Take That: The Fannish Anniversary Pic Spam

[przed]

In the usual course of things, I'd have no idea exactly when I fell for a certain fandom. In the case of Take That, however, and thanks to the wonder of LJ, I can track it down to a half hour window. So I can say with complete certainty that it was one year ago today that I fell for TT.

It all started because the lovely halotolerant posted a link to TT's performance of Kidz at last year's Brits. A performance that I'd seen and really liked, so I responded to her post. And she proceeded to lure me in with a potted history of the band and lovely videos of pretty boys.

It took a little bit to take. Here's Exhibit A, a comment I made just as I was about to go over the precipice:


Oh, the naiveté. Even the Sweetie knows their names now.

But then Halo sent me a link to this video, of Mark Owen singing Back for Good with Robbie Williams at Robbie's big Knebworth gig.

It is not the tightest musical performance ever—they barely rehearsed, and as Halo has pointed out they both sing the harmony bits on the chorus because that's the way they learned it back in the day—but it is utterly delectable. The way Rob looks fondly at Mark, and Mark returns the look with complete adoration, is unbelievable, ground zero for some very lovely slashy thoughts on my part.

And here's my comment after I'd watched the video and my brain had exploded:


I haven't looked back.

To celebrate this fannish anniversary, I thought I'd put together an insanely long pic spam of the pretty British boys and men who make up TT, because they're very pretty. And because I wanted to.


First, some group shots…

'90s Puppy Pile:


Serious Young Men


The boys with Hobbit Hair. Well, everyone but Gary.


You gotta love a band that are totally willing to do a photo shoot on a bed together


Fashion plate boys. I love Mark looking all serious here.


In their time traveller gear from the Kidz video.


Okay, next, have some individual shots of the boys.

I'm not the hugest Gary Barlow fan, but I'm rather fond of his gormless look here:


I have no idea of the context for this, but who can resist Gary and Muppets!


Baby!Robbie and his cheeky grin


Older and with more tattoos, but the grin remains the same.


One of the many reasons I love this band is I can simultaneously indulge in my love of footie and TT.


Jason looking particularly lush.


And here in his steampunk gear.


Going purely by looks, Howard is probably my favourite.


I love this shot, because it's one of those times that his blue eyes are brilliantly piercing.


As usual, I may have gone a bit nuts with the Mark pics. I make no apologies.

Shirtless Baby!Mark.


Shirtless, serious Baby!Mark. On a bed.


Wilderness years era Mark, looking androgynous and gorgeous.


Mark playing footie. (The fact that he's rather good at footie is just icing on a lovely cake.)


Mark in one of his hats. (I love Mark in his hats. Well, except for the one that looks like a dead cat on his head. We shall not speak of that one.)


Mark rehearsing Kidz for the Progress tour. This is probably my all-time favourite pic of Mark. I love the confidence in his stance, and the way it embodies the fightiness that is a large part of why I love him.


Let's end with a few pics of the various pairings in the band, shall we?

While there is literally no combination of the boys that doesn't show up at some point, getting a good Howard/Robbie pic was difficult. This is a scan from the Take One book.


I love the expression on Gary's face as he looks at Howard here.


More Gary/Howard.


Gary and Mark in the '90s, sharing a hot tub. As you do.


Gary and Mark now, still rather adorable together.


Robbie and Gary back in the day.


And Robbie and Gary now, all acrimony forgiven.


Mark sprawled all over Jason in the '90s.


Grown up Mark and Jason looking suave.


Robbie with Jason.


And Robbie and Jason sharing a moment on stage.


Mark and Howard being adorable goofs.


And Howard sprawled all over Mark. (I may have a story near completion inspired by this pic.)


I've posted this before, but I think it bears pulling out again. Howard and Jason. Oh, boys. (Whenever anyone questions the whole RPS thing, this is the pic I pull out. Because just LOOK AT THEM!)


Howard and Jason being adorable together, just before the '90s break up.


Footie!Willowen! Mark and Robbie being adorable in football gear. It seriously doesn't get better than that.


