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Take That
Take That are about to wow London on their biggest and boldest tour yet, arriving at Wembley Stadium on June 30 2011 for eight shows. But will this tour also be their last? Time Out's editor corners them in Dublin's Croke Park Stadium to find out…
They'd have you believe, would Take That, that this is all normal, run of the mill. Just a group of friends, backstage, about to play a concert. Just, you know, hanging out. One of them, Mark, is busy making pasta for two of the others, Howard and Robbie. Gary is making a business call, Jason smiling for a photo. Robbie's wife, Ayda, is there, and two of their eight dogs are running around the place. Just a group of friends, spending time together. Except this is Croke Park, Dublin, capacity 77,000, and this is the biggest tour Britain and Ireland have ever seen.
Some facts and figures about Take That's 'Progress' tour: 1.76 million people in UK and Ireland will see them perform live this summer. The band will play a record-breaking eight nights at Wembley Stadium. That record was previously held by Michael Jackson, who played seven nights there on his 1988 'Bad' world tour. Two hundred and eighty-seven people are on the road at all times with an extra 160 local crew in each city. The show and performance are so elaborate, so detailed, that in an empty stadium, it takes 48 hours to build the stage and set. At each date, a field kitchen is constructed where 14 chefs and catering staff prepare more than 1,100 restaurant-quality meals per day. Oh yeah, and on the stage with them is a huge robot which has been given the nickname of 'Om'. Om is 20 metres high and weighs 25 tonnes. It took 14 weeks to build him.
As Dublin is about to find out, in four and a half hours' time, this tour is taller, wider, camper, more roboty and, yes, way bigger than any we've ever seen. Now, you did remember to get yourself a ticket, didn't you?
Incredibly, when it's all over, this tour probably won't be remembered for its hugeness. Instead, it will be remembered primarily for being 'the tour that Robbie Williams was on'. Robbie rejoined the band officially in 2010, some 15 years after leaving the group ('I was sacked, I didn't leave,' he will protest later onstage) for, at first, a period hanging out with Oasis, then rehab, then a series of huge-selling singles and albums, then more rehab, then a flop album followed swiftly by a pledge to stop touring for good. One constant theme throughout this whole period was Williams's disregard for, or, at times, downright loathing of, his time in the band. He'd tell the audience at the Brit Awards that he'd always been the talented one of the group. He'd perform the band's biggest hit, 'Back for Good', on his solo tours as an aggressive, confrontational, thrash hate song. While sitting on a motorised toilet. It's a wonder Take That wanted him back at all, but they did and the resulting album, 'Progress', is their best one yet, and ended up being the bestselling album in the UK last year. But Williams's history of live-show burn-out in his solo career made a tour of 'Progress' seem unlikely.
So how did they get to this point? What happens now? And why the hell can't Howard Donald and Robbie Williams make their own bloody pasta?
At just after 4pm, Mark Owen walks into the friends-and-family lounge beneath Ireland's biggest sporting venue. Mark is softly spoken, fragile and badly burnt by the press fallout from things that happened on the last Take That tour. In March last year he admitted to multiple one-night stands on the band's 2009 tour, 'The Circus'. In an interview with The Sun, he blamed his heavy 'party boy' drinking for the affairs. He checked in to rehab the next day. Mark is married with two young children. Personally he's been through a tough time. Professionally it's a different story.
He was often a creative bystander in the group's early-'90s boy-band days, but the reformed Take That now feels as though it is largely formed around Mark's lyrical themes, imaginative ideas and outlandish performances. He plays a leading role in a band he was once a pretty-boy frontman for, but appears to still have insecurities about his position. He also thinks way too much about stuff. All of this combined makes him a cautious interviewee.
When you were all planning this tour, what did you want to achieve? What questions did you ask yourselves?
'We just wanted a tour that did justice to the reunion, to Robbie playing with us again. But how do you play it? Do we sing on Robbie's solo songs? Does he sing on the songs we've made as a foursome? It wasn't easy.'
How is Robbie dealing with being back? The rumours had it that he didn't want to tour at all…
'It's great to see him perform with such passion. Because speaking to him a year and a half ago, you'd get the impression that he wouldn't do it. He thought he wouldn't be able to get on stage again. He'd fallen out of love with it all. The spark's back, he's bouncing around. We feel so blessed that he's back with us - it's such a joyful thing, it really is.'
