He's finally gone solo. But was it planned all along? And how does he really feel about Robbie?
BIG: So Gary Barlow, tell us...... Was it always the plan that you would go solo?
G.B.: Initially, Take That was probably all created around me. It was six to twelve months before we realised we were going to be a real band. We grew so much as a team. We really cared for each other and looked after each other. We were a very human sort of band. If anyone was ever upset, we'd sort that out.
BIG: Always?
G.B.: Yeah, that's why it was such a blow to us when Robbie left. It really was. Other than all the crap that happened in the papers. It was nothing to how we felt. We'd been betrayed by a friend. We'd been through all that time together and then to read all that, "Robbie never knew us" crap. But we'd seen it coming a good six months before. He'd changed so much as a person, he'd lost that boy next door thing and he wanted to be a celebrity.
BIG: How did you feel about Rob going?
G.B.: Nobody can blame him. He's got as much right to live as the rest of us. Good luck to whatever he's going to do. We were always such a close tight-knit band. Up to until six months ago we were just a complete scandal-free act. We were such a close team and it made us feel superior in that way. Nobody could touch us as a band. We looked after each other and I'm sure that added to our success.
BIG: Was it important you were so close?
G.B.: I think it was important, it was a good thing to be. None of us were alcoholics or drug addicts. We possibly weren't as squeaky clean as people thought, but we were all young boys and the fact was it was just good clean entertainment.
BIG: Because you were the songwriter did you feel apart from the other lads?
G.B.: I never really felt apart. It was just that we had stronger and weaker areas. My strongest area was the songwriting. I am really uncomfortable at having a camera pointed at me. I always knew that when I was in the band and we had a poll for, "Vote for you favorite member of Take That", I would always be the embarrassing fifth one. I lived with that. I wasn't in the band to be loved by people. I was in the band to get my music across. Rob said that being in Take That was like being a prisoner..... I think that was a very bad description of how we lived. We all came into the business knowing we were going to be famous. We were all prepared for the consequences. And do you know what the consequences were? We traveled the world, we stayed in first class hotels and we got well paid for it. I think that was the best six years of my life. It wasn't much like being in a prison to me.
BIG: Do you still get on with the others?
G.B.: Me and Mark still get on. I still talk to the boys on a regular basis. We were friends for five years. Even when we've all got our own solo careers, there won't be much competition. We've not fallen out. The only black sheep amongst us is Robbie. He's the one we don't talk to.
BIG: So you're still fond of the others?
G.B.: Yeah, the five people in Take That were exceptional characters. I know that I love the members of Take That and I know I could fall in love with all of them. They were just such brilliant people.
BIG: Do you think the others will all be successful?
G.B.: Definitely. They'll all have brilliant careers. They're coming from Take That so they've got as much chance as me. It's just a case of who comes up with the goods, really. It's going to be very interesting.
BIG: The papers say you're worth millions. Do you splash loads of cash?
G.B.: No, we were in Las Vegas last week. We took $10 and that's what I gambled. If I lose a fiver I'm distraught. I can't stand waste like that. I just don't see any sense in it. I don't see the point. So I just took my $10, gambled it, lost it all and that was it.
BIG: Do all your fans see the real Gary Barlow?
G.B.: I don't think I'd ever like anybody to see the real me, cos then I'd feel like I'd lost everything. At the moment, everybody knows which end I squeeze my bloody toothpaste. There's so many important things that I want to keep private. When you go on TV, it's like meeting somebody for the first time. You're never going to tell them you're darkest, deepest secrets. You always put on a different character.
BIG: After Take That couldn't you have retired to a life of luxury?
G.B.: For someone who's worked for six years and is obviously and multi-millionaire, I could probably sit back and think, "I don't have to do anything else". But I've been given a talent to write songs and sing and I feel I've got to use that. That's why I feel I've got to keep working. I love the work I do, I enjoy ever single aspect of it. That's why I continue to work as hard as I do.
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