Oh, wait, this is even better, the best Willowen pic in existence. My god, they are beyond adorable together.


And finally my personal OT3, Howard all over Mark whilst Jay looks on.


Howard/Jason/Mark again. I'd kill to know what they're looking at on that laptop.


And there you have it, a visual exploration of my TT love.

Comments

[kayberrisford.livejournal.com]

Okay, I seriously don't know where or how to begin expressing the level of my squee at this selection...

Actually, for once, I'm going to say the last thing that is probably expected of me, and go OMG HOWARD!!! (well, maybe that's not the last thing, but it's not the first, right?) I've had a weird thing going for Howard lately. He really is just gorgeously chiselled in a way I've not always appreciated, and talk about improving with age! Gnnng. And what a lovely selection of shots.

I think the world needs a gormless Gary right now. Too many banker/politician/Edwardian landowner-equse shots out there!!

*clears throat* Now, onto what is expected of me...

HELLO PRETTY BABY MARKIE!!

Gnnnng. Loving the Rob/Mark shots, and totally sharing your OT3, of course. I have to say, though, I always loved that Kidz rehearsal shot and can see why it's your fave. I'd like to see more of that confident, fighty Mark one day (well, now would be nice...I can't help pondering quite what he was up to in a recording studio last month seeing as Gary now claims he's not talked about work with him, and I hope he's still there!)

[przed.livejournal.com]

I'll see your OMG HOWARD!!! and raise you a GNNNGG!! Howard is the first one who caught my eye. I've got rather a thing for big scruffy blokes. Comes from having married one. But then Markie wrested my heart away with his adoration of Rob and it was game over. Still love the big guy, though.

Gormless Gary is probably my favourite flavour, if I were to have a favourite flavour of Gary. Which I don't. (Edwardian landowner-esque. ::snerk::)

I become more and more convinced that Mark is far more fighty and confident than he's given credit for. Because he kept slogging away for all those ten years, through constant rejection, and never flipping gave up, bless 'im.

I can't help pondering quite what he was up to in a recording studio last month

Wait a minute while I get this out of my system. SQUEEEEEE!!!!!!!!! I know it's probably most likely that he's knocking things into shape for the next round of TT, but what if he isn't?! What if he's actually doing some new solo stuff???!!!!!! (Shan't get my hopes up, but that would rock.)

[kayberrisford.livejournal.com]

I like big scruffy blokes. When they exist in combination with small pretty blokes, I get very overexcited. Oh yes, and Howard/Mark and Rob/Mark are both lovely pairings. It's funny how I fic the less 'canon' Howard/Mark more, but I guess that's because it's rather less complicated ;)

Oh yes, Edwardian Landowner au ought to be written. I'm just not quite sure I would focus on anything other than what servants Mark and Howard get up to in the stables...

I hope you're right about Mark. If he does bring anything out, that will be the clincher. As I said, he's definitely been in that studio...I honestly daren't get my hopes up too stupidly high, but God, a solo album/tour would be pretty awesome, wouldn't it? (I'm still holding out hope for Howard on drums...)

[przed.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, Edwardian Landowner au ought to be written. I'm just not quite sure I would focus on anything other than what servants Mark and Howard get up to in the stables...

Terrifyingly, my brain has been mulling over how this could work all day. Although I'm torn between Edwardian Landowner!Gary and Edwardian HeadButler!Gary. But there's definitely apparently aloof, though ultimately protective valet Jason, and vulnerable new footman Mark, and big scruffy Howard working the stables. But man, it would take research! Or me finally watching of Downton Abbey. *g*

[norfolkdumpling.livejournal.com]

Happy Take ThatAversary!!!!!

I too am fond of their hobbit hair phase, and I totally agree on the Howard thing. OM NOM NOM.

Thank you for the pretty :)

[przed.livejournal.com]

Thanks! It's one of the best sorts of anniversaries ever! (The best anniversary is coming up next month.)