Certain aspects of your behaviour on the last Take That tour have been well documented since. How are things different this time around?
'Well I've been going home a lot! I've been doing the shows then going home to see my kids. I never did that before. I always thought that the mentality was “When you go on tour, you go on tour”. I've realised now that it doesn't have to be like that. Life needn't be that one way or another. So we finish here in Dublin tomorrow then I go home for a few days. I don't feel as disconnected from my family now. When we're doing the dates and I'm off-stage I just spend a lot of my time on my own being quiet. Our head chef guy is teaching me some recipes too, so I'm cooking stuff most nights.'
And the temptations you succumbed to after shows previously - how do you pull yourself away from them now? What's replaced them?
'Green & Blacks organic milk chocolate! The world when you drink is different to when you don't. So different. There are different habits when you drink. I would come off stage and start drinking. Just head to the bar. That's what everyone does when they finish the show. Then you realise you don't need to go to the bar. You just don't need to go there.'
Were the tabloid revelations the thing that made you stop?
'They'd already stopped, to be honest. [Goes very quiet] It's difficult to talk about all of this...'
I understand…
'[Interrupting] I don't know whether you do understand because I have a wife and two kids and actually it's nobody's fucking business. My wife will read this interview, and her friends will. And we've dealt with it. I don't want to make her feel sick again, you know? Because I did make her feel sick and she's just starting to not feel sick after a year and a half and… [Starts welling up] I don't want to make her feel sick any more. I feel the most peaceful I have ever felt. I'm the luckiest… [Trails off].
'This tour for me is a lovely cap on it all. I'm not looking beyond this, at this moment in time, not with the band. It's a chance to say thank you to 1.8 million people, thank you for sticking by us through the last 20 years for all our shit, these five fucking idiots, because that's what we are are, all our shit that we've gone through they've stuck by us. Then I want to go home and spend some time with my kids and my wife and look after them for a bit.'
You were about to say how lucky you feel. Is this because you realise that you could have lost all of that?
'You realise none of this is worth anything without them. None of it. If I don't have them… there's no point to any of it.'
Have they been out on tour with you?
'They came to Sunderland. My wife is coming out for virtually all of the European leg too. Elwood watched his first show, Willow watched half. Elwood loved the robot!'
What happens after this? You make it sound, with some of the things you say, that this is you bowing out?
'I don't know. I don't know. In my head at the moment… I just want to get through this at the moment. If there's stuff that we can do, we'll do it. If something happens that means there's a reason to carry on we will. If we come up with songs we think people will want to hear we'll do them. If someone comes up with an idea that's about putting money in the bank then no…'
How's the next year of your life panning out in your head?
'The mind's a funny thing. I hear it in my head sometimes: “What are you going to do when this tour finishes? Gary's got 'The X Factor', Robbie's got a solo record, what about you? You're gonna get left behind again?” I hear that voice. And I go: “No, I'm not.” I'm going to enjoy myself, I'm going to take my time. One of the hardest things to do is nothing. That's what I'm going to try and do when this tour ends. Nothing. Achieve nothing.'
The band's security guard comes to fetch Mark. He's needed elsewhere.
'I'm sorry for snapping at you,' he says, then adds quietly: 'Sorry if I offended you.'
Gary Barlow wanders into the room. He starts talking about Owen, unaware of what we've just been discussing.
'Look at him, still trying to hog the headlines! Mark - the head judge is here!'
It's 4.45pm now, the doors to the stadium have just opened and Gary Barlow is already talking about the thing Time Out was told he wouldn't be talking about - his new role as head judge on 'The X Factor'. Mark leaves for his tenth fag of the day and his fourth coffee.
Gary Barlow is a whole different ball game to Mark Owen. Louder, more self-assured and patently not someone who overthinks anything. 'I leave that to Mark,' he says, quite correctly. Seen as the controlling, creative figure in the band in their early days, a role which meant he bore the brunt of Robbie's ire in his time away from the band, Barlow has relaxed into a far more democratic role. But it is still his band really, and with his boundless energy and inability to stress about any of the madness Barlow is an important figure in a group full of eccentrics. Life hasn't always been peachy - when his solo career fell apart in the late '90s he turned to drugs and suffered from depression. But it's this tough time that has made him so determined to enjoy every second of his renaissance. Including taking on a second role as a primetime ITV1 judge. Talking of which, and seeing as how he brought up the subject…
Throughout much of this tour you've been judging 'The X Factor' contestants during the day and singing live at night and you seem to be dealing with it…
'Workwise, they're pretty tough those days, but from a mental situation - which I'm often driven by - as I'd sit there on the helicopter being taken from “The X Factor” to a gig, I think: This is life at the top; this is as big as it gets. You won't find me complaining about that 'cos I know what it's like to be out of work with nobody interested in you, and it's shit.'
