THE
PRESS CONFERENCE
13th February 1996, Manchester
"Unfortunately
the rumours are true, How Deep Is Your Love is going to be our
last single together and the Greatest Hits is going to be the
last album and from today....there's no more....."
Mark:
Well there you go, thank you. Well
anyway, do we choose who's going to ask the questions? I suppose
we do, anyway we'll have this gentleman at the front from BBC
Radio One.
You've
always had a reputation for caring about your fans and on the
last tour you said, "We'll be together for as long as our fans
want us to. So what has changed?
Mark: Well,
first of all...we do care very much about our fans and we basically
just decided.....there's been a number of factors that have made
us change, also we're all gonna stay around, it's not the end
and we want the fans to know that we all have plans to do other
things but a number of factors have brought us to this decision.
Fifty percent is what we all want, erm we've decided the time
is tight, we've done all that we can do as Take That, we took
it to a level well beyond any of our expectations and, I suppose,
beyond many of your expectations, there have been a number of
other factors which we don't really want to go into but I'm sure
you know what's going on behind the scenes but, basically we just
want to reassure the fans that it isn't the end. For now, it is
the end of Take That but we'll all still be around, our mugs will
turn up on TV's and doing things for numbers of years to come
and we're not totally ruling out Take That just for now, we've
taken it as far as we can go at the moment but there maybe more
to come.
What
are the things you envisage you'll be doing?
Mark:
I've got a job with the The Net at
Radio One. (Much laughter from the room as Mark is speaking to
the bloke from The Net). Your job, I'll have that. Erm, I don't
know, I think we all...it's still very early for us, the first
thing we'll probably all do when we've finished the work we've
got to do as Take That, is take a bit of a break.
Jason:
You're gonna do that thing for Playboy
aren't you Howard?
Mark:
Yeah Howard's doing a Playboy set,
he's been offered a few quid for that and I've asked me mum to
get me a job at Park Cakes. You don't need many qualifications
for that so I'm lucky there. And ex-pop star is one of the qualifications
that might get me in there, I've got a good vibe with the manager
at Park Cakes and I've got an interview on Friday actually so
I hope you'll all wish me well!
Will
you be doing the Brits?
Mark:
Yes we are doing the Brits, as Gary said, 'How Deep Is Your Love'
is going to be our last single and we are intending to do a lot
of promotion, we're gonna do The Brits and we've got stiff to
do out in Europe. Our last gig as Take That will ultimately finish
in Holland on April 5th. That's when we'll finish our last show
as Take That.
Key
103- can I ask you, if you could go back six years would you change
anything?
Mark:
Key 103 - can I ask you, why you've
never played any of our records? (Laughter from the room, followed
by applause).
Will
you never come into the Capital Tower ever again and say hello
to Dr Fox?
Gary: Oh,
we will, we've always got time for Dr Fox.
Howard: We're
all still really interested in the music business, I think a few
of us have got plans to carry on in the music business.
Gary: Definitely.
And I've got plans to launch a solo career immediately.
Gary,
Radio 5 Live.....
Gary: Who?
Radio
5 Live - and you are live at the moment - has it all hit you very
hard?
Gary: Erm,
not really, like Mark said, it's something that's been growing
over the last six months, but, you know, it is a career move for
all of us. You know, our dream is that after five or ten years
we'll come back and do it all again.
And
will you be remembered?
Gary: Oh
I hope so. Will Radio 5 remember us?
Mark: He
didn't answer us did he. (Laughter).
Howard: I
think, like Gary said, we've all got individual feelings, I mean,
I'm sure we are a little bit upset, especially me.....
When
did you .....
Howard: Excuse
me, can I just finish this, sorry.
Mark: He
doesn't speak much, let him talk!
Howard: Yeah,
I don't speak much so at least let me finish. While I'm very emotional
at the moment I know that it's the best time now to finish at
the top. We've always said that we would finish on top and it's
very good for our careers ahead of us so I think we're making
the right move.
You
must remember all the distress it caused your fans last year when
Robbie left, have you made any special arrangements for your fans
to get help now that you're splitting up?
Mark: I'm
sure that will definitely be considered, I mean, we just want
to ...sort of...again I'll say that we hope the fans will understand
that we feel we have done all we can do as Take That. We do very
much care for the welfare of our fans and if there is any problems
I'm sure we can set up phone lines or whatever may be need to
sort that out, definitely.
Did
you all come to the decision to split up or was it some of you
more than others that wanted to quit?
Mark: All
of us. We had a bit of a break Christmas time and we came back
and had a meeting in January and strangely enough we all went
in there with the same thing on our minds.
I've
heard that in your last video you all get killed off at the end.
Don't you think that will be a shock for your fans?
Mark: You'll
have to wait and see.....!
Gary: It
was the director's idea that we should all get bumped off and
he didn't even know we were splitting up! (Laughter.)
What
do you think you'll miss the most?
Mark: Erm.