The Hobbit Hair phase is just lovely. And Howard is a gorgeous, gorgeous man. OM NOM NOM indeed. \o/

[rangerke.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry to just butt in uninvited like this but after reading your beautiful latest fic, watching the Markie vid, and catching up on your older fics (the few I had access to) that I absolutely loved, I was drawn to click your username. Now I know why!!

Happy first TT-anniversary! Mine was only last December and I've fallen so hard for them, I remember the exact date too. I'm not really the "fan type" so I didn't know what was happening to me. ;) Really tried to fight for those guys not to take over my life (and failed miserably in my intention, with LJ being the latest discovery as a seemingly endless source of squee :D).

This pic spam is extremely squee-worthy!!! Always love the fact how Mark's poses give a dynamic feel to the pics from official photo shoots. Love them all individually (with Markie being the main cause of my addiction), but together .... lost for words. *g*

That first Howard/Gary pic, that look, ahhh, and Mark's smile at Gary from 'when we were young' nearly kills me everytime I see it! The second to last is one of my new favorites (can't believe I haven't seen that one before!) and I'm so with you on that last pic: it's way too intriguing to know what's on the screen! Could go on and on but I'll calm down now. ;) Thanks for this wonderful picspam!!! And I did read about an almost finished fic inspired by that - far too close to be just friends - Mark/Howard pic, right? Right?! Excuse the excitement. ;)

Would it maybe be okay to add you as a friend, so I won't miss out if you post any more of this TT loveliness??

[przed.livejournal.com]

Welcome! It's lovely you popped by, and yes, definitely friend me! I shall friend you back. I need more people on the flist who understand the TT love. And I've definitely got more pic spam (and fic, and vids) in the works.

I'm glad to hear I'm not the only recent convert. Once I'd been bitten by the bug, I have to say I didn't really fight it. But then, I've always been given to fannish enthusiasms, even before I knew what fandom was.

Mark's poses in the photo shoots are generally amazing. And not at all traditionally masculine, which makes them even more awesome. That second to last one is fab, isn't it? There's a small version of it in the book Take Two, which I totally recommend if you don't have it.

And yes, there's a Mark/Howard story on the way, possibly fairly soon. Just waiting on my beta.

[rangerke.livejournal.com]

Thanks for friending me! Ah, just realized I can also read the locked stories now. :D

Turns out I did see that second to last pic before, because I do have Take Two. Can't believe my brain didn't store that one. I blame it on the overload of new stuff in a very short amount of time ;) (Take One/Two and My Take in a few days). It's about time to re-read it all!

Yeah, love the fact that his poses are not traditionally masculine, but I don't think they're feminine either (as I've seen suggested). He seems to embody the best of both, often giving the pics a flamboyant touch. I think it's admirable he has embraced this and never tried to be all tough. My admiration stretches to Howard in particular too, although being the most masculine and coming across as very fierce (those expressions make my breath hitch!), he doesn't try to hide his soft and cuddly side, awww!

Will soon be devouring your fics I haven't read yet and can't wait for that new Mark/Howard one! :D

[przed.livejournal.com]

I don't normally lock stories down, but after one of my TT ones (briefly) appeared rather prominently on a Google search, I decided to lock them down here.

That shot in Take Two is very small, so it's understandable you didn't notice it. Plus, there's the overload factor. (It took me a few months to acquire all of that, so I'd get one book and savour it for a few weeks before moving on to the next thing.)

I love that Mark doesn't easily fall into a masculine or feminine stereotype, not to mention his sometimes crazy fashion sense. And yeah, I love how Howard can be both fierce and remarkably vulnerable. They are none of them exactly what you'd expect.

The new fic is back from beta and done, but I think I'm going to have to wait until tomorrow to post it. With our clocks going forward tonight, I want to avoid the sleep deprivation as much as I can.

[draycevixen.livejournal.com]

Happy anniversary, petal. ♥

[przed.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

I was going to respond to your "what are you into now" post, but I was hip deep in whittling down the pics for this, and besides I reckoned you knew what my answer was going to be. ;-)

[draycevixen.livejournal.com]

I'm psychic that way. :D

[przed.livejournal.com]

You must be. 'Cause I've been subtle in my new fannish love. *g*

[anniina85.livejournal.com]

Ooohhhh! What an excellent pic spam :) All that prettyness and hotness!