Apparently you're the tough-guy judge?
'Apparently I am! I don't know how it comes across but if they're no good I'll say I'm not interested. But I'm going to be tough on everyone, especially the acts I'll be looking after. 'Cos it's serious, this. It's bloody hard to make a living in music and I don't want to dress it up for anybody. Our responsibility is to mentor these people properly and we put through the ones that not only deserve a place but are also mentally prepared to take it on. They're plucked from nowhere, they're put into this spotlight - and “The X Factor” spotlight is bigger than any other. You see the slightest sign that they can't deal with that… well, you can't use them.'
Reports at the time of the Manchester gigs alleged that your female fans were getting so drunk they were becoming a burden on the city's ambulance services. Your fans are all drunkards: fair or unfair?
'I looked around and there were a few lairy people at those Manchester gigs. They come for a good night out and however they want to conduct themselves, well, it's up to them, really. I'm not bothered - as long as they're not causing too much trouble, not hurting one another, I'm fine with whatever they do.'
It has a knock-on effect though, doesn't it? Police in Glasgow are now saying that if your fans get drunk at the gig then try and get on a train home they could be arrested.
'Really? [Laughs] Right, well I hope they've extra staff on.'
Everyone was expecting Robbie to choke at some point. How has he been?
'Amazing. Never seen him like this before.'
Were you worried he'd change his mind?
'I was at the very start. 'Cos he did change his mind a couple of times! The touring was always the icing on the cake. We thought: If we can get this album done and away - great. Then if we tour… well, that would be amazing. And Robbie was just not looking forward to doing it on tour. He liked being with us and enjoyed spending time with us but the tour side of it seemed like a no-no. He has issues with the touring thing because of what happened before. Self-doubt and the rest. But there's been no issues at all. Me and Mark watch him every night do his solo bit from the side of the stage and we say, “Well, we've done our job here.”'
Gary is a little bit more sure on what his plans will be over the next year and a half. But his plans don't feature a new Take That album. He'll be producing Robbie's next solo album, performing a Children in Need concert in November, then in 2012 he's musical director for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee gig ('I'd prefer it with the band, but if it turns out they don't want to do it I'll do something on my own'). And he has his eye on a slot at the Olympics closing ceremony ('If asked, we'll do it'). Something tells me they'll ask.
Howard pops in to the lounge for a quick chat. The oldest of the band, and a father of two, Howard was recruited primarily for his dancing skills, but his singing on fan favourite 'Never Forget' and tracks on their more recent albums have meant he's increasingly been regarded as a lead vocalist in his own right. Howard is sure about his plans for the next 18 months: he's going to learn to fly a plane.
'I'm going to be doing my private pilot's licence. I ordered a plane last year' - he announces this with all the casualness of someone telling you which toppings they plumped for on their pizza - 'from America, and it's an amphibious plane so it can land on water and land. That doesn't arrive until 2013, so I've got to learn how to fly one before it arrives! It's always been one of my ambitions to fly a plane. Can't wait.'
The concert that night is a triumph. It's a spectacle unlike any other the country has seen. Even Om the robot - who is supposed to unfurl to his full height as the show progresses - works, and he has been temperamental on five dates already (including one memorable night in Manchester when Howard got stuck on top of him and had to be rescued by ladder). Dubliners go home happy. I go back to London, where the tour is heading now. Wembley, Gary makes clear, isn't just another date. Or eight dates. It's the ultimate date.
'You enjoy the hometown gigs, the Irish gigs, all of them,' he says. 'But I think as a venue Wembley is the one everyone dreams of. As a kid the TV show you would dream of was “Top of the Pops”, and the gig you would dream of was Wembley Stadium.'
But is it the end? Almost certainly not, but no one is giving me concrete evidence that plans for the future are being made. Maybe they're just too shattered (and exhilarated) to make plans. The only pattern emerging is of a group of people unable to see how they can top what they're doing now. And, frankly, how can they?
