Two and a half years ago, as the world came to terms with the devastating reality that Take That had finally split, it seemed only a few aspects on boy-pop's diminished horizon could be truly relied upon. Robbie would always be the bad boy, Gary the gifted songwriter and Mark Owen. . . well, he's always been the one who sang and just looked pretty. After Take That's demise none of the other members had quite so much to prove as Owen, the doe-eyed heartthrob who received two-thirds of the band's fan mail. He was, if you like, the Baby Spice of the group. "I was always seen as the cute little lad who smiles and takes his shirt off," says the 25-year-old, voted Most Fanciable Male In The World by Smash Hits readers three times. "I wanted to show that there was a lot more to me. I was always being told I couldn't do it from so many channels, probably even from the band. So, I wanted to hold my head up high and be proud of what I achieved."
While Robbie and Gary followed their respective paths of louche behaviour (a la Liam Gallagher) and crafted pop (a la George Michael), Mark had no obvious role model. Yet, it was Mr Cute who had the loftier aspirations. He struck out on his own to make a rather more radical departure than either of his two mates. His debut album, Green Man, was recorded with the help of highly respected producer John Leckie (Radiohead, Kula Shaker) and is a rather convincing mix of polished guitar pop and new-age melodic wispiness. NME described it, rather sniffily, as, "the sort of indie rock album that will delight occasional devotees of Crowded House and those who think Radiohead sound heavy metal". The inky cognoscenti may mock, but it's still an impressive leap for someone who never wrote a song until he left the band and then penned 31 of them in five months - 12 made it onto the album. His first single, the Lennon-like "Child", shot into the charts at number two.
Full Interview: link
Interview from 1997
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