Congratulations on your first "fanniversary" *g* those boys sure now how to draw you in, damn too addictive. I was just watching a bit of the Ultimate tour on tv one summer day, and then, here I am still, four and a half years later... ;) haha!

I've gotta say that I totally adore that last Willowen pic, you can't deny the love, it's soooooo evident. Such a caught in the moment pic, totally sincere.

I share your love for the confident and fighty Mark pic. That side of him is very sexy *g* That combined with his sweet, cute, dorky, vulnerable and insecure sides make him such an intriguing personality.

[przed.livejournal.com]

Thanks! It was a complete blast putting this together. Though very difficult narrowing down my favourites from all the possible shots out there.

I'm hoping to be firmly in the TT camp for a good few years yet. They are just so awesome and addictive.

That last Willowen pic is amazing. It's absolute and undeniable love, captured on film. Awwww.

Confident and fighty Mark is a wonderful thing, but you're right that it's the whole intriguing mess of sides he shows at various times that makes him so incredibly intriguing.

[halotolerant.livejournal.com]

The pupil has become the master! *chuckles* ♥ Excellent spam and pimping m'dear *g*

I am utterly delighted that I was able to lure you in like a witch with a gingerbread house made of very hot gingerbread men who kiss each other I laugh always at your comment about not knowing their names, because I remember at the time thinking 'no one crossing paths with my life will escape without being told this information at least once, poor thing, she doesn't know what she's letting herself in for...'

I am especially loving the Howard with the blue eyes, hand-on-heart Markie and Best Willowen Picture Ever, but of course they are all lovely and I applaud your decision to include every pairing (actually, hmm, that one of Jason and Robbie is really delicious too)

*bounces*

[przed.livejournal.com]

I swear, every time I do a TT pic spam they get longer and longer. *g* But I'm still learning from the master. *g*

I'll never be unhappy that you lured me into your gingerbread house to gorge on the pretty gingerbread men fandom, nor that you took it upon yourself to educate me about TT. I may not have known what I was letting myself in for, but it turned out to be awesome!

I love how every once in a while, there's a pic of Howard where the blue of his eyes just becomes like lasers. Hand-on-heart Markie is a wonderful thing, and I am constantly revisiting the Best Willowen Picture Ever page in Take One to bask in the glory of that much love being caught on film.

*bounces with you*

[halotolerant.livejournal.com]

Thing was, when I was getting into them, I was on my own *sobs* so I was wandering around going 'Oh, wait, are there videos of the old shows?' 'Hmmm, surely some other magazines had interviews', 'Huh, there appears to be a DVD here in HMV called 'For the Record', that might be good', 'I'll just try Robbie's book and see if he mentions them at all' 'I wonder if there are any old annuals or anything..' So I was very keen to fasttrack you to the good stuff without the wandering around *g*

[przed.livejournal.com]

I am hugely appreciative of the way you've curated me through twenty years of Take That. I'd still be flailing if you hadn't steered me to the good stuff. Though I have to say, I can only imagine the glee of stumbling upon For the Record without an idea of what was in it.

And since I've torn through all the things you'v recommended, and am still wanting more, I've been meaning to ask you about all those unauthorised books that are out there and if there's any worth the paper they're written on. (I've not yet delved into the world of buying the annuals on eBay, but that will no doubt come.)

[przed.livejournal.com]

Exactly!

What till you get a load of my Mark/Howard story. ;-)

[przed.livejournal.com]

Oh, I don't think I've heard that interview. Any link gratefully accepted!

They are totally cute together. Even if the breaking of things over each other's heads was a bit alarming.

[przed.livejournal.com]

Found it. Too. Much. Fun.

[przed.livejournal.com]

Take That were so ridiculuous and British and "old"

Oi! Enough with the old! They're young pups to me. (Well, okay, I'm only three years older than Howard, but still!)

