had the chance to heal. So I think it worked on many different levels.
Was the break beneficial to you creatively? How did you grow during that time?
MO: Since the end of the band? Well, I think you come out of a band like that not really knowing yourself well. I just didn’t now who I was anymore. I’d been in this band for five-six years. I was 17, I think, when I started in it. So [after our break-up], I went on a discovery trip. I tried to get far away from the band through music. Music was my way of expressing myself. I chose to do that. And that world was sometimes great and sometimes hard. But now being here, I’m grateful for the hard times. I think I’m more grateful. I think I learned more about myself in the ten years after the band than the six years I was in it.
Do you believe the hard times were a result of people judging you just because you were an ex-Take That?
MO: I don’t think it matters anymore. When I look back now, I realize I wasn’t ready to make my first record, really, as an artist. With my second record, I got back in the record industry. I realized the good part of it was that I got to make a record. The bad part of it was that I realized that I didn’t get any value as an individual. And the last record, I made it on my own record and that was an enjoyable process.
Did it feel strange at first to be back together again?
JO: Yeah, it was, and it still is sometimes to get back together after ten years. Now we’re older and in those ten years, we grew more independent of one another, so sometimes it’s still awkward and sometimes we’re still finding our feet with each other. Fifteen years ago when we got together the first time, we were young and we had a hierarchy and we were very controlled by management. We were all younger and more naïve, I suppose. But this time, we’re older and hopefully more mature, and maybe a bit wiser. So sometimes, you’re jostling. A more direct answer to your question is: sometimes it’s awkward, and maybe it will always be to an extent. And maybe that’s not a bad thing. I think it’s quite good. We still have a good creative dynamic. When the four of us get together, things seem to happen.
MO: The good thing now is that we can talk about it being awkward and we can have discussions and sometimes conflict, whereas in the past, we couldn’t.
JO: Yeah, we just buried them.
Did you ever think at one point, “I would’ve liked to have Robbie’s career”?
MO: It’s difficult to project yourself. I never wanted his career.
JO: To be honest, I’ve gotten through most of my life not knowing what I want. Sometimes I dreamt – I still do – of having power over people. (Laughs) So when I see someone like Robbie Williams or David Beckham, I can walk down the street in a daydream: maybe if I was David Beckham, I could do that with football, I would be captain, I would have this much attention, I would have power over people’s thinking. So for me, it’s having an influence over people’s thinking more than it’s about having someone’s career.
How did you all contribute to the songwriting on this album?
MO: Sometimes we write together as a group, sometimes we went off into different pairs. But whenever songs came back, they were always then looked at by the other members. Arrangements were looked at, extra parts were added, extra harmony, change a lyric here and there. Sometimes songs were initiated by a seed planted by Gary, watered by Jason, maybe trimmed by Howard and picked by me.
JO: I like this plant metaphor!
Your songs are more diverse, breaking the assumptions of what Take That is supposed to be.
JO: Yeah, that’s true. Good observation! We had the singles in the first few weeks of writing. We knew we had songs that were radio-friendly. We wanted to experiment, thereby producing songs like “Wooden Boat”, which is more folksy, and “Shine”. We want to expand on that diversification in the future.
Do you think that Take That constrained in an image?
JO: Yeah.
Did it bother you?
JO: At the time, no. I can’t speak for all of is, but for me it was something I bought into myself. I believed it myself at the time enough to sell it. But in hindsight, I realize that we were constrained.
And if this album picks up, will you continue?
JO: I’m not sure. One step at a time.
A lot of bands from the 80’s have reformed in the past couple of years. Which band would you like to see reformed?
JO: The Smiths. It’s not gonna happen though!
MO: Stone Roses.
Do you realize the impact that you’ve had? Your former fans, now in their 30s, are still eager to see you live.
JO: Only now. I didn’t know at the time we we’re in this situation, I just didn’t know. We had an entourage – it’s the same old cliché: the more famous we became, the more people surrounded us. So it was difficult for us to see beyond our immediate entourage. I thought the hysteria was a bit of a joke – I didn’t really buy into that. I thought it was a game that we were playing, they were playing. I didn’t believe it, really. I still don’t to be honest. It’s a strange old phenomenon. “Aaaa!” (imitates screaming teenage fan) That effect – I don’t really believe that. I think it’s something people do when their hormones are changing. They either get hysterical about a football game or a pop band.
What’s the best part about being back together again?
JO: In the past 12 months, I’ve had to face some fears. I’ve had to deal with a part of my life which wasn’t completely dealt with. I was able to get physical again through the dance routines on the tour – I’d forgotten how much I liked dancing – and I’ve earned lots more money!
MO: It’s nice to have a job.
JO: A focus.
MO: I like to have a job. The last record, I did by myself. I was spending my own money to give myself a job, and it’s kind of nice just having a job.
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