Entrevista antigua de Howard

He encontrado por ahí esta entrevista de Howard de cuando estaba desparecido y me ha parecido curiosa

Take That star Howard Donald freely admits he has spent most of the last year in bed watching daytime television. Howard, the one with the body, the lisp and the dreadlocks, says he was so bored he started to learn how to garden and play golf - something he vowed never to do. Now 30, he confesses he is terrified of being thought to as Take That's forgotten man. He is determined to fight back as a solo star and there are plans for an album. He says: "The one thing I have learned in the last year is how to weed the garden. When you do nothing for a year you can get so bored. I've grown sick of lying in bed and watching Richard and Judy on This Morning. It is hard having nothing to do specially as my life was so intense before. I was getting so depressed I even started playing golf." While former band mates Robbie, Gary and Mark have been touring the world in their own right, Howard has been caught up in a wrangle with his record label RCA. It left him depressed and pining for his days as one of Britain's top heart-throbs. He misses being in the group but has waited two years to talk about the split which broke a million young girls hearts. Until now. He rings me out of the blue to say it is time for him to say his piece and tell me what he has been up to. Which, to be frank, isn't a lot. Meeting Howard, you can see how hard it has been for him. He had intense fame and adulation for four years. Then it disappeared in a flash and he his still nursing the wounds. He admits he is millionaire but has made nowhere near what the Spice Girls have pocketed in their short reign on the pop throne. Bitter that Take That didn't go on for longer, he reckons they could still be topping the charts now and giving the Spice Girls a run for their money. In July 1995, Robbie Williams stunned fans by announcing he was leaving the group. The following February, Howard, Gary Barlow, Mark Owen and Jason Orange annouced the death of Take That at a press conference. Howrad says he constantly mulls over his days with the group and sometimes sits at home watching videos of their tours. He adds: "The break-up was very traumatic for me. It was like a divorce and I was stuck in the middle of it. Even now I haven't got over it. I think the Spice Girls will carry on without Geri and we would could have done the same. But we always decided that once members of the band had had enough then we would call it a day. We always wanted to break up when we were on top. We were the only ones who know what it was like. It was a nightmare at times but we worked extremely hard for what we achieved." Howard says: "It was never really Take That after Robbie left. I really miss being in Take That. It makes me feel sad when I think back. I miss being with the others. We lived in each other's pockets for 24 hours a day, staying in the same hotels, eating meals together. We just needed to have a break from each other." Howard says he has written 100 songs but because of the royalties row with RCA none of them has been released. But things are looking up after his months of misery. He issued a writ against RCA and they plan to release him. Then he will be free to bring out the album he has had ready for almost two years. He is currently in talks with two other labels. And he has just splashed out on a mansion in Cheshire and lives with long-term girlfriend, make-up artist Victoria Piddington, 27, who he has dated for more than four years. Howard says: "People reckon my record will sound like Lenny Kravitz because of my haircut. But its soft and soulful - a great pop album. Robbie, Gary and Mark have done their records but it has been very frustrating for me. But I was glad to be away from that battle between Gary and Robbie. I just needed to think about what I wanted to do in life, whether I was going to go solo. I got my head together and decided yes. There was no way I wanted to go back to spraying vehicles, which is what I did before the band. If the album doesn't do very well I will be absolutely gutted. I know the songs are good enough. People saw Gary as the songwritter with me in the background. I want to prove I am more than the shy one with the body. I can prove I can write good songs." As well as his own material, Howard has co-written a track on the new album with Gary. It is called Insecurity. He says: "I still speak to the other boys. I've always been closer to Gary and we still quite a lot of each other. I've got all their solo albuns and I love Robbie's. I thought Mark would sell the most records because he was the favourite in Take That and got the most fan mail. But I think a lot of fans were a bit disappointed he had gone in a different direction. I'm really happy for their success. I wouldn't rule out getting back together but I'm not sure it would be right - unless we get really hard up. But I can't imagine going on stage with a wheelchair and a beer gut. I've invested in property and shares. I'm a millionaire but not a multi-millionaire. People probably think I'm worth about £20 million but I'm not. I've got a Mercedes and a nice house but I haven't got a £10,000 a week cocaine habit!" In addition to the album other new opportunities are coming his way. He has written the theme for new teen series Planet Pop for Channel 4. And he was offered the lead role in the musical Joseph And His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Even now Take That fans hang around outside his house and follow him. He likes that. But Howard has to be careful where he drinks and goes clubbing. He says: "If I go to the wrong place people start having a go at me, calling me 'gay boy' and things like that. I still get recognised a lot, probably because of my hair. People come to my house from Germany, France, Italy. I've got writing all over my walls. There was one woman who followed me around for a year. She used to claim I spied on her. She had a BMW and whenever I went out she used to follow me. It was relentless and very worrying. She chased me down the motorway and she used to flash her lights and pull me over. She was about 35 and obsessed with me. She followed my girl-friend as well. That can be terrifying. She used to go up and down my road. But that doesn't really happen anymore." After our 90 minute interview Howard looks at his watch and realises he has a couple of hours to kill. During the Take That heyday he used to be whisked away from gigs and meetings in blacked-out limos for the next slot on his busy schedule, persued by hundreds of screaming girls. But he turned to me and says: "Fancy a curry?" So we walk to the local Indian for a madras, a pint and a chat. At the end of the meal, which he insists on paying for, he walks out into the street - and this time there isn't a fan in sight. But all that may change again soon. The shot in the arm Howard needed was his appearance earlier this month with Gary Barlow at the Prince's Trust Party In The Park in Hyde Park. He says: "Gary asked me to join him on stage which was scary. Coming back in front of 110,000 people is a great but terrifying way to do it. I thought about bottling out of it about 15 minutes before we went on stage. I was worried that nobody would remember me. The cheer was amazing. It was just what I needed. I was quiet tearful when I came off. I didn't realise that that many people would remember who I was. It was sentimental stuff. We sang Never Forget - and happily for me the fans haven't." Taken from The Sun, July 20th 1998