But yeah, I still can't quite believe I've fallen for them quite so hard and that it's stuck. I used to roll my eyes when they started showing up on the Brits again after the reunion tour. Now I want a time machine so I can go back and smack myself.

[przed.livejournal.com]

Yeah, yeah. I'll just be taking my old bones over to the rocking chair in the corner. ;-)

[przed.livejournal.com]

Oooh, annuals! You bring those and we'll send good editing thoughts to my beta.

[przed.livejournal.com]

Howard caught my eye initially--big scruffy blokes are one of my things--but he didn't stand a chance against the power of Willowen.

[sunshine-2525.livejournal.com]

Happy Fannish Anniversary! Katy (kayberrisford) pointed me in this direction in one of her posts so I just had to come and have a look at your pic spam - and it really is awesome! Love it! Loved your comments from last year too - very funny :)

So many great pics you have posted; Baby!Mark is sooo pretty and totally adorable. That pic from the wilderness years era is one of my all-time favourites of Mark and I also really love that pic of Mark rehearsing Kidz, and that last Willowen pic is just too adorable for words. Heck! *All* the pics are great :D

I'm a Mark girl through and through, but I think that if I would just look at a picture of them all and if I didn't "know" them, I would probably pick Howard too as my favourite.

I hope it's ok that I've friended you? I would hate to miss any other brilliant TT/Mark stuff from you;) Just so you know, my own journal is totally boring though, and I never update it...:(

Anyway, thanks for this lovely pic spam! :)

[przed.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Clearly last year I had no idea what I was in for.

It was really hard whittling all the pics down so that it was vaguely manageable. There are so many lovely ones. On the positive side, that means there's plenty more for future pic spams. \o/

I'm totally a Mark girl to, but Howard was initially the one who caught my fancy. Right up until I saw the Knebworth footage. *g* I'm still awfully fond of Howard, though, for all sorts of reasons.

Friending me is fab! And I've friended you back. It's lovely to have more TT people on the flist.

[sunshine-2525.livejournal.com]

Thanks for friending me back :)

Yes, there really are so many lovely pics. Too difficult to choose just a few ones, but I guess we shouldn't really complain about that, should we? *g*

It's funny, for me it was the opposite with Howard. I didn't really pay him him much attention before, but now I do ;)

[soundofthesurf.livejournal.com]

Happy first anniversary!!!!! I can't believe it's a year already - time flies when you're having fun, eh? *g*

And instead of us celebrating you joining us (and we should for all you do for this fandom - Fic! Vid! Pics! Cheer! Beta! Write the loveliest and most encouraging comments! Be your wonderful self! Share so much of your precious time!) you give us the present of this fantabulous and marvelful and oh-so-squeeeeee-worthy picspam! You've managed to choose almost all of my absolutely favourite pics! And a Rob-footie-pic I hadn't seen before! And Gary and the Muppets!

Awww, this is all too good!

(Also I want to go and do a picspam of my TT-fannish-ness over the years RIGHT NOW! You are SO inspiring, it's unreal!)

[przed.livejournal.com]

It doesn't seem like a year. But it's been perfect! I'm so glad I've stumbled down the rabbit hole.

Doing a pic spam is as much fun for me as it is for you, so it's a win-win scenario. (I'm totally collecting footie pics of the boys, and I do rather like that one of Robbie. I hadn't seen it around much either.)

(Also I want to go and do a picspam of my TT-fannish-ness over the years RIGHT NOW! You are SO inspiring, it's unreal!)

Oh, I do hope you do when you have a chance! I'd love to see what your favourites are.

::HUGS::

[soundofthesurf.livejournal.com]

Tee-hee! It's really a bit like stumbling down the rabbit hole - it's a bit strange in the TT-universe, and silly and slightly ludicrous at times, as well as confusing and a bit painful and brutal, but most of all LOVELY!! And always entertaining! (Why, oh, why, do I not have a Robbie-as-rabbit-icon?!?!)

