The great Gary Barlow tells us why he’s a terrible date
The Take That star talks booze, party plans and being a dad
How is it possible that over the past 12 months, while we’ve turned into tracky bottomwearing zombies, Gary Barlow is coming out of lockdown 2.0 looking younger and fitter than ever before – and with all the energy of his early Take That days? It’s certainly not as if he’s been resting on his chaise longue, sipping tea and doing next to nothing. The man hasn’t stopped!
Back in March, when Boris sentenced us to life indoors and the entertainment industry fell to its knees, Gary committed himself to the ultimate party, live from the home he shares with wife Dawn, 20-year-old son Daniel and daughters Emily, 18, and Daisy, 11. Dubbed the #croonersessions, over four months, the 49 year old live-streamed over 50 jaw-dropping duets with the likes of Paloma Faith, Chris Martin and Robbie Williams. But he was just getting started. Since then, he’s released his very spicy single
Elita alongside Michael Bublé and Sebastián Yatra, and now his newly-released album Music
Played By Humans offers up even more roof-raising collaborations.
Thankfully, Gary’s got a whole lot more to give – we’re talking concerts, movies, the lot. And he’s not letting the fact he turns 50 next month slow him down one bit. In fact, he says he’s indefinitely delayed the milestone birthday altogether. Gaz, we salute you…
How are you doing, Gary? Alright, the same as everyone else, I guess. Has lockdown life with the family suited you? It’s funny, because I have a few tiers to my life, but when I’m a songwriter and a recording artist, this is kind of what it’s like. We sit in a room all day and don’t really see anybody. And it’s quite nice. But it’s definitely been a bit unusual. We
had all our children with us – so it was a really nice time together – but I think I’m like everyone else, I’m tired of it now. I want to try to get back to normal. The novelty has worn off. So, are you planning on touring next year? I know that things can change in two weeks at the moment, but I’m really hopeful. It’s not just about the doors opening at these venues, it’s about the confidence of the people as well. So, you know, it will be interesting. When you finished recording your album earlier this year before lockdown, you couldn’t have predicted what kind of world it would be released into… And you know what? I had the name of the album before I had any of the songs: Music Played By Humans. And the poignancy of what that says right now is quite crazy, because even with TV and movies, no one can put 60 musicians in a room right now. So, I feel very blessed that we had the chance to do that. There’s an interesting story about a bar in Berlin in the song The Kind Of Friend I Need, which features James Corden. What’s that about? That’s a good question. It’s not one I can give you an answer to! It’s a bit of a private joke between me and James, that one. But, as you can imagine, it’s an interesting one. Before we were married, that was. [Laughs.] Ah! Did your wife ask any questions about it? No, luckily not. So, don’t point it out, please. That’d be great. You also got to sing with Michael Bublé on Elita – do you two go back a long way? Yeah, we do. We’ve done TV shows and things together before. We’ve always kept in touch. And actually, I was calling him – this was last November or something – because he’s had a career at the centre of an orchestra. And then we started talking, saying we should do something. I sent him a very rough version of the song and he was like, “OK, let me do my thing.” So, he did a second verse and he changed some stuff at the end and sang it. And then he introduced me to Sebastián Yatra, and I loved his music. All of a sudden, this Latin sound was authentic. It didn’t sound like a guy from Vancouver and a guy from London making Latin music, it sounded really authentic. It’s a good track, and we made a good video.
And you show off your Latin dance moves, too… [Laughs.] I’m a natural, I pick these things up, it’s in my blood! We all did our performances at different times – Michael went first, so I watched him and he kind of told me where I needed to be for my performance. It’s always the hardest bit, that, for me. But it all worked out. There were no moves needed, really, which was good! Did you take up any exercise – dancing perhaps – over lockdown? I did something. A lot of people didn’t do anything. I did something every day, a walk or a swim or something. But I definitely drank twice as much as I normally would. So, it balanced out. Are you a big drinker usually? I’m a terrible date – a couple of drinks and it’s all over. So, not great amounts, no. Did you and the family all get on OK during lockdown? We’re very lucky. We have a nice house, we’ve got a garden. You know, our children didn’t mind being together, they didn’t get fed up with us. We did a bit of homeschooling. We had quite a nice time, if I’m honest. We cooked a lot and we drank a lot and we made fires. The weather was nice throughout – that saved the whole thing. But I’ve had enough now. So, your older kids came back home? They all came back. But now my son has gone back to university, and my daughter’s actually having a gap year, but she leaves home
next year. So, the place is feeling big. Life is changing. Was Emily hoping to travel the world in her gap year? Well, she was going to university. She should have been there now. But she thought, with all this, it would just all be online and she didn’t want to do it. I don’t blame her. She’s quite a home bird, so I don’t actually think she’s got any plans to travel, even. She’s going to pass her driving test and stuff like that, you know, so I don’t mind. I think we put too much pressure on kids to achieve things.
I’m quite happy for her to just do what she wants to do for a year. Why not? Are you a good driving instructor for her? [Laughs.] Don’t teach your children to drive! Let someone else do it. Do you think any of your kids will go into the music industry?
Sadly not – none of them.
They’re all quite studious, actually. They’re doing all the stuff I never did, because I left school at 16 – I was too busy working. But they’re more interested in psychology and sports and fitness, all this stuff. Whatever makes them happy.
Any plans for a new album with Take That? Yes, maybe. Everyone at the end of the last tour really wanted to, but we’ve been on this treadmill of album/tour every two years for about 14 years, and everyone really wanted a little chunk of time away. So, I’m trying to be respectful, but I just can’t do that personally. I like writing, producing, touring – so I need to do my own thing. But maybe in 2023, because we have this movie that’s being shot next year called The Greatest Days, and I’m hoping when that’s released, we can kind of tour off the back of it. A Take That film? Tell us more… Our stage show, The Band, was spotted by a film company about a year ago. They’re going to shoot the whole thing in England and Italy next year. So, it’s properly coming. And the best thing is, I’m not in it! Not at all? I think we may get a cameo role somewhere near the end, but that will be it. Your wife recently turned 50 and you celebrated in Lake Como – are you taking any inspiration from that for your 50th? Yeah. But it’s just the most terrible time of the year, my birthday. It’s the twentieth of January. No one wants to go out. It’s freezing cold. To go anywhere nice, you’ve got to fly for 12 hours, and I don’t really want to get on a plane at the moment, if I’m honest. I’m losing hope, help me here! I’m dreading it now. [Laughs.] I was looking forward to it at one point. Oh no! I think the best idea for anyone who has significant birthdays within this next year is to just delay it by a year. Be 49 for another year, and then celebrate being 50 in 2022. That’s the best idea. And then you’ll always be younger – it’s a great idea! Had you been planning to have a big celebration? You know what? I think, at the moment, I’ve still got it, but I booked The London Palladium, I was going to do a show. I was going to pick 2,000 people from our fan club. And yeah, I don’t think it’s going to happen that. I need to rethink… I’m going to do it the following year. I’ve decided, actually. I’m going to do it the following year – who cares? It’s hard to imagine you’re turning 50… I think this keeps me young. I still feel so excited by what I do, you know? Especially when I’m in the middle of a project, I can’t wait to get into the studio every day. I still look through a child’s eyes at what this is. I just love it so much. It definitely keeps me young. n
Music Played By Humans is available now
‘I’m a terrible date – a couple of drinks and it’s all over’