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EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
For GBWS Website now known as GB FANS,
(GBAP/GBDL), 28th August 1997
Interviewed By Kelly Howe
We thank Kelly for allowing
us to reproduce this interview on GB FANS.
This exclusive interview with
Gary was conducted by the now retired GBWS, which merged with GB
FANS (formerly known as GBAP/GBDL) Administrator Kelly Howe at WASH
FM radio station in Washington, DC on 28th August 1997. Thanks go
out to Arista Publicity and Radio Promotions for making the interview
possible, to WASH FM for allowing us to invade their territory,
and to Gary for letting us have some of his valuable time in a tight
schedule!
Gary arrived at WASH FM
just before 11am. He spent 10 minutes taping an interview which
would air on the station in the following week and then recorded
some promo spots for various radio stations. Afterwards I met Gary
and we had an informal interview. This interview follows.
G.B.:
Who do you know in England? Which girls?
K.H.:
Well, Julia Wharton is my webpartner. She's in London.
G.B.: She sent
me some stuff to my house in Manchester, some details.
K.H.:
Are you mad at her?
G.B.: No...no.
You know I sent her an email myself once.
K.H.: In March.
G.B.: Yes...
K.H.: Thank
you Gary!
G.B.: Yes I
did! Cause some of the things was wrong so... I try and get Kris
(Ed. Kristina Kyriacou) to check up on 'em every month to
see whether they're right or not.
K.H.: Do you?
G.B.: And if
they're wrong then I'll write back again.
K.H.: Do you
have an email address?
G.B.: No, I
don't. I'm not on the Internet.
K.H.:
Cause we get loads of emails from "Gary Barlow".
G.B.: Do you?!
K.H.: We do!
We had four incidents this last week!
G.B.: Did you?
K.H.:
...from "Gary Barlow".
G.B.: No -
it wasn't from me.
K.H.: I know
it wasn't from you! They came from Australia and you were in Hong
Kong.
G.B.: Oh really
- oh...there you go!
K.H.: So we
scrapped them! Anyway... I know you've been all across the country
this week. How'd it go?
G.B.: It went
really well, yeah...yeah. We've been doing all the AC stations (Ed.
Adult Contemporary) this week and we entered at 26 in that chart
so I'm hopeful. We're hopefully gonna get it moving. But we're coming
back soon.
K.H.: I know!
The 22nd of September?
G.B.: In about
two weeks, something. Yeah - the 18th I think.
K.H.: To do
Top 40...
G.B.: I'm gonna
do this thing in New Orleans as well.
K.H.: Oh, what's
that?
G.B.: A big
convention. Um...doing a little bit in Canada.
K.H.: They'll
be very happy to hear that! They've been worried that you've forgotten
them.
G.B.: Yeah,
well do you know what? I'm on Arista as well in Canada and usually
Canada follows the rest of the world - America's always last. But
you know usually I'd release as well as the rest of them in Canada
but we couldn't. Because I'm on Arista they won't let us...no. So
it's gonna come out the same time as this here (Ed. Canada release
dates same as America.) So there's been no point in me going
until now.
K.H.: Well
you have a lot of fans up there - they're #3 on our website visitors.
G.B.: Okay...
K.H.: So how
do you think your fans are feeling about you now that you are a
solo artist?
G.B.: I hope
that they're still enjoying things, you know.
K.H.: Getting
a lot of support?
G.B.: I am
getting a hell of a lot of support. I've had some really good trips
away where I've been met by everybody at the airports and it's been
really nice. I've had a good year. Enjoying it very much.
K.H.: You're
about to give your first solo gig in London...
G.B.: That's
right, yeah.
K.H.: What
can we expect from you?
G.B.: That's
changed now...
K.H.: It's
changed?!
G.B.: It's
gone back a month because the single's gone back to the 3rd of November.
K.H.: Open
Road?
G.B.: Yeah.
It's the 3rd of November now. So that date will have gone back a
month, and I don't know the exact date. But I think we're gonna
like invite 500 fans or something. I think we're just gonna get
the database we've got and just pick 500 names out or do some competitions
or something. Cause it's not a real big place. So we're inviting
a lot of the media as well, from around the world to come and have
a watch.
K.H.: Are you
going to be doing any Take That songs?
G.B.: I am
yeah. Yeah I'll be doing probably Pray and Back For Good,
Why Can't I Wake Up With You maybe - might do Could It Be
Magic, the uptempo one. Um.... that's probably it.
K.H.: What's
your stage going to be like?
G.B.: It's
just gonna be a plain old stage, but I'm gonna fill it with musicians
- 6 singers and 5 musicians. It should sound good.
K.H.: And you're
doing all promo this year...
G.B.: Yeah
- and the tour next year. Not that we've put any dates in yet. But
it's gonna be... it's gonna be like April or May, something like
that. Just set up the new fan club as well...
K.H.: I was
going to ask you about that next.
G.B.: Because
that's been a mess. Because I've changed managers - I'd like you
to include this, cause this is quite an important point cause obviously
the fan club directly involves the fans...
