Never Forget
Almost ten years after their split in February 1996, the biggest boyband of the 90’s is back. Don’t worry, they’re not recording any new material –although there are rumours that they might-, they’re just releasing old stuff. There is a cd with all the singles -which I really don’t understand, as there was a Greatest Hits album released before they split up- and a dvd with all the videos for the released singles, live performances and exclusive behind the scenes material. Or so they said.
The dvd lists the videos in chronological order, including the 7 minute version of ‘Sure’. In between are bits of backstage footage, tv-shows, sound-checks, photo shoots and more. Sounds great, but don’t expect too much of it; they last from one to four minutes tops and if you were a pretty die-hard fan, nothing will be new.
Extra features include several live performances, but in my opinion they could have picked better songs. Where is the hilarious medley from the Live at Berlin show, with Howard Travolta and Olivia Newton Orange?!
For The Record
Then there is For The Record; the over an hour long documentary with and about Take That, which was broadcasted on British television. Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Jason Orange, Mark Owen AND Robbie Williams talk about their time in the band, share their memories of happy times and darker moments. Manager Nigel Martin-Smith is interviewed as well.
There wasn't really anything shocking in it. I think everyone knew that they weren't as clean-cut as Nigel (manager) wanted the fans to believe. They smoked weed and have done xtc and of course Robbie did coke and apparently drank a bottle of vodka every day when he woke up in order to function. Howard talks about how he was the only one that wasn't ready for the split back in '96. He was going to drown himself in the Themes, but he was too much of a shitbag to actually do it (his exact words). Howard is a successful house-DJ these days, and is well known in Germany.
Mark still looks the same as he did. They all do in fact, apart from a few wrinkles they haven't changed much the past 10 years. They grew up. Mark released a solo album (Green Man) in 1996, but his solo career never really took off. He took a step back for a while, releasing a second album in 2003, called In Your Own Time. They filmed Jason driving around on Ibiza. After the split he went back to school, backpacked and chilled out a lot as he says it.
And then there's Gary. His solo career failed miserably, releasing just one album in 1996 and then being dropped by his record company when it didn’t do well. He is now a very successful songwriter, is married and has two children. He is a happy man.
Of course I don’t have to explain what happened to Robbie.
At the end of the documentary, four of the guys met up and talked about band together. Robbie was asked to come, but didn’t. Take That will be on tour in the UK next summer, all shows sold out in a few hours. Robbie will not be performing.
Most striking expressions:
Mark: I think we all had our fair share of fun, sex and frolics.
Jason: I don't remember Nigel ever saying "No Sex!" I just remember him saying "No full time girlfriends".
Howard: I can remember one time we were all on the tourbus and we had a wanking competition watching porno. Rob won.
Rob: (about Nigel) He's definitely in the top 3 of the most disturbed people I have ever worked with.
Verdict: If you don’t own the six VHS tapes, Never Forget is probably a nice thing to have. It contains the basics every Take That lover will appreciate. If you were a big fan, this will add nothing to your collection. The documentary is great though! It gives you an inside view of what Take That was really like. Well worth your money!