Searching for Utopia :: September

Sixties singer Lulu has ruled out touring with Take That on the European leg of their reunion tour, saying, “I’m not going with them to Europe. I know I said that last time and then they talked me into it. “They’re adorable but no, I’m definitely not going to do it.”

I read the article and ended up very excited. No disrespect to Lulu, but my only question is whether there will be any Take That European tour at all. The ex-TT-cum superstar Robbie Williams held a concert in Budapest, so I hope the rest of the gang would not snub us. The British reunion tour was reportedly sold out in only thirty minutes and it landed a $10 million record deal with Polydor.

“The Making of A Boyband”: Can A Boyband Dance?

“The Making of A Boyband”: Can A Boyband Sing?

Thanks to Youtube, we could watch the highlight of the UK gig that is “Making A Boyband” scene, including “Can A Boyband Dance?” and “Can A Boyband Sing?”. It’s kinda great to know that the guys still have it after ten years of hiatus—considering that they are way too old to be called as boyband with Jason Orange (38) being the oldest. It was quite surprising as well since they had confessed that they had not got the stamina anymore to do the dance routine. Li’l Mark Owen said that he was left puffing and panting when he went clubbing after the premiere of the group’s new documentary. He said: “I went for a little dance after the premiere the other night. I only lasted an hour, I was out of breath. So I don’t know what we’ll do. We can’t sit on stools - that’s too much like Westlife.” Ouch! Westlife was my favorite boyband after Take That era, but Mark has hit the nail right in the head: they can’t dance!

True enough, singing and dancing are the most essential parts of being a boyband; so I guess it explains why most boybands lack the skill to compose songs. After TT split in 1996, the boyband era was blooming bigger than ever with names such as Backstreet Boys, *NSync, Boyzone, and of course Westlife. Note that they shared the same song writers for their hits. Right now I can only remember Max Martin, but I’m sure there were others. One could even tell that there was not so much difference between Celine Dion’s “That’s The Way It Is” and Backstreet Boys’ “I Want It That Way”.

TT songs were very different in that sense, yet they had their own style. Thanks to ole fat Gary who had apparently learned how to dance on the last concert—proud of him. Gary Barlow, the man who had been the object of Robbie Williams’ wrath after their bitter break up, has actually continued to write songs for other singers, such as: Elton John, Delta Goodrem and Christina Aguilera. However, “Back for Good” remains to be the best boyband track ever. My apologies goes to Robbie Williams. He is a great entertainer, but the song was made for Gary Barlow. But I agree with him: no more fighting! So, kind readers, pray let me know if you knew more about this European tour plan