I was googling random Take That stuff and came across this old interview from 1997 (!), and I just love the way Markâs described here.
Scrunched up in a London hotel armchair, Owen is here to promote his third single, âI Am What I Amâ, along with a UK tour starting in October. Still pubescently cute and coquettish, the clean-cut image sticks despite the obvious shift in style. âIâm trying to be more honest, more myself in terms of image. Itâs kind of difficult,â he laughs. âIn Take That you used to be given a selection of clothes to choose from. Now youâve got to think, âWhat do I want to wear?ââ Owenâs opted for the lo-fi look, woolly top and trainers. Gone are the highlighted locks. His hair is longer and browner - almost, but not quite, dishevelled.Â
âI donât really see myself as having a clean cut imageâ, says Owen, smiling coyly. The dimples broaden and the blue-green, limpid eyes widen slightly. You could have fooled me. But no. Popâs Mr Whiter-than-White is just like the rest of us. âI see myself as quite a normal lad. I smoke. I drink but I donât do drugs. Drugs scare me. I see them as hiding from real life.â Yet, they often seem to go hand in hand with the sort of pop music that is the antithesis of Take That; the sort of pop music that Owen would probably like to make. Doesnât that tempt him to experiment a bit? âMaybe some people are musically inspired by them [drugs], but itâs a shame. I feel you can do without."Â
Maybe Owen doesnât need to anyway - he seems quite spacey enough as it is. After talking about song-writing, he says, apropos of nothing, "Sometimes, I feel I could send myself mad. Other times, I wish I was mad. My head wonât stop,â he lets out a Mancunian chuckle. To counter his hyperactive imagination he relaxes through meditation - something he learned from Lulu. âIâm not meditating as much as I did when I made Green Man,â he says, âwhich is probably why Iâm a little more nervous and paranoid.â Not that youâd notice; when heâs not being too kooky, he radiates inner harmony and togetherness.
And donât even get me started on
One of his real achievements to date was during his European tour - for him success can be measured by the pitch of audience response. âWhen I first went on stage I got bombarded with teddies and got screamed at. Then I asked them to stop throwing teddies and screaming. And by the end,â he gazes up and continues ever so solemnly, âthere were no more teddies. There were no more screams⊠It was more of a roar.â So girls, if you really want to do Owen a favour, leave the teddies at home next time and bring your lighters instead.
More here. (Incl. some interesting, retrospective stuff about the band breaking up.)
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