THE lead singer of one of Britain's biggest-ever boybands has revealed that an Accrington club refused to pay him in his early days as a performer.
In his autobiography My Take, Take That's Gary Barlow said he was "utterly embarrassed" when members of the club's committee refused to hand over a penny because the gig was "not what we were expecting".
At the time, in the Eighties, Gary was performing as half of a duo called Karisma with his girlfriend Heather. They went along to the gig in Accrington where they were booked to play three songs.
In the book Gary says: "We did all our usual material, which went down really well wherever we played, but afterwards, as we were packing up our gear, two members of the committee came over and said: 'I'm sorry, kids, but the fact is you weren't very good, not what we were expecting at all, so we're not going to pay you.'
"I couldn't believe it, I knew they were trying it on. They refused to pay us a penny. I was utterly embarrassed by the whole thing."
Gary does not reveal in his book which Accrington club knocked him back but, fortunately, it didn't dampen his spirits and he went on to become one of the country's most successful singer-songwriters.
If you know which club Gary performed at? If so ring our News Desk on 871444.