Take That play Wembley Stadium June 30, July 1, 2, 4-6, 8, 9.
Seriously!!! an interview!!! more like a grilling. Mark did wrong just like millions of people do every day, he has apologised to fan's and obviously sorted his family life out so why keep badgering him about it. If the fans and his wife can forgive and leave it in the past why cant an interviewer who needs to learn how to interview.
He is probably one of the most decent people alive as most men would either deny what they did or not really care that they broke someones heart! He understood what he'd done and fixed it. He is getting his life back on track and thats why people who are loyal fans see past his mistakes! Other people should as well! I also totally agree that the way he was spoken to was really wrong and unprofessional. I dont understand why people need to know about celebs personal lives. Its there lives and dont need the whole world knowing about it!!
I was very upset with the way Mark was spoken to. As people have said, it shows what a nice guy he is apologising, even though he didn't do anything wrong! I think this interview is terribly unprofessional!!!!!!!
i think this interview just proved that mark is a really nice guy the fact that he said sorry for snaping when he had every right too and how he was making pasta for robbie and howard ;) make there looking after everyone.
Utterly unimpressed with the interview and in agreement with the other fans on here. Unnecessary questionning of Mark, I got the impression that the interview was meant to be about the best tour in history not Mark's private life. Do not understand why the questions continued despite Mark's clear upset and his not wanting to discuss things that have been and gone. The private lives of the band members should remain private and I will remain a loyal fan regardless of the kind of rubbish that appears in the press about them, as will other fans I'm sure. The interview with Gary seemed to begin a bit better but rapidly declined - why question him about the reports of fans at the gigs being drunk? This has nothing to do with him or the other band members and his brief responses could have been predicted. Even the commentary between the interviews has an overtly negative slant - I don't understand why this article has gone to print. Time Out - Take That fans await your apology
disgusting interview. Mark apologised and he and his family moved on. Why bring it up? Absolutley sick. Mark Frith should sincerley apologise to Mark Owen for the upset he has caused to his family and of course himself. Action is needed. And also saying that all fans are Drunkards: fair or unfair? WHAT KIND OF QUESTION IS THAT??? just because of some fans getting drunk and having fun at a concert you are suggesting ALL Take That fans are drunkards?? IM 14 FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!! Very angry and appaulled. Shame on you!!!
Cant believe how he brought up Marks past, let him put the pa st bhind and move on with his pretty wife who adoes him and has stood by him, I was so excited to see the boys at manchester I had just een through chemo for breast cancer and at christmas didnt think I would get there, to me it was amazing to be there it was a dream come true. mMy husband has said since that show my confidece has come back and im smiling again so please stop saying all fans are drunken woman out for a good time keep smiling that gorgeous smile Markie Im your number one fan
I think Mark has done what he had to do, he must be tired of people asking him about his personal life. it's normal his reaction, I understand him. I would do the same ;-)
you should be ashamed at yourself! mark has apologised for his mistakes and like he says- his family were just beginning to move on; Mark Frith should not be allowed to interview anyone else if that's the sort of interviewer he is- almost reducing someone to tears?! As a 15 year old major TT fan- I am very much interested in the lives of the band, but to ask such personal and upsetting questions, and to follow them up when Mr Frith could clearly see Mark was getting upset- is degrading and demeaning. I hope action is taken against Mr Frith and a public apology is said to Mark Owen! We love you Mark! xx
you should be ashamed at yourself! mark has apologised for his mistakes and like he says- his family were just beginning to move on; Mark Frith should not be allowed to interview anyone else if that's the sort of interviewer he is- almost reducing someone to tears?! As a 15 year old major TT fan- I am very much interested in the lives of the band, but to ask such personal and upsetting questions, and to follow them up when Mr Frith could clearly see Mark was getting upset- is degrading and demeaning. I hope action is taken against Mr Frith and a public apology is said to Mark Owen! We love you Mark! xx
I am appalled. You should be ashamed of yourselves not only did you upset Mark but you made some really nasty comments about their fans to!! Which btw most are under the drinking age so drunkards?? doesn't really make sense does it.
thats discusting. Cant get over it, sick,so disrespctful towards mark and his family, could of talked about plenty other things,the tour,x men,x factor anything. stop bringing up the pas! hes obviousley sorry,nobodys perfect. Mark your fans will always love you!