You'll be pleased to hear I've started looking around for pics for a my-love-for-TT-over-the-years-picspam (working title: How I Got There And Why You Can't Not Love Them)! Let's see what'll happen, shall we?

xxx

[przed.livejournal.com]

It is a lovely rabbit hole, and if anyone ever wants me out of it, they'll have to drag me out, kicking and screaming. ;-)

Oh, I am looking forward to seeing your picspam! Take your time. It took me a couple of weeks to pull together this one and get it down to a mere 40 pics.

[soundofthesurf.livejournal.com]

Who'd ever want you out?!? I'm glad you're here!! If anyone tried to drag you out, they'd have to deal with me! *g*

You may like to check your emails! As long as I can't complete my TT-picspam I thought I'll create you a personal me-picspam - just to cheer you up! *g*

[przed.livejournal.com]

If anyone tried to drag you out, they'd have to deal with me! *g*

Yay. \o/

I loved your personal me-picspam!

[moth2fic.livejournal.com]

Gorgeous men and gorgeous pics! Thanks! (I kept it for poring over to aid recovery...)

They're almost writing their own RPS in pics, aren't they?

It's an enormous pity that I'm not wildly into their music - I don't actually dislike it but I don't find it memorable. Still, I can enjoy the pics, and the fics!

[przed.livejournal.com]

I find TT a definite aid to recovery whenever I'm feeling off.

And yeah, between the pics, the concerts, the interviews, the documentaries, and the various memoirs and coffee table books they've got out, there's everything you expect from slash--hugs, kisses, h/c, crying in each other's arms, crying over break ups, getting back together...you almost don't need the slash. Almost. ;-)

Though I'm a Robbie fan, I resisted their music for an awfully long time. (When they started showing up on the Brits after they reunited, I distinctly remember rolling my eyes more than once, and giving their musical performances about 30 seconds before I hit fast forward.) But the gateway drug for me was when they did Kidz at last year's Brits.



It's a bit harder edged than their usual run of things, and the production values (gay!stripping!riot cops!) are phenomenal. *g* I kept the show on our PVR for a month just so I could watch this one performance over and over again.

Not that I'm trying to tempt you over to the dark side or anything. ;-)

[moth2fic.livejournal.com]

Visually stunning, yeah. But I wouldn't bother with the music on its own. I'm a Stones/Queen gal and whilst I love their performances too, I don't need the performances to enjoy the music. With this, I think I would. But maybe it's part of a whole 'problem' I have with an entire decade of music - I was so busy working full time and bringing up a child and doing post grad work and helping to renovate a house that the top bands of that era just kind of passed me by. Now, as with this, I can admire but I'm not dragged in. And yet you were a comparatively recent convert! Maybe there's hope for me yet!

And as I said, the pics and fics - definitely! *g*

[przed.livejournal.com]

While I do love me some over-produced pop (a-ha, Duran Duran) they're a bit of a blip musically for me as well. I'm a Who gal, through and through. And in the 90s I was mostly busy with grad school and establishing a career, so even if I'd noticed a British boyband, I wouldn't have paid attention to them. (I did, however, follow the Britpop scene. The year we saw Robbie at Glasto, we were there primarily for Blur and Pulp, and also Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Reading Robbie's Glasto programme bio was the first I'd heard of Take That.)

What ultimately won me over was partly Mark's voice--I listen to his solo stuff more than the band stuff--but also the fact that the come off as smart, funny, humble blokes, and that you couldn't make up a story as crazy as what they really went through if you tried. I watch their concert DVDs a lot, but not nearly as often as I watch the documentaries. Also, their public personas just lend themselves so well to such a variety of crazy fanfic.

So, yeah, pics and fics are definitely a good way to go.

Let me leave you with the video of one of Mark's singles:

[moth2fic.livejournal.com]

Clever but depressing. The vid, I mean! Thanks for the link! Mark is very watchable.

The only time I've ever really listened to Robbie was when he was in the Hyde Park Live8 concert in 2005. I'd been on the Make Poverty History march round Edinburgh and got home in time to collapse and watch the entire concert on TV. It was Sting who really stuck in my mind from that, though I adored him before then.

