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a new one take that Documentaries on Netflix charts rise and fall, then rise againone of the UK’s biggest boy bands. Directed by David Souttar, three episodes narrated by current members Gary BarlowHoward Donald and Mark Owenwhich also includes archived interviews with former band members robbie williams and Jason Orange.
Suta told independent He urged the band to relinquish creative control by trusting his team to tell their story. He admitted, in a “sadistic” way, that it was gratifying to see the final cut “give them a sense of what it was like at the time; very difficult, complicated feelings. They said it was a tricky thing to relive those moments – they had all worked so hard to get to where they were now, both personally and professionally.”
Here are the biggest revelations from the documentary.
Gary Barlow feels intense pressure to write hit songs
Especially in the first episode, but really throughout, we often hear Barlow talk about the enormous burden he places on himself as the band’s lead songwriter. When their song “Once You’ve Tasted Love” failed to reach the Top 40, “I felt like I failed,” he said in the documentary. Despite its video’s reputation for vulgarity, debut single “Do What You Like” also failed, leading Barlow to wonder if other members of the band were making disapproving comments behind their backs. When their manager Nigel Martin-Smith told them they needed to do a cover version, it was a tough pill to swallow. But the success of American R&B band Taveres’ dance-pop version of their 1975 hit “It Only Takes a Minute” was just what they needed to make an impression. Spurred by the song’s success, Barlow wrote their first single “Pray”, which made Take That the biggest pop band in the UK.
After Take That split, Barlow didn’t leave home for 13 months
One of the most moving parts of the documentary comes in the second episode, where we hear from Barlow about the struggles he went through when Take That broke up in February 1996. At this time, Robbie Williams was busy carving out a career as a solo artist; Barlow was forced to watch his former bandmate reach the pinnacle of success with his single “Angels,” appearing on late-night television and taking a spot at Glastonbury Festival. Meanwhile, Barlow was mercilessly ridiculed by the press (and Barlow), was dropped by his record label as a solo artist after a failed US radio tour, and developed an eating disorder. “I killed the pop star,” he said of the months he spent doing nothing but eating, being locked away in his Cheshire home and becoming increasingly unrecognizable. His weight became another target, with David Walliams and Matt Lucas mocking him as they presented Williams with another award. “I saw it all and witnessed it all,” Barlow said.
Robbie Williams hurt by Barlow’s comments about his weight
While Barlow readily admitted the insecurities he faced on “Take That,” we didn’t hear any new testimony from Williams. What we do know, though, is that Williams tends to put on a show, alternating between tough guy and fun party animal. So it was surprising to hear that Barlow had his feelings hurt over his weight issues while they were still in the band. “I called him Blobby, not Robbie,” Barlow recalled, frowning visibly. The issue apparently bothered Williams for years, enough for him to raise it with Barlow when they finally reconciled decades later.
‘Shine’ isn’t about Robbie Williams…it’s about all of them
Mark Owen was Williams’ best mate in the band and was described by the “Rock DJ” singer as “the nicest guy in the world”. The documentary reveals that Owen also respected Williams, but felt devastated when he quit the band in 1995. So when he sang lead vocals on Take That’s big comeback single “Shine” in 2007, many fans thought the lyrics (“You’re a big star to me/You’re everything I want to be/But you’re stuck in a hole/I want you out”) were about Williams. Irving said that wasn’t the case, while acknowledging that even Williams probably thought it was about him. “This is about me,” Irving said. “It’s about all of us.” Paired with uplifting instrumentals, it’s easy to discover in hindsight that this was the band’s message of encouragement to themselves: “Don’t be too hard on yourself… Don’t let your demons pull you down/Cause you can have it all.”
Barlow and Williams met to talk about their grievances … and resolved the issues in less than an hour
In 2010, the band had an emotional reunion with Williams, for which the (temporarily) reunited five-piece released a new album, progress (one of the best-selling albums of this century). At the time, Williams was “bored, scared and alone” in Los Angeles and felt like he had nothing to say on his record. But he had a lot to say to Barlow and vice versa. “In about 25 minutes, we solved a problem that had been bothering us for years and felt like we could move forward after that,” Barlow said. Afterwards, they were able to return to the studio to collaborate, with Barlow sticking around as the primary songwriter early on. Barlow and Williams are clearly still on good terms. They most recently collaborated this year on the song “Morrissey” from the latter’s new album, British pop music.
take that The documentary is now streaming on Netflix.