This is disgusting! And completely disrespectful towards Mark and his family! He has made it clear that he doesn't want to talk about it to the press by never mentioning it! Which also shows how genuine he is and how he isn't going to exploit his issues for publicity like most other celebrities! His past is his past, and its over now. Him and his family are moving forward with their lives and mentioning this kind of thing in interviews might stop that!
It made me feel awful reading this interview because it is way too personal and shouldn't be out there for the whole world to see! This should never have been printed.
Whenever an artist is really suceeding and are doing really well, theres always someone somewhere who has to put a downer on everything. You're suppose to be interviewing Take That, not looking into private life that is well in the past !
Take That are currently making thousands of peoples dreams come true why not focus on that?
I don't understand why this interview was printed. Private life is private I think.
Oh how disgusting he is bringing that up again! How dare he make Mark cry! The past is the past and no one elses business except for him, his wife & his family and the people he WANTS to share it with. We love you Markie, always :) xx
This interview indeed shows what a fragile and beautiful creature Mark is. I wish him all the best.
I think this interview is utterly and completely disrespectful to Mark and his family. He is entitled to a private life, and what happened in his private life is no business of ours. I cannot believe how rude this interviewer is asking him those questions and making him uncomfortable!
Also, what annoys me, Jason Orange is a member of this band incase this interviewer had forgotten. Maybe Jason was busy, but still, people always seem to ignore that Jason is part of the band, he plays a big part in Take That i think; he should get more recognition for his amazing singing (he should get more vocals too!) and his OUTSTANDING dancing ability! :)
I am appalled at the extremely low level of professionalism shown by your interviewer. If someone tells you theres something they'd rather not talk about then you leave them be!!! Not only that but you even had the nerve to ask them in the first place!! I've never heard of you newspaper or whatever kind of business your running here but i don't feel id like to read anymore of this rubbish! and the comment "all your fans are drunkards" was both unnecessary and utterly utterly stupid! a huge chunk of Take Thats fanbase are under the drinking age so what the hell were you thinking!?!
Well that was awkward...I was looking forward to reading some interesting stuff about the tour and the atmosphere beackstage, but this article is a complete fail. What were you trying to achieve by making Mark this uncomfortable? You thought he was going to snap or leave, so you could have something "spicy" to write? Jeez...He's jonly human and makes mistakes like all of us.
Now that the tour is so successful, he's got his spark back and I really hope Mark knows how much us fans love him. It breaks my heart to know how upset this interviewer made him...
What could have been a great interview (and should have been, focusing on how remarkable these 5 men are, and what they have achieved) spoilt by somebody's need to feel better than Mark by dragging up his past. Disgraceful behaviour. I for one won't be buying a copy of this magazine. Shameful. Mr Frith should know better than to upset a Thatter!
what should have been a positive interview with take that became a witch hunt of poor mark.
You press should know, we're not interested in Mark's private life. He's got a family to look up to. What he has done with his life is up to him. Anybody needs explanations. Who are we to ask for them? Horrible interview....Mr. Frith, you could have done much better, or at least show some respect.
Mark Owen, you've never let us fans down. You're a great artist, amazing songwriter and a beautiful person. We'll always stay by your side. No matter what.
it makes me sad to read such an interview. why is it not about the current tour but about Mark's private life? I have the feeling the interviewer is just trying to dig up dirt here. It is Mark's very private thing and the press should finally leave him alone. He is only human and him and his whole family have gone through such a lot already, give him and his loved ones a rest for god's sake.
Basically I think the interviewer was way out of order, he should be ashamed of himself putting Mark on the spot like that. I don't even want to imagine how Mark felt at that moment because it makes me so sad, he's the most kind, funny and gorgeous man ever and he does not deserve this at all! Like he said 'It's nobodys f-ing business'!!!! People make mistakes, we learn from then and move on! People who dwell on things just don't hav a life at all. So a message to Mark, forget that idiot... keep wearing that perfect smile and just be happy because us Mark fans (and there are many many out there) will love you no matter what you do... xxxxxx
Really not impressed by this interview. So much to focus on but to keep on at a man who publicly apologized for his wrong doings and didn't hide behind a superinjunction(sorry Howard). The fact that Mark is a kind person saved you from a walkout. I don't think Gary would have been so forthcoming if he had known what had been said. I don't want to read about last tours antics I want to know about this years!
