Christmas is a time for family and reflection
ALEX GREEN chats to Gary Barlow about ‘sibling rivalry’ with Robbie Williams and his new Christmas album
IT may come as a surprise to discover that, until now, Gary Barlow had never considered releasing a Christmas album.
There is little the singer, who celebrated his 50th birthday in January, has not tried in the three decades since Take That hit the big time.
But until Christmas 2020 – the Christmas that Covid-19 cancelled – the prospect of a festive record remained distant.
“I’ve not had an intention ever to do a Christmas record,” he tells me over video call.
“It just came about, as these things often do, almost completely by accident. I felt so robbed last Christmas that I kept sneaking off. My studio in our house is like a separate building. I walked across to it on Boxing Day and I was tinkling and playing some Christmas songs. And then this melody started to arrive.”
That melody was the opening line of The Dream Of Christmas.
“Then this thing starts to grow and suddenly we’re in Abbey Road in the middle of May when it’s boiling hot, recording Christmas music.” Unable to avoid an easy pun, he adds: “So it snowballs.”
His demo grew into an album that mixes original compositions, featuring the likes of talented young cellist Sheku KannehMason, and Sheridan Smith, with festive classics such as Winter Wonderland and Sleigh Ride – and even a piece of prose by the poet Dylan Thomas.
Gary says he would not have simply recorded an album of covers.
“My audience know me as a songwriter,” he explains. “I have to be honest, if I hadn’t come up with anything I would have left it. But that song, The Dream Of Christmas, that just felt special to me. And it felt like it had a place on a Christmas album.”
Selecting the songs proved more interesting than expected.
“Christmas is everything,” he explains.
“When you start to think about it, Christmas is so enjoyable. It’s a great time for family. It’s a great time for reflection. But it can also be a time of sadness, because it is a special time of year and there are certain people that aren’t with you any more to celebrate.
“And so I wanted to try to get all of that into one record.”
The Dream Of Christmas faces stiff competition in the race for festive No.1. Ed Sheeran and Sir Elton John’s Merry Christmas, Little Things by Abba, and Easy On Me by Adele are all in the running.
“You’ve got the really big artists out this year, says Gary. “Adele’s out. Ed Sheeran is out. That’s going to be tricky. If I’m somewhere in the top 10 for Christmas, I’ll be really happy with that.”
Unfortunately for Gary, his former Take That bandmate Robbie Williams has already beaten him to the top spot.
The Christmas Present, which Williams released in 2019, featured a madcap roll-call of collaborators, ranging from boxer Tyson Fury to Sir Rod Stewart.
“Isn’t that just typical,” Gary jokes. “Oh, there’s lots of sibling rivalry still. We laugh about it now.”
When we speak in mid-November, Gary is about to embark on a busy few weeks – a tour, an album release and filming for Simon Cowell’s new
TV project. Gary heads up the judging panel on Walk The Line, alongside Dawn French, Alesha Dixon and UK garage star Craig David.
Simon broke his back falling off an electric bike that he was testing at his house in Malibu in August last year, and Walk The Line was meant to mark his TV return. However, the X Factor creator decided to step back for the first series of this new venture.
“At the point where I got the phone call off Simon, I wasn’t planning any sort of TV,” recalls Gary.
“I felt like I’d really done the talent show thing. But I liked the idea and I thought, ‘This is going to be different’. It’s quick. It’s just six episodes.
“I think it’s only for this series. I’m sure Simon will be back next year.”
This year, Gary plans to have a quiet Christmas with his wife of more than 20 years, Dawn Andrews, their children, and his mother.
“For me, it will be a whole different thing, because we will have toured, we will have released a record, we will have launched a new ITV show. It’s all happening in these next few weeks.
“It’ll be a massive relief to have it all done. And hopefully everyone who has toured with us and been with us is safe and well and healthy – and everyone’s enjoyed a good few weeks.”
The Dream Of Christmas, by Gary Barlow, is out now