In The Sunday Times...
...today: on the road with Take That and work in fiction and film.
PS. My gambling hell in Monte Carlo is explained by my devoted pursuit of the Thats.
# posted by Bryan Appleyard : 11:04 PM
Saturday, March 31, 2007
...today: on the road with Take That and work in fiction and film.
PS. My gambling hell in Monte Carlo is explained by my devoted pursuit of the Thats.
13 Comments:
At March 31, 2007 11:52 PM,
Edwina Currie said…
Take That?!? You must be fucking joking.
At April 01, 2007 12:28 AM,
Johnny said…
Great article.
"What the remaining four have achieved is one of the greatest, most consoling comebacks in pop - great and consoling because there is something irreducibly nice about this band."
Bang on the money. And there is something so deliciously satisfying about how the scales of fortune have tipped in their favour as Robbie tumbles further into the depths of tragi-tedium.
One thing you didn't mention about their early career was how they were originally blooded through a gruelling tour of the UK's gay clubs. Indeed, some of their original videos could easily be mistaken for gay chat ads.
The pink vote had a key role to play before they became every young girl's pin up. And unlike the ever-fickle teenage girl, if a gay audience takes to you, you have a fanbase for life.
Hence the endless rotation of infinitely lesser pop relics at the London Astoria's G-A-Y night. (Indeed, as I type this, Tina Arena is scheduled to be squawking her way through the clouds of amyl nitrate.)
With the Pecs Factor, genuine niceness and a hatful of great pop records their success is well-earned. I once met Jason and found him to be thoroughly pleasant and grounded. Gary is routinely labelled as 'the nicest guy in showbiz'.
What will be interesting to see is what happens if and when Robbie decides it's time to go back. He's been stumbling through a creative desert since parting company with Guy Chambers and the last album was a relative disaster, so it surely can't be ruled out completely.
Bryan, did you get a sense as to how they would react if that happened? I fear they simply couldn't refuse, though it would surely damage the unit and grossly upset the balance.
With their final single before the original split, the remaining four members of Take That asked fans, with piercing poignancy, How Deep Is You Love? A decade on, they now know we Never Forget.
At April 01, 2007 6:44 AM,
Bryan Appleyard said…
Joking, Edwina? No, I am earnest to a fault. Thanks, Johnny, I did talk to them about the gay stuff and many other things. They were so laid back I was left with enough material to fill the entire mag, so some stuff had to go.
At April 01, 2007 10:08 AM,
Gordon McCabe said…
Aha! 'Take That' were at the San Remo music festival on 28th February, and it was the evening of the 27th that you were in the Casino at Monte Carlo.
At April 01, 2007 12:17 PM,
Chip Dale said…
I think you've written the whole paper for them this week, Bryan. I noticed that the Blog Spot also featured your bit on Elton John from earlier this week.
A shame that a certain erudite comment they printed about day-glo paint was attributed to 'Anonymous'. Lord Jeff would sue.
At April 01, 2007 1:07 PM,
Andrew said…
I admit I'll probably leave the Take That article unread but thought the office one was very good.
At April 01, 2007 1:18 PM,
Brit said…
The Take That article was lovely. I'm glad you weren't mean to them.
I'm also glad you managed to get 'consoling' in there. Johnny picks out the line I was going to: "What the remaining four have achieved is one of the greatest, most consoling comebacks in pop."
I think the blog needs a list of things Bryan finds 'consoling', and then a lengthy and awe-inspiring post about Why We Need Consolation.
In the work/fiction article I thought you might have mentioned that the key character in The Office is Tim. He is aware both of the delusion of freedom within the constraints of office life, and the necessity of that delusion. Without it, we are exposed to the Nausea and human impossibility of absolute freedom.
At April 01, 2007 3:36 PM,
Andrew said…
'Take That' were at the San Remo music festival on 28th February, and it was the evening of the 27th that you were in the Casino at Monte Carlo.
Which proves that you indeed could have been at l'Hotel d'Anglais and killed Lord Fontesqueue on the morning of the 27th. Your alibi is a fraud.
At April 01, 2007 6:24 PM,
Johnny said…
I have discovered my own great consolation this evening. Who needs the scabies, dysentry and faecal inverse-Tardises of Glastonbury, when you have the Eurovision Song-O-Mat?
Incidentally, Bryan, I do hope you've been commissioned to follow Scooch next month on their daring crusade for pop glory in Helsinki.
At April 01, 2007 11:18 PM,
Andy said…
Bryan, really enjoyed your Office article. Bleak House, as you rightly say, is surely the ultimate essay on the pointlessness of it all- and also in my opinion the greatest novel ever written.
You've also made me want to re-watch The Apartment, which is a very good thing!
At April 02, 2007 8:40 PM,
Richard Havers said…
Really good piece about 'the Boys', I know a bit about 'em and you've done them proud.
At May 01, 2007 10:59 AM,
Anonymous said…
New fire safety rules affecting all non-domestic premises in England and Wales came into force on 1 October 2006.
A fire risk assessment helps you to identify all the fire risks and hazards in your premises. You can then decide to do something to control them.
Articles Fire Risk Assessments:
1. Fire Types & Fire Extinguishers
2. United Kingdom: Fire Departments
3. New Fire Safety Rules
4. Steps Needed For Fire Risk Assessment
5. Steps Are Needed To Save Lives
6. Fire Safety Engineering
7. Safety Rules: Fire Risk Assessment
Fire Risk Assessments
http://www.fireriskassessment.blogspot.com
At January 28, 2009 9:04 AM,
??? said…
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
??????
??????
??????
??????
??????
??????
??????
??????
??????
??????
??????
??????
??????
??????
??????
??????
??????
??????
??????
??????
??????
??????
??????
??????
??????
??????
??????
??????
??????
??????
??????
??????
??????
??????
??????
??????
??????
??????
??????
??????
???????
???????
???????
???????
???????
???????
???????
???????
???????
???????
???????
???????
???????
???????
???????
???????
???????
???????
???????
???????
???
???
???
???
???
???
???
???
???
???
???
???
???
??
??
??
??
??
??
??
???????
???????
???????
???????
???????
???????
???????
Post a Comment
back to blog home