Read this interview last night and was disgusted and shocked at how the interviewer asked such personal questions. It must have been a horrible time for both him and his wife when everything came out, but imagine how much more horrible it would be finding your personal business splashed on practically every newspaper in the country... Mark is human too you know, and we all make mistakes. He apologised at the time and he shouldn't have to be keep on being reminded about what happened even a year after! Why can't the media just let him move on from that like anybody else would be able to, just because he is famous doesn't mean he deserves to have to be reminded constantly about it. The interview should have just been about the tour, I don't see why that had to be brought up. Can't believe Mark even apologised for reacting the way he did (not surprised he got a bit angry/upset, I would have been fuming if I was him! Shows what a kind and genuine man Mark is for apologising to the interviewer) Surely it should have been the interviewer apologising to him...
This interview was so insensitive and horrible. Celebrities are real people too! Mark apologised, dealt with the problem and he and his family appear to be at a happy, peaceful place right now. So why bring up all this stuff again!?
I cannot believe the nerve of the interviewer. I feel so sorry for Mark and his family. The issues have been dealt with, let's move onto the amazing tour, and the unbelievable music they are all creating right now. Take That are the most beautiful people in the world, and Mark is so talented, so lovely, he does not deserve this treatement.
Don't worry Mark, all the Thatters are behind you! We love you!
Your interview is just so horrible,
It made me really angry when I read it!
Mark Owen is a wonderful man, we all know what he did in the past, but well, that's past, he apologised many many times and we've forgiven him, so how can you dare to bring this up again? Everytime someone mentiones it now, Mark and Emma have to go through this again and again! How would you feel if everyone would know everything about your private live? Every mistake you made in the past? And then everyone keeps asking you about it? You would feel awful, wouldn't you? So stop bothering Mark with such things!
This article should be how great the Tour and the performance of Take That is, and not about Mark's personal problems!!
I and many other Take That fans will NOT buy this magazine, so if you meant selling more copies with that interview, you achieved exactly the opposite!!
And one last thing:
Mark Owen, me and many other people love you and will stick by you, whatever happens!!
I'm totally gobsmacked by this interview! You get a rare chance to chat to the band on their (and Britains) biggest ever tour, and all you want is to drag up the past with Mark? It is in the past, it has been dealt with, move on loser everyone else has! Oh and the comment about Mark going off for his tenth fag and fourth coffee of the day -nice. I can't believe he apologised. Well done TT we all love you, I saw you last night at Villa Park and you were amazing, after 19 years as a TT fan it really was the icing on the cake!
i dont think you understand how much we all love take that and care about each member and dont want to see them upset. were all sticking together its not nice.
how would you like your private life constantly being talked about. this interview should be happy not dawning on the past. everyone makes mistakes and this should be about progress not about marks past. you said he was fragile and overthinks things at the start so why should you bring up the questions. he shouldnt of said sorry. hes one of the most nicest, down to earth and kindest celebs that there is around. you make him feel worthless. why bring it up when its just going to upset his wife and kids. when he doesnt want that. he expressed his feelings he didnt want to talk about it. just move the questions on.
This is a disgusting interview! How dare you bring up the past when Mark has apologised for it and his family has forgiven him! Should Emma have to go through it all again just for you to sell some extra copies?
Personally, I will never be buying this magazine again and I will expect an apology to Mark and Emma from Mark Firth.
Horrified!!
I am horrified by this interview and hundreds of other Take That fan are! The way you interviewed Mark like a vulcher is quite frankly disgusting. This was meant to be an article regarding the boys huge succes on the Progress Tour, yet you find it acceptable to make a decent man feel terrible about himself all over again so you can sell a few more copies, well let me tell you... None of us Take That fans will be buying one. Your interview skills shock me, you went over the line and deserve no rewards from this!
i think ths interview is shocking! What was in the past should stay in the past
I think this interview was shocking! Mark Owen was clearly not comfortable talking about his personal life! What's in the past should stay in the past and not be brought up by some journalist who thinks that if he gets any information from Mark on that particular topic that more people will want to read it.
The interview conducted should have been about the Progress tour NOT Mark Owens personal life! It is not fair on him or his family to bring it all up again when all has been forgiven.
Just remember Mark & Take That:all your fans are behind you 100% no matter what!