K.H.: Exactly...
G.B.: When
I changed from Nigel being my manager our fan club was in his office,
he run it from his office - which was a bad move from our behalf
because then to move it you've got to... then when I went with Simon
Fuller he never made any attempt to try and move the fan club at
all. He just let it lie there for so long. So now I've got
my own management office and that's been our first job - to set
up the new fan club. So we've got this.... I don't even know his
name! That's what I mean you see? The fans think I deal with this
but I don't. You know, other people deal with these fan clubs. But
they're gonna be mailing to all the members of the GBIS very very
soon and telling them obviously that their membership's been transferred
to the new fan club. It's taken a long time but we'll be doing some
really funky things with the fan club. We're gonna do interview
CDs and things like that. They're gonna get it really sorted out.
K.H.: Is the
rumor true that you'll have a website attached to it?
G.B.: I've
never heard that... no.
K.H.: A record
company told me that might be the case.
G.B.: No, I
don't know about that. I don't know why the record company should
know that either cause they're not involved with the fan club. No,
I don't think that's true.
K.H.: Well,
you know who to call if you want one.
G.B.: Yeah...
yeah we do.
K.H.: Could
you send a message to all the visitors of the GBAP & GBDL? (Ed.
Former name of GBWS)
G.B.: Well,
I've been there meself! I'm a visitor. I've visited quite
a few times. So... well, beautiful really! Do you know your website
is visited a lot in Asia. Because whenever I go to a radio station
they have all this info! And they say 'Oh we got it from your website'.
You know, so I said 'Oh beautiful!'
K.H.: Look...
here's our Top 5... we have 752 registered members - as of Tuesday.
Those are the people who talk.
G.B.: Wow!
K.H.: We have
thousands more who don't. Australia, England, Canada, Malaysia,
USA...
G.B.: Geez!
K.H.: Singapore
was next.
G.B.: Australia's
got a lot.... Why is that?
K.H.: They
love you!
G.B.: No, but
why have they got more than say, England?
K.H.: More
people on the net I imagine.
G.B.: Oh I
see, right.
K.H.: Course,
America is gonna skyrocket - you know that?
G.B.: But...
Wow!... So many in the USA?! I didn't know that!
K.H.: And when
they hear about you... America's got half the Internet users in
the world. So when your song hits the airwaves they're going to
come looking for you.
G.B.: What
you reckon, do you think we're gonna have a hit here?
K.H.: I think
so!
G.B.: I wanna
be... I want to be a hit here so much. I've waited so long. I'm
really looking forward to it. I just want a chance to get out there
and do everything I've done in the rest of the world here. Do you
know what I mean? Seems like I've left such a big chunk of what
I wanna do out and I just want to get out and do the biz. You know.
Enter Arista's
radio promo man Mark Rizzo who's been travelling with Gary...
G.B.: This
is Mark Risotto. (Ed. Gary's little joke!)
M.R.: You holdin'
up alright?
G.B.: Yeah.
I'm managing fine. I'm warmed up now. I just slept all the way here
- 2 hours. I couldn't wake up.
M.R.: You're
taping this?
G.B.: Oh this
is cool.
M.R.: That's
great - I'm going down as "Mark Risotto"! Thank you! My name is
Rizzo... r-i-z-z-o.
K.H.: I know
that! I know that! (Everyone laughing.)
G.B.: Well
listen, if anything's wrong, you'll hear from me - on that page.
(Ed. He means GBAP/GBDL.) You know I've written once before.
K.H.: And how
will I know it's you?
G.B.: Well
you'll know cause the corrections will be right!
K.H.: Well...see
(everyone laughing) how do I verify this Gary?! This was
our problem... I was telling Gary we had four incidents last week!
G.B.: I'll
tell you what... (Ed. Sorry mates! Privileged and confidential
information!!)
M.R.: So what
kind of incidents did you have last week?
K.H.: Well
one was an email claiming to be Gary... 'Hi ladies...visited the
sites' etc.
M.R.: That
was me!! (laughing)
K.H.: No! We
know where it came from!
M.R.: Did you
get these cards? Did you see them? (Ed. He's showing me Gary's
promo postcards.)
K.H.: I had
gotten a set of 50 and sent them out to people.
M.R.: You're
ahead of us! Great!
G.B.: God,
you're helping us! So when am I gonna meet the infamous Julia?!
K.H.: Julia?
Whenever you like!
G.B.: I mean
I've never seen her - mind you I might have seen her but I didn't
know.
M.R.: Can you
give me the location of your website?... Can read all your hard
work.
G.B.: I've
been in a few times. Soon you're gonna be the one with all the info
- cause I'll be here (Ed. America) all the time!
K.H.: Right
- and Julia will be so jealous! (Gary laughs.) Actually I'm
gonna be in England in October.
G.B.: Are you?
K.H.: You going
to let me come to your concert?
G.B.: Yeah
I'll get you some tickets. No problem.
K.H.: Thank
you so much for your time.
G.B.: Beautiful!
Lovely to meet you. Bye.
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End Of Interview
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