Fame can be the most corrosive drug of all… just ask Robbie Williams. As he said, boys in boybands always get sick

Thirty-two years ago, I sat successful the backmost of a van with 5 young lads aged 18-23.

At the time, I was editing The Sun’s Bizarre column, and they were an up-and-coming boyband hopeless for their archetypal hit.

So desperate, successful fact, that they’d offered to travel and prime maine up from my bureau and instrumentality maine to a adjacent photographic workplace truthful I could interrogation them portion they did a promo sprout for their caller single.

In the van that day, they were bright, cheeky, funny and enthralled by my job.

Watch Piers' explosive interviews connected his Uncensored YouTube transmission here

‘Do you cognize Paul McCartney?’ 1 of them asked, wide-eyed.

‘Yes,’ I replied.

‘Do you deliberation we’ll ever beryllium arsenic celebrated arsenic him?” different giggled.

‘Why not?’ I laughed. ‘He started disconnected conscionable similar you.’

The interrogation was engaging, and I liked them.

They performed their caller opus for me, and I liked that too.

So, I vowed past and determination to assistance them marque it by promoting them successful my column.

The set was Take That, the lads were Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Jason Orange, Mark Owen and Robbie Williams.

The azygous was It Only Takes A Minute Girl, and with my enthusiastic backing, it became the deed which propelled them to popular stardom.

It was the benignant of monolithic success, fame and riches which would person made their eyes popular retired with excitement successful the backmost of that van if I’d told them that would travel their mode truthful soon.

I thought of that van thrust this week erstwhile I watched the caller BBC documentary ‘Boybands Forever’ and the fall-out that followed its airing.

After the show, Robbie posted a lengthy Instagram message to the band’s aged manager Nigel Martin-Smith, chastising him for saying this successful the film: 'He's smart, is Robbie, and it's rather clever, you know.. “I did drugs due to the fact that I was successful this set wherever I couldn't person girlfriends, oregon I couldn't spell out. That evil t**t, Nigel, it's his responsibility that I'm behaving similar a w**ker”.’

Robbie’s effect was 1 of the astir almighty things I’ve ever work from a celebrity, an extraordinarily heartfelt, emotional, self-aware, respectful but besides precise pointed retort that shone a vivid airy connected what it’s truly similar to execute overnight popular stardom erstwhile you’re a starry-eyed youngster.

He didn’t blasted Martin-Smith for his cause abuse, but helium did constituent retired that ‘nearly each members of boybands it seems person astatine immoderate constituent a intelligence breakdown’.

"You can’t assistance but announcement a signifier emerge," helium wrote. "Boys articulation a boyband. The set becomes huge. Boys get sick. Some are fortunate done a bid of self-examinations and assistance to flooded their experience.

"Some ne'er rather negociate to untangle the messiness of the wreckage of the past. I’m not breaking anyone’s anonymity by sharing the broadside effects of boyband dysphoria that subordinate to conscionable america lads.

"Howard – Contemplated termination erstwhile the set ended. Mark – Addiction, alcoholism, rehab. Gaz – Bulimia. Me – I deliberation that 1 is well-documented. Jason – Whatever effect Take That had connected him is truthful achy helium can’t adjacent beryllium portion of it."

Wow.

As idiosyncratic who’d been determination from the commencement of their journey, this shocking litany of what it did to them each truly stung me.

Robbie reminded Martin-Smith helium was conscionable 16 erstwhile helium joined the band, and 21 erstwhile helium left.

"Instead of a stern connection and a pointed digit an limb astir the enarthrosis and a benignant connection would person been the champion tact," helium added. "I anticipation I person much grace and knowing erstwhile and if immoderate of my ain 4 children astatine specified a susceptible property behave successful the aforesaid manner."

As a begetter of 4 myself, including 3 sons who’ve travel done that challenging life-shaping property group, and – thankfully – each travel happily and healthily retired the different side, this resonated powerfully with me.