Horrible horrible interview grow up and leave mark alone
His family has forgotten why bring the past up
i think this is disgusting the way Mark was treated on this interview, he made it obvious that he didnt want to talk about the past and all of his regrets but no, you still carry it on. Mark had no reason to apologise to them for this he is not the one in the wrong, too right he should of snapped and if anything you offended Mark. Alot of fans are upset at thia interview because it shouldnt of been about his personal life. We all love Mark Owen!!
I'm sorry to say I also found the questions posed to Mark Owen about his private life went overboard and the article itself left me with a bitter aftertaste. Completely unfair to put him through it in the middle of such a long and tiring comeback tour. Mark and his family are working hard to put it all behind them, the fans have put it behind them and so should the media. We're all very proud of Mark and stand behind him and the rest of the band as they make progress right now. There was also no mention of Jason - yet again! Let's all concentrate on the Take That of the present and the future instead, because that's all that really matters. Oh, and Mark Owen: we love you!
I can't believe this interview it made me sick the way you spoke to mark Owen
Grow up you overstep the line and you don't have a heart this was appalling
From a very very loyal tthatter downunder Leanne
Leave Mark alone!! He and his wife have moved on, he is working hard to sort things out and spend time with his family. We all make mistakes and thats fact!! How can anyone get over the past with questions such as this??
Horrible and pressurising... Couldn't you just have asked about the tour etc instead of being so personal.
Your fans Love you mark and you have proved you are truly sorry for the mistakes you made. Your fans love you xx
This is the most pathetic thing I have ever read!! How dare you make Mark Owen feel like that in the middle of the most successful tour in history. This journalist was not content with getting sone backstage info on this amazing tour, but thought he'd rather shock & dig out old wounds in the hope for some extra press!! Personally I am disgusted & will never read this magazine again! What an awful negative "interview"! Mark is not on the witness stand you fool!! His poor family have been through enough & that's now old news & it's pretty evil to bring it back up!! Oh & also if Mark wants to make his friends pasta then that's his choice!!!! Disgusting, pathetic interview by a ridiculous gossip monger! Proper journalists would be embarrassed!! You should be ashamed of yourself!!!!
It was so wrong to drag all this up again Mark and his family have dealt with this and moved on why couldn't you just concentrate on this amazing tour and Rob being back Mark we ur fans love you and will always be here to support you or any of the boys xxxx
This could have been a really good interview about the tour but was spoiled by the interviewer raking up marks demons. The past is the past and if mark and his family have moved on and dealt with it then so should the press! Mark shouldn't have to apologise, he was backed into a corner and bit back! A normal human reaction!
I am appauled at Mark Frith's interview! Surely it should have been about the tour, the album, the fact our boys are performing as a 5 piece for the first time in 15 years! How low can he go, upsetting poor Mark & dragging back up what he & his family are probably still working through! He is right what he said Emma won't want to read all that again! He has tried to put it in past but how can he when insensitive reporters, continually drag it back up! I'm also disgusted at Time Out magazine for printing it & printing Mark's reactions!! I don't think you realise how angry you have made Take That fans!!
Mark your fans love you, & hate the fact this horrible reporter has caused you upset, especially as I was probably outside Croke Park stadium when this interview was happening!
Mark Frith & Time Out, you should apologise to Mark & his family for the upset!!!
This could have been a fantastic positive interview about the tour and X-Men song Love Love oh and asking if they would perform on X-Factor? Instead it was disgusting the way this reporter made Mark feel, he has dealt with his demons, moved on and turned things around by being happy! Guess media don't understand that or don't like it! I saw Mark apologised to the interviewer for quite rightly getting angry about being pressurised into talking about his private life! Didn't see no apology from the person who made Mark upset and angry grr! Oh one more thing if I was making pasta and 2 of my friends wanted some too then of course I would cook it for them at the same time! A) It's polite and B) it saves energy! I think the only thing Mark wanted to end was this awful negative interview and I don't blame him! I am seeing the concert and was buzzing etc this just took it away and made me upset and angry
What could have been a really interesting interview spoiled by inappropriate questioning about issues that have been dealt with! Leave the past in the past.
Some questions asked were absolutely disgusting. How dare you bring it back up!! Leave private life out of this and concentrate on the tour! You should really apologize to him. Mark your fans are here to support you x
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