[przed.livejournal.com]

Mark's solo stuff all tends to be quite dark. Not what you'd expect from the cute and smiley one from Take That, and just one more reason why I love 'im.

Live, Robbie is a force of nature. (Even the Sweetie admits that, and he doesn't rate his music at all.) But yeah, Sting is on another level altogether. (My three favourite bands all through high school and uni were The Who, The Police, and Yes, so Sting and the boys figured very highly in my musical taste for years. And I saw their reunion tour both times they swung through Toronto.)

[moth2fic.livejournal.com]

Sting was born a couple of years after me, about three streets away from my grandmother's house where I lived till I was three. Like me, he trained as a teacher. I never met him but might have seen him when he was first playing and singing (but not at all well known) in our shared birthplace, Newcastle and I was going to clubs there. Reading his biography felt somehow weird. I share your taste for The Who and The Police. For some reason I haven't heard of Yes but then it might be one of the ones that slipped through the gaps when I was busy looking elsewhere.

[przed.livejournal.com]

Your Sting connection is interesting. I can imagine reading his biography would be odd. It must have been full of places you knew well. (I'm determined to get to Newcastle some day. That's where my dad immigrated to after the war, and he spent a number of years a ship's engineer on ships out of Newcastle, and occasionally Birkenhead, before pulling up stakes again for Canada.)

Yes were one of the big prog rock groups in the '70s, but I was introduced to them in high school when they went a bit more pop and released the single Owner of a Lonely Heart. In their prog era, they were famous for doing grandiose twenty minute pieces with lots of baroque influence, which as a classical music-loving rock fan was right up my street.

[moth2fic.livejournal.com]

More odd connections - my grandfather was a ship's engineer usually sailing from Newcastle or Birkenhead... He didn't retire till some time in the late 50s so I wonder whether they met?!

I must investigate Yes - sounds just right for me, too. As you'll have gathered, I'm a contemporary of Sting and the original airing of Pros; my daughter was born in 1972 so from then on my music appreciation got a bit erratic. And yes, I'm a classical music-loving rock fan too, though I do go on diversions for some other genres.

[przed.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, my dad was in Newcastle from about '46 to '56, so they might indeed have met. Cool.

You should totally give Yes a go. They're a bit bombastic, but a lot of fun. Here's a sampler.

Roundabout is one of their best known songs:


Heart of a Sunrise is one of my personal favourites:


And Owner of a Lonely Heart is when they went more pop in the '80s and actually has a music video:

[moth2fic.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Musically interesting and more to my taste. I didn't like the ending/coda of heart of a sunrise but otherwise liked it. I almost switched off Owner of a Lonely Heart when it got onto the rooftop because that's one of my nightmares!! They're definitely a group that have never been on my radar, and thanks for the intro!

[przed.livejournal.com]

I'm always happy to inflict Yes on unsuspecting people. (They're another band the Sweetie takes issue with, though obviously for completely different reasons than TT.)

Wow, that coda to Heart of a Sunrise is very "we've listened to Sgt. Pepper's one too many times," isn't it? I'd forgotten about that. And I should apologize about the video. I'd forgotten that it squicks me a bit, though for me it's the bugs.

[moth2fic.livejournal.com]

I was surprised, I think, that a band with so much that was original in their music went for such a derivative ending. Maybe it was meant as some kind of irony??

I just about coped with the bugs - there were no cockroaches or I would have switched off immediately - but the rooftop was a step too far. I remember a B/D story with a rooftop that squicked me, and I had problems with the last Sherlock season. I've come across the same thing in other shows, and books. I do suffer from vertigo so I find even on-screen or in-print representations of the idea 'difficult'!

[przed.livejournal.com]

It's time for me to give that whole album a listen again, but I think it's a combination of the coda quotes one of the other songs on the album, and they were throwing everything but the kitchen sink into the production and seeing what stuck.

My big squick is bugs, so believe me, I understand.