I have NEVER been cool – Howard thinks he is and Jason really was but not me, admits Take That’s Mark Owen
FOR more than three decades he’s been known to millions of fans as Take That’s cute and cheeky “little one” – as well as boasting one of the most distinctive voices in pop.
But after recently celebrating his 50th birthday — a party he insists he will drag out for the whole year — Mark Owen jokes that he finally hopes to be the “cool one” by releasing a solo LP after years of “wanting to be as cool as Jason and Howard”
With a glint in his eye as he opens up about his first album outside the band in a decade, he says: “I try and play it cool but I’m not cool, there’s no coolness in me.
“Even being in Take That for all this time I still don’t think there is, but that’s all right.
“Howard (Donald) always thinks he’s cool, and Jason (Orange) really was cool — he just is.
"At least I’ll be the coolest guy on this album!”
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Mark this week released the lively lead single, You Only Want Me, ahead of the album later this year — and admitted he can’t wait for the whole project to come out, even urging The Sun: “Leak it if you want!”
But explaining why he decided to go it alone again after so long, despite the ongoing success of the long-running manband, he insisted the side project came with the blessing of bandmates Howard and Gary Barlow — despite their jibes over it.
He says with a laugh: “I sent the song to Howard and Gaz. They said it was s***. No, afterwards they were very complimentary.
“We knew we were having a few years off. I knew Gaz had a couple of projects he wanted to work on and Howard just plays golf endlessly, which is my idea of hell.
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“He goes away for days and days at a time playing. I can’t think of anything worse. Good for him, but no thanks.
“So I was finishing Take That and being, like, ‘I’m going to do a record’.
“Covid made me take my time over it too, which I think helped with what came out.
"We’ve made three Take That records since my last solo album but I’m not very good at multi-tasking. I can’t do two things at once so I needed to know I had a couple of years to focus on it.
“The adrenaline of making music and performing is just part of my life. I can’t wait to get back on stage. I’ve got festivals coming up, I honestly just want it all out there now.”
The album features a cameo appearance by two of Mark’s three children — daughters Willow, 13, and Fox, nine. He also has Elwood, 15.
He says: “They’re into all their own music but actually they’re aware and interested in this, which is nice.
“The girls are singing on the record, doing backing vocals with two girls who have been performing with Foo Fighters, so that was exciting and a nice experience for them.
“They’re excited about it being out this week, and keep asking questions about it.”
Mark lives in Los Angeles after quitting Britain several years ago, but says he is increasingly drawn back to his native Manchester and the North of England after a recent visit.
But he is clear that any lure of a quiet home life near where he grew up has nothing to do with turning 50 — a milestone he insists doesn’t trouble him emotionally and which he is determined to celebrate in full for the rest of 2022.
He adds: “I am in celebration for the whole year. I’ve said that I am celebrating all year long and I’m making the most of it.
“If I’m going to be 50 I might as well enjoy it. I’ve got a bit of a routine.
"I’m not a health obsessive but obviously you have to try a bit harder if you want to keep dancing on stage.
“I’ve swapped bad drinks for lots of water, I walk the dogs, but really I still love the physical side of doing what I do, the dancing, just as much as ever.
“It’s a nice feeling to do. I go to spinning classes too. I was at SoulCycle last Saturday.
"I did a Eurovision class to Bucks Fizz and then went mad in Rough Trade Records next door. It was basically my perfect day.
“I live in Los Angeles now. I’ve bought a surfboard but I haven’t learned to use it yet.
"I’ve been in Manchester lately and I’m really getting a bit of a pull back to the North of England.
EARLY YEARS
“I don’t know whether it’s obviously because family are there, but the last few times I’ve been back, I’ve been going, ‘Why am I getting this pull?’
“I think you reach a point in your life . . . There’s something about the North of England.
The last few times I’ve been there, it just feels different.”
Mark and bandmates Gary and Howard met last week to promote their new film Greatest Days, a big-screen version of their successful musical The Band, which is inspired by their early years in pop.
The trio unveiled the project at the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday in a move which coincides with a new movie project from pal and on/off Take That member Robbie Williams — a biopic titled Better Man, which is currently shooting in Australia and will be released next year.
Mark says of Greatest Days: “We were in Cannes yesterday — and the night before, we filmed a cameo for it in Athens.
“The guys who play us were a better version of us than we are, that’s for sure! It was really sweet.
"We met the band and we met the older ladies in the film, and I loved the choreography.
“It’s very of its time and takes me right back.
“Rob has a film out he’s been working on too, and actually I’ve seen Rob quite a bit recently since moving to LA because he’s out there too.”
And laughing, Mark adds: “I mean, I think our film will be better — it just will be.”
Mark’s next project will see him hit the road for festival and tour appearances performing his solo material, which he admits he is delighted with after he had months more time to work on it than he had first expected.
But the highlight, he says, is being able to share the music with his dad Keith, who is a musician himself.
He says: “It’s just a lovely thing to be able to send it to him — a physical copy — and proudly show him what I’ve done.
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“He got me started in music and he’s the guy I most want to impress, in many ways.
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“I guess it’s just because he’s my dad and always will be.”
- Mark’s new single You Only Want Me is out now. His album Land Of Dreams will be released in September.
OWEN'S GOIN' ON UK TOUR
AFTER putting a support band together Mark hopes to cement his solo return with a UK tour at the end of this year – and starting with two big summer festivals.
The gigs will see Mark without his Take That bandmates – but he jokes that he will be more interested in other performances than his own.
He says: “Live is what it’s all about, of course, and I can’t wait to gig the new songs when the album is finally released.
“I always remember the first gig I took my boy (Elwood, 15) to and he was probably a similar age to me when I went to my first concert.
“I guess he might have seen a Take That gig but it’s different when it’s your own dad – the first gig he went to was Green Day at The O2.
“I took him and his mates, stood back and watched as they went crazy every time Billie Joe Armstrong said the F-word.
“We all remember our first big concert. But anyway I’ve got myself a band together, which is exciting, and we’re playing Isle of Wight and Latitude Festival.
“I couldn’t be more excited – but mostly because I love festivals and I know I’ll wander around and watch everyone else.
“I just went to Coachella and saw Harry Styles, Dave, loads of different people – so what will happen is we’re just about to go on stage and the band and tour manager will all be like, ‘Where’s Mark?’
“I’m just excited to be there and see everyone else – but it’s a joy to be part of it.”