Howard: I
think performing for me, that's gonna be a big thing.
Has
there been a high point?
Mark: There
have been so many high points.....
But
which points stand out in general?
Mark: Erm, touring stands out, that's something we've always said
we enjoy doing the most.....
Howard: Today
as well. (Everyone misses this quip from Howard.)
Mark: To
be honest it hasn't hit home, we were planning to announce this
at The Brits and it would have given us an extra week to think
about it but.....
Gary: Thank
you Mr Coulson for printing it in The Sun!
Mark: Nah,
they've been very good to us actually, you've all been very good
to us, we've had no problems with the media, they've supported
us, surprisingly to us. Every week we kept saying, next week it'll
turn, we've always been waiting for them to turn but they've been
behind us all the way. We've made a lot of friends in the media
- there's a lot of familiar faces.
Will
you be staying up here or move to London?
Mark: Up
here. We always said we'd never move down to London, we've all
got little places up here so we'll carry on living up here.
Who
do you think will have the best solo career out of all of you?
Mark: Thanks
Linda. (The Reporter is Linda Duff from Daily Star)
Gary: Always
the best questions.....(Laughter from the room.) Like Mark says,
this is a decision that we've all come to and we've not had much
time to think about it. But as usual i've got loads of material
and I hope to have a single out by the summer, followed very closely
by the album and I'll hopefully do some concerts this year.
Mark: Linda,
will you ask me about my solo career.
Linda Duff from the Daily
Star: Won't you be managing
a football team Mark?
Mark: No
Linda, ask me about my solo career.
What
about your solo career Mark?
Mark: Erm
I haven't got one yet, I haven't thought about it. (Loud laughter
from the room).
Will
you all be doing a solo career, an album from each of you to keep
the fans happy?
Mark: That
would be a plan for us, I know that's something I'd like to do,
definitely. I'm very inexperienced so I'm not rushing into it.
I've not had the experience of Gaz but luckily I've watched him
over the last five years and pinched a few chords off him and
a few of his songs, too, that he doesn't know about. I've got
the melodies in me head.
I
mean, all you lads could turn into the rock band from hell now
you've learned to play instruments.
Mark: Eh!
We'd scare a few people though.
Howard: No,
we've heard a few people say that I'm going to carry on playing
the drums but me, I'm going to carry on writing songs and if I
feel that I want to do a solo career, you know if anyone's up
for offers....!
Guys,
you're live across Europe on Sky News at the moment.
Jason: Are
we?
Mark: Eh!
Hello Europe!
Before,
bands have split up and individuals have disappeared without a
trace. Do you think that's going to happen to any of you?
Mark: Erm,
that's difficult for us to say. There is every chance of that.
I don't think to be honest with you, with Gary, he's managed to
build up so much material and he is such a good song writer. But
for us there is every chance we may disappear but we don't want
that to be the case, we want to have a go at doing it ourselves
now and it's not just a decision that Gary's made. It's a decision
that came from us all. We just felt, as I said, that as Take That
we did all we could but as individuals we could do a lot more.
You've
just broken America which was obviously a big thing for you, was
that a factor you considered then?
Mark: America
was never one of our main issues when we were in Take That, we
never really looked over the seas to America, we thought, what's
the point wasting all our time over there when we have other areas
where they're more interested in us. Back For Good over there
was brilliant for us. That was one of our goals, in a way once
we'd done that, there was nothing more for us to do. I don't know...America
was just another place for us. It was great to have a hit record
there but we've got so much more to do anyway.
Take That's press officer:
Can we have this lady here, she comes
all the way from Cornwall for this.
Mark: Oh
that must have been a long drive, Hello, what's the weather like
down there? I've heard there's been blizzards?
No
it's beautiful. When I left this morning it was blue skies and
sunshine.
Mark:
Really? Can I come home with you?
Come
down to Cornwall for your holidays.
Mark:
Can I stay at your place 'cause I can't afford anywhere else.
(Laughter from the room)
Oh
yes, I'm a mile from the sea. The surf's good.
Mark: OK.
I can't surf though. (The rest of the press get huffy with this
private exchange and start to shout 'question!' rather rudely.
But she does come up with the best question of the whole press
conference.) Reporter: Are you scared? Up until now you've had
someone to tell you where to go and what to do and now you're
back in charge of your own lives again.
Mark: Mm,
It is scary.
Jason: You
know, we're all quite naturally going to have apprehensions about
it but we're trying to look at it all positively and I think it's
important for us all to state that here. We don't want any negativity.
It was a very positive thing when we set out, we've achieved all
that we set out to achieve - well more - and not it's brilliant
because it's like, we've got a new lifestyle, where we feature
as individuals and we're trying to look at it positively.
Mark::
I'm sure I'll go through a stage where I wake up in the morning
and think what do I do today? I'll be quite bored. I'll probably
just wait for these to phone me up!
