Alex Kadis, former editor of the legendary Take That Official magazine, became a trusted confidante to the famous five behind-the-scenes during their meteoric rise to fame
Take That fans might have spent the nineties fiercely arguing over whether Gary Barlow or Robbie Williams was the true musical force of the band, but an ultimate industry insider has revealed the real genius was someone else entirely.
Alex Kadis, the former editor of the legendary Take That Official magazine, became a deeply trusted confidante to the famous five during their meteoric rise to fame. From escaping screaming crowds through secret cinema tunnels in Spain to sitting on an emotional farewell canal boat in Amsterdam, Alex witnessed the madness firsthand. Now she has lifted the lid on who she thinks is the most underrated member – Mark Owen.
“Mark has a great sense of humour, and is very principled too,” Alex reveals. “He’s also more talented than he’s ever been given credit for. I can see Mark all over the more recent Take That songs. And of course, you can never get tired of looking at him, he’s just so good-looking from every angle.”
Their bond went far beyond the pages of the glossy magazine as Alex ended up managing Mark’s solo career for five years after Take That’s devastating 1996 split. Eager to be taken seriously as an artist rather than just a “cute superstar”, Mark poured his heart into writing impressive, acoustic-driven tracks.
His solo venture initially yielded massive success, with his debut album Green Man spawning brilliant top-three UK smashes “Child” and “Clementine”. He later backed his music with packed European tours and secured another huge top-five hit with 2003’s anthemic “Four Minute Warning.”
However, Alex admits the brutal reality of extreme childhood fame quickly took a heavy toll behind closed doors. “In hindsight, it’s a shame he hadn’t had a couple of years off,” she reflects. “I could see that the damage that had been done to him by becoming so famous so young only started to creep up on him during his solo career. The daily grind grinds someone down until they don’t actually know who they are.”
That immense pressure completely altered the group’s internal dynamic. Alex recalls Robbie Williams as “just a kid” who completely lost his grip on normality before his dramatic exit. Meanwhile, Jason Orange battled severe “imposter syndrome” while unwinding to 70s vinyl in his flat. Gary Barlow was the hyper-focused, hilarious driving force who would treat the band to ice-skating trips, and Howard Donald was the practical-joking, “rock solid” glue keeping them together.
Years after the heartbreak of their initial breakup, it was ultimately Mark who quietly orchestrated their legendary 2006 reformation. He invited Alex for a fateful breakfast at the Bluebird in Chelsea in 2005 to float the idea of a reunion.
“He asked what I thought, and I said it seemed like a good idea because at the very least it would provide them with closure,” Alex recalls. “But of course it wasn’t closure, it was an opener.”
Alex Kadis’ debut novel, Big Nobody, is out now
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: mirror.co.uk
