A new album. The tour which will arrive in Italy in July for four dates. The constant desire to make music, strengthened by that past to which we give another value today. The desire to share part of this life on social media, to involve as many people as possible. And the power of pop music, which Take That have redefined forever. Gary Barlow tells Sky TG24 about the weeks he spent on tour with Mark Owen and Howard Donald, waiting to arrive in our country
Gary, how’s the tour going so far?! I’ve seen so many great videos on social media! Tell me about it!
The chat with Gary Barlow begins with this question of mine (Gary, how’s the tour going?! I’ve seen so many amazing videos on social media! Tell me!), accompanied by a rather enthusiastic and euphoric tone: yes, I can’t wait for Take That will also arrive in Italy, and let Gary tell me about what it was like to return live after some time. A long world tour that started on April 13th in Sheffield, many sold out dates and an infinite number of moments to share. Moments that they have also started to tell with some videos, created and edited by them, to tell what happens when they are on tour, but also to show what happens in their dressing rooms. What happens? They sing, of course. Even with friends and guests. Videos that have a name, or rather a hashtag: #LiveFromTheDressingRoom: “No one has ever seen our dressing rooms, and we decided to show them, in our own way!” says Gary Barlow smiling. And right in the dressing rooms they play and sing songs from the past (I recommend you see the video of A Million Love Songs ft. Rick Astley, with Gary on piano), and songs from the most recent albums. An opportunity to learn more about Gary, Mark and Howard’s life on tour, but also a pleasant way to listen to good music.
The tour, pop music, the relationship with the public
Gary tells us that the tour is going very well: you can see it in his enthusiastic look: “We’re really happy, the tour is going great. We’ve done concerts in Ireland and most of the UK, and we’ve finished the live shows all The inside of the arenas. Then we will start the part of the tour that will take us to the outdoor spaces. So far it has been a fantastic tour that thing called Covid, and we wondered if we would ever get back on stage again. Finally here we are, having a lot of fun, the fans are there, a brilliant audience as always.
A concert in which to relive the history of Take That, with hits from the past and today
We met in Bologna a few months ago, and we talked a lot about Take That’s new album, This Life, published November 24. How has the public’s reaction to the new songs been so far?
You know, we are a band and our main job is always to make our audience have the best night ever. We want to give them a show where they can experience all three decades that we’ve been through. So obviously we play a lot of songs from the nineties, but also more recent and new songs. We’re not too scared about the idea of combining multiple songs, just because the new music fits perfectly into the show. It’s all going well and the response from the public is fantastic, so yeah… it couldn’t be better!
The importance of the album This Life
Take That defined pop and laid the foundations for the music that came after. The title of your latest album, This Life, of which there is also a deluxe version available soon, is also a tribute to the life and path you have undertaken to date. Now, this life, how is it for Take That?
This Life it’s a very important album for us. I always have to remind myself that we are songwriters, singers, and new music can never stop – it’s the only way forward. Always including the past, because it is very important: it is the soundtrack of many people’s lives, and also the soundtrack of our lives. We always want to make sure we include the old music, but for us the key is to continue with more melody. We are excited to come up with new songs and our audience is there, ready to listen to us. As long as we can and there are people who want to listen to us, we will always make new music!
in-depth analysis
Take That, a new album and the tour in 2024: the interview with Sky Tg24
“The Italian public loves to sing our songs”
Italian fans are starting to warm up in view of your concerts. You will be in Marostica on July 7th, in Rome on the 8th, in Trani on the 10th and you will conclude the Italian part of the tour in Bologna on July 11th…
Well! I remember with pleasure that the Italian public loves to sing and make noise. So we can’t wait!
The positive use of social media, behind the scenes of the tour
I saw some of your videos recorded in the dressing rooms, #LiveFromTheDressingRoom: will you also make an Italian version when you are in our country?