Gary: I'm
really proud of all the boys after all this time because in the
pop business the general law is that two of us should be alcoholics
by now, and one of us should be a drug addict. I'm very proud
of the boys because they're still the same lads I met five years
ago.
Mark: It's
held us together.
Gary: They
really have good attitudes, they're still all polite and I know
that's not much to ask but unfortunately that's one of the rules
of the music industry.
Howard: Also,
whatever happens, we will always be together as best friends and
we'll always see each other so it's not a kind of, we're not doing
it because any of us have fallen out with each other, we're all
still the best of friends.
Mark: Yeah.
Reporter:
Do you think anybody really believes
that though?
Mark: To
be honest it doesn't really matter.
You
have been travelling around together for five years and you're
still friends?
Mark:: To
be honest it doesn't matter, we know with ourselves where we stand
with each other, we know we are good friends and people can not
believe it if they want but even if we turned round and kissed
other right now on stage which I'm....
Gary: No
you're bloody not!
Mark: Oh right that's not going to happen! (Laughter).
Gary
can I put a question to you? You've been one of the most successful
bands of the decade particularly boy bands of the decade, what
advice would you give to other up and coming boy bands like Upside
Down and Boyzone?
Gary: Erm.
Just to have a laugh really. Because we've always retained our
humour throughout...I mean even before we came here today we were
saying shall we go and tell them we changed our minds! (Laughter).
I think you can take the business too seriously and get caught
up in it.
Have
you got a birthday message for Robbie? It's his birthday today.
Gary: Is it? Oh. (Loud laughter from the press.)
We're
broadcasting live and I've just been listening to our output and
we've just had a fourteen year old fan phone up in tears. What's
your message to her? (Groans
from the rest of the press for pulling such a cheap and pathetic
shot)
Mark: Erm,
we're sorry, I suppose. Hopefully, if they can hold themselves
together for long enough they'll see that we're all back and they'll
realise that it isn't the end.
Howard: They
haven't seen the last of us.
Mark: Yeah,
they've always had faith in us and we're going to ask them to
continue to do that over the time. Tears aren't worth shedding
for us four. It isn't the end of us. Do you know what I mean?
It's just...they've just got to hold themselves together and .wait
for us to carry on having a laugh and who knows we might turn
up at Gary's concert and sing a song ....(Gary pulls a face
and the press snigger)
Mark: Well,
maybe not! (Big laughs)
When
you say it isn't the end what do you mean by that because obviously
it has come to an end and apart from Gary you're not sure what
you're going to do, so what do you mean?
Jason: Well,
we took Take That as far as we wished to take it and so when we
say it's the end, it maybe the end of Take That for now, but there
is every chance at the end of the day of doing one of those come
back things, or there's every chance of us all pursuing solo careers.
When we say it's the end, it's just the end of Take That.
Will
you miss all the mass attention?
Mark: Erm,
some days I guess we will miss it but it's a nice feeling just
knowing that you brought happiness into people's lives. That's
something I'll miss, although hopefully we'll still continue to
do that, but I mean, there's also those days when I won't miss
it.
Jason: Can
I just say....
Mark: And
- oh sorry Jay.
Jason: Sorry
Mark, but can I just say, sorry to keep stressing it but this
is a really positive thing for us. It's definitely a step on.
We know there's so many sob stories with has-been pop stars, you
know, complaining about loss of money through fast cars, fast
women and fast living and we would like to say today that we've
had a brilliant time and we've got no sob stories and that's really
wicked. And a few of us have got fast cars but we're still waiting
for the fast women. It's just a really positive vibe and we're
all looking forward to going and finding it in other ways.
What
record would you like Chris Tarrant to play for you tomorrow -
one of yours and why?
(Howard whispers to Mark)
Mark: Yeah,
go on, 'Ow.
Howard: Keeping
The Dream Alive by Freiheight. It's a good song
Christina the press officer:
The last question please.
Reporter:
Claudia from The Sun
Jason:
'Ello!
Firstly,
OK, sorry if we ruined your plans to announce your split at The
Brits.....
Mark: Don't worry.
Is
there any reason that the story we printed yesterday was denied
by everybody?
Mark:
I think because most of the people didn't know and it's a little
bit of a scary thing because I mean, everybody was told to stay
hush about it. But we've done this press conference today because
we think it's important to let people know exactly how we feel.
We didn't want to keep people waiting around for the Brits, then
The Brits seemed a million miles off, once the story broke so
we thought it was best to come out and talk.
Who
made the decision?
Mark:
On what? The press conference? All of us.
Is
the main reason you've broken up because of Robbie's departure?
Jason:
The main reason we've broken up is because we wanted to. We thought
it was time, but we can't deny that there's been other pressures
from other areas but we'd prefer not to make that a major issue
here, it's a personal issue and we want to remain professional.
Howard:
It's more of a career move than anything else, keeping on top.
Mark:
Thank you everybody.
Gary:
And thank you very much for all your support.
Band
History
