Take That

I have been thinking a lot about Take That recently since I heard that they will be going on tour and coming to Spain next year.

Most of us grew up with Take That. Likewise, I remember watching their first music videos on MTV in the 90’s and thought that they were cool. But it took me years to understand that not just their immense success made them to the talented, gentle and kind men they are nowadays. This is most likely a reason why we never hear bad words about the band.

When I watched that documentary about Take That on Netflix a few days ago, I realized how much we can relate to their struggles and how difficult it can be sometimes not to lose that kind of success in life, which was hard to find in the first place.

I published this story about “Save the Children” on this blog. And then I discussed with my colleague a few days later that there are so many smart children and young people out there who will never get a chance since they were born into poverty or have parents who simply don’t care for them.

The guys from Take That are just a few years older than I am. The group was formed in Manchester in 1990 and supposed to rival New Kids on the Block. The young singer-songwriter Gary Barlow, who had been performing in clubs since the age of 15.  Howard Donald was one of the oldest to audition, but was chosen after he got time off work as a vehicle painter to continue the process. Before auditioning, Jason Orange had appeared as a breakdancer on a popular television program, and finally 18-year-old bank employee Mark Owen and 16-year-old Robbie Williams joined the band.

Take That didn’t have an easy start, and they didn’t find overnight success. They constantly traveled to gigs across the country, performed in front of children and teenagers in schools and straight and gay audiences in smaller clubs, and tried to build a fanbase. Their first top 10 hit would take until June 1992, which was followed by number ones and superstardom.

Take That’s example showed me back in the days that it takes hard work and patience before success happens. But it also indicates that dreams can come true. Young Gary Barlow was always dreaming about being on Top of the Pops, which eventually happened in real life. For me it was the ability to move and succeed in different places in the world.

When I am thinking about my early days in London, I remember meeting many people with dreams. Most of the teachers at that language school in Holborn were trained actors and hoping to make it big one day. I remember telling myself that the day will come one day, and when friends of mine are stuck in crappy jobs or between jobs, I still tell them not to lose faith.

I recently passed the third exam for my doctoral program and remembered when I first moved to London some 25 years ago. As a young man I passed by the offices of the big banks in Canary Wharf and was dreaming to be working in one of them.

At that time I had jobs in market research and telemarketing and tried to save up money for my MBA course and two unpaid internships in New York. When Morgan Stanley eventually offered me my first career opportunity in London, the tears were coming.

I have met many younger colleagues in London and New York who have had it easier in life than some of us. Their parents sent them to ivory business schools; they had internships in the right areas with the right companies and received top job offers before they even graduated.

And they never moved countries and had to worry about paying bills while they were looking for jobs. I was never jealous of them, because at the end of the day it is all about the journey and the people we become on the path to success.

Sometimes that path can be a rocky one. When Take That split up in February 1996, millions of their fans were distraught around the world, and in the UK alone, teenage girls threatened suicide and were seen lining streets in tears, to the point that telephone hotlines were set up by the Samaritans charity to deal with counselling them.

But after Robbie Williams had left the band in 1995, the remaining members awaited a challenging future. Gary Barlow and Mark Owen tried to become solo artists, found temporary success, and eventually had their record deals canceled. Jason Orange tried to get into acting, and Howard Donald struggled with severe depressions.

While Robbie Williams achieved worldwide success, his four former bandmates went through a struggle that would last for almost 10 years. The guys were very honest in the Netflix documentary; one of them mentioned an eating disorder, and the other considered throwing himself into the Thames after Take That and a life without being pop stars.

I sincerely believe that we all can experience that kind of “rock bottom” in our own careers. I saw many bankers losing their jobs during the financial crisis with no chance of return. After our return to Germany, I experienced adjustment issues and a temporary career break before I decided to leave and find new opportunities and happiness in Barcelona.

Gary Barlow, Mark Owen, Howard Donald, and Jason Orange received a message from the band’s former manager, Nigel Martin-Smith, to have a documentary in 2005, nine years after their split. So they decided to put on clothes so that they could look as pop stars as possible on TV, met and remembered the old times while they felt lost in their lives on that night.

They were worried that people didn’t care about the documentary and that it could be a disaster. But when the public got excited, Mark told Gary, Howard, and Jason in a pub a few days later that they got an offer to go back on tour as a foursome, and despite having doubts and a lack of confidence, they decided to give it a chance.

Some twenty years later I was on the laptop and listening to “The Greatest Day,” and my young son Alessandro was singing along to Take That. And I thought by myself that we should get tickets for the tour next year and celebrate a band that is not just celebrated as a national treasure in the UK but has also brought so much joy to its fans worldwide.