When we prepare for a concert people never see the dressing room, a space where we get ready, maybe get something to eat and drink, and then go out for the live show. So we try to bring the show backstage with this tour too, and we do it through our social media. In fact there is a small room backstage where we warm up, play guitars, piano, some drums… it’s like a rehearsal room. We said to ourselves: why not show it to our audience?! Many people who listen to us cannot travel, there are those who live in a country where we will not go this year. Ultimately social media gives us the opportunity to enter people’s lives… and to do it with music, when we try.
But there are also behind-the-scenes videos of your travels: Mark packing your bags and filming you at the same time, and then dedicating himself to editing. It’s incredible how Take That as a band always manage to reinvent themselves, and always tell themselves in a different way, especially today, after so many years of career.
I believe it is essential to be in tune with the audience that listens to you. We are all aware of this. And whatever medium we work on, everything moves online, everything is distributed on social media, which can be accessed from the telephone, from PCs: so either you go against all this or you join forces, and transform this system into something positive . We have a lot of free time when we’re on tour: we’re only on stage for two hours every night and there are 24 hours a day, so we have time available to let those who follow us participate in what we do. It’s the positive way to use social media!
Pop is stronger than ever
Many have followed you from the beginning and have grown up with your music. Songs that are still extremely contemporary today, and make us understand that pop is strong, beautiful and is there, stronger than ever. Take That redefined it, we talked about it before, but above all they built the foundations for it. It’s no coincidence that everyone still sings your pop songs…
It’s very difficult, when you’re working on a project, to see beyond the room you’re creating in. You can only dream of touching people in another country, or being part of someone’s life, of leaving your mark on a person’s special moment. Then something happens that you can’t control, something more than what we did: when we share new music, we never know what can happen. Will anyone be interested? For our part, we can always do our best, and always give our all to create the best possible project. Our hope, in the end, is to be happy with what we have written: we love what we do, we wouldn’t still be here if we weren’t enthusiastic about all this. We love writing, performing: as long as we are able to do it in the best possible way, we will continue to put on beautiful concerts. This is now our dream!
Gary, passion for wine (also Italian)
Gary, I know that you really like wine, and that you also dedicate yourself to making wine when you have time. And in Italy there are some very good wines! Is there anything in particular that you’re really looking forward to doing in Italy?
Yes, that’s right: I love wine! When we are on tour we always plan everything: we look at the diary with dates and cities. And just last night, talking to Mark and Howard, we said to each other that we can’t wait to eat some great Italian food when we tour there. Being able to appreciate food where it is actually made, like wine, is something incredible. One more reason why we can’t wait to bring our concerts to your country!
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“We can’t wait to sing in Italy”
Is there a message you would like to send to those who come to see you, but also to those who are discovering from this interview that you will be on tour in Italy?
We can’t wait to get to Italy. To tell the truth, we can’t wait to start the next concerts all over Europe, from Spain to Germany, in open spaces: it will be beautiful. Then there’s one more thing to say, something I’m very sure of: We bring an incredible show: I’m really excited for all our fans to see this show. It’s a concert we’ve probably done on about thirty occasions already, and we’re not tired. It’s a really fun show to do and watch. We will come to Italy and bring some good entertainment and some good music, so… give us the audience: that’s all we need now!
Everything changes… but you
You see, Everything changes but you, Take That! (everything changes, except Take That)
That song already said it all!
You had already written the future with that song… could you have ever imagined it? I saw that you will have a special event in Malta, with the songs from the album Everything changes.
We will sing it on tour, and it will be a special gift for those who come to see us! It will be special. And then to Malta for a weekend dedicated to that album. We live in a time where the older music gets, the more value it gains… I don’t know if it’s due to what has happened in recent years all over the world. I believe that music has acquired more value than in the past, and this applies to us too. Music has a stronger weight today, and we will continue to do our best to enhance it.
This Life Under The Stars European Tour – The dates in Italy
July 7 Marostica, Piazza Castello
July 8 Rome, Auditorium Parco della Musica, Cavea
10th of JulyTrani, Piazza Duomo
July 11th Bologna, Sequoie Music Park – Parco Caserme Rosse
