I attended a course about songwriting
taught by Gary Barlow and the two of us hit
it off like a house on fire. I was useless at
the writing lyrics bit but Gary seemed to just
enjoy chatting me over a brew in the breaks
about beard length and our preferred
thickness of gravy on a pie. He told me he
didn’t quite remember his appearance
outside ASDA West Swindon as a teenager
in Take That and I had to admit I wasn’t
there either. We never talked about taxes or
COVID Zoom gigs but I did admit to crying in
a Sainsburys bakery listening to The
Greatest Day a week after being dumped.
He tickled my Adam’s apple and said ‘chin up’.

Carl Burkitt 2024