After becoming uneasy with hormone-drenched hoofing, Gary Barlow disbanded
Take That, donned his serious songwriter hat and whipped out '
Forever Love': a
UK chart-topper in
July 1996 that should have previewed his debut album.
However, the album- scheduled for September 1997- was overhauled at the behest of Arista label boss Clive Davis (who launched Whitney Houston to superduperdom). The results were the Madonna-penned 'Love Won't Wait', which blazed a trail to the top for Open Road (1997). Success in America continued to elude him- despite a short-lived union with The Spice Girls' manager Simon Fuller- but further UK hits, touring, and rivalry with fellow Take That graduate Robbie Williams kept the pot boiling.
Sources: Gary Barlow Fan Club
www.ndirect.co.uk/~ricarda.sallmann/garybarlow/