The information is that fame tin beryllium the astir corrosive cause of each due to the fact that it’s precise addictive, but the much you person of it, the much restrictive connected your beingness and state it becomes.

For the biggest boybands similar Take That, the aboriginal flush of excitement is often rapidly replaced by anxiety-ridden self-imprisonment successful soulless edifice suites, successful a antithetic metropolis each night.

The temptation to edifice to booze, drugs oregon different illicit pleasures to flight the changeless frenzied attention, nonaccomplishment of privacy, aggravated media scrutiny, and ferocious enactment schedule, becomes overwhelming.

As Simon Cowell says successful the Boyband series, it’s what they motion up for truthful they can’t complain.  But it tin inactive beryllium a lonely, stressful, and permanently damaging lifestyle.

We don’t cognize what truly went down with mediocre Liam Payne successful Argentina, but friends accidental helium ne'er got implicit the demons acquired during his brainsick days with One Direction, an acquisition that Robbie brilliantly described successful his Instagram station arsenic ‘the turbulence of popular stardom’s matrix-bending washing machine.’

A fewer years ago, I bumped into Jason Orange and asked him: ‘If you could spell backmost to the anonymity you enjoyed earlier Take That, would you instrumentality it?’

"I would," helium replied unhesitatingly. "Fame corrupts people’s lives."

When we were successful that van together, 32 years ago, I should person told them each past to beryllium precise cautious what they privation for.

A HEARTBREAKING LOSS

I was truthful bittersweet to perceive that histrion Timothy West had died.

His 61-year matrimony to Fawlty Towers fable Prunella Scales was a fantastic testament to the powerfulness of existent emotion contempt her lengthy combat with dementia.

When I interviewed him for my Life Stories amusement backmost successful 2015, Prunella was successful the assemblage for the recording, and I was acrophobic she mightiness find america discussing her unwellness distressing. 

‘Sadly, I uncertainty she volition retrieve immoderate of it the infinitesimal it’s over,’ Timothy said. 

During our 2-hour interview, helium spoke incredibly honestly and emotionally astir her information which had destroyed her memory.

In the greenish country afterwards, I asked a precise blessed and affable Prunella if she had enjoyed the show.

‘What show?’ she replied. 

The thought of her present connected her own, aged 92, without her extraordinarily devoted stone of a husband, is heart-breaking.

ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT

If Donald Trump truly is simply a fascist, the caller Hitler, and an existential menace to ideology - arsenic liberals kept saying during the US statesmanlike contention – past wherefore person determination been nary protestation marches since helium won, and wherefore did President Biden invited him to the White House to enactment connected a amusement of chummy camaraderie for the cameras?

It’s astir arsenic if nary of them believed what they were saying!

And talking of bullsh*t, Vladimir Putin has erstwhile again threatened the West with atomic weapons for finally, shamefully late, giving Ukraine long-range missiles that tin occurrence into Russia.

Yet each clip we’ve crossed 1 of the dictator’s galore expected ‘red lines’, and ignored his dire nuke warnings, helium hasn’t utilized them.

And he’s ne'er going to, due to the fact that helium knows if helium did, he’d beryllium instantly vaporised.

SOCK IT TO THEM, JEZZA

I inactive person a 3-inch scar connected my forehead from Jeremy Clarkson’s fist, and helium inactive has a gnarled, bent digit which broke arsenic it deed my granite-like cranium.

But I’m with him each the mode with his run against Labour’s outrageous ‘tractor tax’ connected husbandman property inheritance which volition inevitably pb to galore farms shutting up shop.

Like the VAT battle connected backstage schools, which is already sending immoderate of them retired of business, it smacks of the authorities of envy.

Reverse it, Sir Keir.

IT'S A TOSS UP

I was amused to larn determination is simply a athletics called knob-throwing successful the Dorset colony of Cattistock. 

The thought is to hurl them arsenic acold arsenic possible, with the existent grounds astatine 31.9 metres.

Apparently, the bigger the knob the better.

I wonderment if Hugh Grant is disposable for maine to throw?