Hello! I'm sick and bored so I thought why not answer all questions in one post. Bare with me as it's gonna be looong and very grammatically incorrect 😊
btw. these are all just my opinions, you have every right to disagree with me, just be nice, ok, thank you.
If you had asked me this question 6-8 years ago, I would have said Gary without hesitation, but over the years, Mark has earned a special place in my heart, so now it has to be both Gary and Mark - I honestly can't choose between them, although I'm leaning towards Gary a tad bit more.
TT4 (with Jason) all the way, always and forever. TT5 (Progress era) never felt 100% right to me, I had the feeling Rob took all the spotlight, mainly because journalists made the whole thing about him wchich was a bit irky imo. I enjoyed this lineup nevertheless. TT3 is fantastic, but I do miss Jason, I miss all the Donage moments, I miss his input to the band. TT4 feels just right - spontaneous, full of genuine chemistry and balanced in a way that makes every member shine without anyone dominating.
Beautiful World - I mean, what a way to come back to the music scene! Not only did this album rekindle Gary's faith in his songwriting skills, but it also showcased how great the other members are at writing songs. It gave us gems like Patience, Shine, Rule The World (well almost), Hold On and Jay's first lead Wooden Boat. I love how 'warm' it sounds. The only thing I don't like is the slow ballad to upbeat song ratio, I wish there were more fast-paced songs on it.
Oh I really don't know! I like 'How Deep Is Your Love' 'cause it's so different and strange lol but I think I'm gonna choose Patience. There's something so significant about them 4 all carrying the microphones almost like a symbol of the struggles they each carried and faced throughout the 10 year break, the way they all come separately from different directions to finally meet and reunite. It is a powerful video for a powerful song.
Rule The World - they totally reached their peak with this song. Everything's perfect about it : Gary's voice, the backing vocals (especially towards the end where you can clearly hear Mark 💀 ), the production makes it so magical, the chorus gives me goosebumps EVERYTIME, I also loved the movie they wrote the song for. Lyrically it might not be their strongest song, but often with music, it's not just about the lyrics, it's about the emotion it conveys. I have so many beautiful memories tied to this track, I even remember the first time I heard it - it was in August 2010, Saturday afternoon. It blew my little socks off, but I was totally underwhelmed by the music video lol
Beautiful World again! I like the intimacy of arena tours. The show they put up with Could It Be Magic was imo their most spectacular performance to date and let's not forget the Give Good Feeling and Sure renditions - outta this world and omg the Never Forget hologram bit -glorious!
Beautiful World or The Circus?
Everything Changes or Nobody Else?
Take That & Party or III?
Oh God, this is the hardest one yet!! Take That & Party is such a fun album! It proves that Gary is a genius! Creating such a solid album at just 19 or 20 (or maybe even younger) almost entirely by himself… DAMN! Yes, it is a bit cheesy and corny but I'm a cheesy music connoisseur, so I don't mind lol. I love III as well, it seems to be their most consistent album of the 2010's but think I'm still gonna go for TT&P 😁
How long have you been a fan?
My story is kinda weird and random. It was May 2010, I had passed all my exams, I was bored watching TV on a sunny afternoon. I saw THIS Nikon ad, I thought to myself: "That's Robbie Williams, I know him, he has some great songs." I googled him initially just to listen to his music but ended up watching every interview I could find, and I totally fell for him 😬 To say I was obsessed would be an understatement. Doing my extensive research, I found out that he used to be in a band, and I was honestly shocked! I checked them out, and the first song I came across was ... 'Promises'. Now, if that video didn't scare me off, it means me and this band were meant to be xd Then I found out that I knew BFG and Patience from the radio! They'd just reunited for Progress, so I couldn't have found a better time to discover them! My love for them grew with every song and every interview. I started watching old performances, reading up on their history, and before I knew it, they had become a huge part of my life. I developed a crush on Gary almost immediately, I couldn't tell Jason and Howard apart for about two weeks, and Mark was obviously the smiley, cute one. 15 years later, they feel like more like friends or family members than a band to me!
Have you seen Take That live?
YES!!!!! I saw them last year in Łódź, Poland. Undoubtedly the best day of me life, even though I had the most terrible view imaginable.
Do you own any merch/memorabilia?
Yup, I have about 6 T-Shirts, a mug and Gary & TT calendars.
Favourite photo/photoshoot?
Hmmm I like most of their photos, but I'm gonna go with the Beautiful World CD photoshoot. I'm obsessed with that era idk why. Oh and I like how on the cover of BW there's a space between Mark and Jason and I always saw it as 'they made room for Robbie' 🥲
Favourite dynamic in the band?
This won't come as a surprise but BARLOWEN! I will ship these two to my grave lolz. There's something so wholesome about their bromance, you can totally tell Mark absolutely adores Gary and while Gary is a tiny bit more reserved when it comes to showing his affection for Mark on stage you can tell he really, really loves him too. Call me stupid, but I find it hard to think of anything more manly than a couple of straight guys who are not afraid or embarrassed to show how much they care about each other publicly. I was a big fan of Donage too, I bet Jay broke Howard's heart with his departure becuase it was clear they were very close friends as well.
Do you listen to their solo work?
Sure I do. Rob's solo stuff has been with me since early childhood. It could be my own little Mandela Effect but I'm almost sure I remember hearing "She's The One" at a *school in Poland that you attend when you're 6 that has no English equivalent* 😆 Then I spent years listening to the radio and Rob's quite famous here so they were playing him A LOT! Mark's solo work is so underrated I wanna scream until people stop sleeping on his talent! I'm very much an indie girl so his solo material is a gift sent from God. I like his style, his creativity etc. Now … with all my love to Gary and appreciation of his songwriting skills I have to say - his solo material just doesn't do it for me. For some reason he becomes very monothematic when he’s not in the band. Slow, high pitched ballads are just not my vibe, although he does have some great songs like 'Forever Love', 'Lie To Me' or 'Open Road'. Don't throw me out of the TT fandom (am I even still in it? lol ) but his last 2 albums were awful 🤐
There's only one song that I skip and it's 'Keep Your Head Up'. Was Gary in the middle of eating a sandwich when they recorded it? 😂Honestly, so weird! I also don't listen to 'What Do You Want From Me' too often because it makes me feel a lil bit uncomfortable.
A song you find comforting?
There are so many but 'What you believe in" stands out, definitely. It's like medicine for a troubled soul.
A song that gets you hype?
Strangely, 'Giants' made me scream like crazy at their gig, also 'Get Ready For It" always gets me so excited.
A song that makes you cry?
I shed a tear during 'Rule The World' live but that was to be expected. Usually 'Freeze' makes me emotional because JASON 😭
Everytime I listen to 'Every Revolution' I catch this lyric: "Up ahead the blanket full of stars, a pencil sketch to lie down underneath" and it makes me strangely happy! Unexplainable, sorry!
Any hot takes/general thoughts to do with the band?
What else can I say about the band? I left social media for over 6 years, they also had a longer break. They've changed and so have I. I noticed how their music matured, they've matured as people, minus Howard who hit snooze on the maturity and sensibleness alarms, but nevermind lol. They are still extremely important to me, their music is always safe, comfortable and familiar, like a warm blanket on a cold day. I'm so happy I've been a part of their story for 15 years, on and off. They went through a lot, they made mistakes, but I loved watching them learn from them and grow as people. Their story is wild, full of highs and lows, but that's what makes them so real and relatable. Despite everything they went through, they never gave up. And neither did I. I stuck with them and will support them 4evaaaa.
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