I was recently in the position of having to be on a train for a total of ten hours (it was only a five hour journey, but travelling on the weekend doubled the time!). I wanted to take a guaranteed good read. A book that would see me through both the journey and any additional delays. Along with four other books (I wouldn't want to be caught short, would I?), I decided on Gary Barlow's autobiography.
I was (let's face it, still am) a huge Take That fan and, while Gary wasn't my favourite, his speedy fall from grace following the band's split, along with the feud with Robbie, of course, meant I knew this book would be fascinating. And it was. From his childhood in Frodsham, Cheshire, we're quickly launched into Gary's passion for music and his early years entertaining in working men's clubs. While interesting, this part soon got old, but luckily Gary's Take That audition arrived to liven things up.
Gary took his (self-made) demo tape to Nigel Martin-Smith's management company. Nigel loved Gary's songs (his looks, less so) and decided he'd be perfect for the boy band he was forming to compete with New Kids on the Block. Gary was introduced to Robbie, Mark, Jason and Howard and the rest is pop history.
Gary is brutally honest in his treatment of Nigel Martin-Smith and Martin-Smith himself sounds like a fascinating character, both genius and control freak. Gary is also honest about his own control freak tendencies, but he's not quite as hard on himself as he is on Nigel. Of course, he was young when Take That started and he does admit that he gave Robbie a hard time, but he claims he was clueless about it all, which I'm not sure is true. He does, however, include a telling conversation with Jason following the band's break-up, in which Jason told him what a nightmare he was.
The book's been fully updated since the reunion and towards the end, I started to feel very warm towards Gary (no, not like that; I save that for Jason). Gary loves his family, is mad about his wife and kids, and thrilled to be given a second chance at stardom. No, it's not the way he wanted things to go, but he's more than making the best of it. Plus he's traded in his ridiculous Elton-style mansion for a 3-bed semi, bless him. How could you not love that?
It's a gripping read and Gary's also got an entertainingly dry sense of humour, but it's probably for Take That fans only.
Rating: 4/5
Like this? Try Feel by Chris Heath
