Carol Decker on Gary Barlow: 'My feelings were really hurt' - video
Published Dec 6 2011, 14:29 GMT | By Mayer Nissim
T'Pau singer Carol Decker has admitted that her feelings were "really hurt" by Gary Barlow's comments about her on The X Factor last month.After Amelia Lily performed T'Pau's 'China In Your Hand' on the show's Guilty Pleasures week, Barlow quipped that it was "nice to hear that sung in tune".
© Ian West/PA Wire/Press Association Images
© Rex Features / Ken McKay/TalkbackThames/Rex Features
Decker hit out at Barlow on Twitter at the time and the Take That star later apologised for his comments.
Speaking to Absolute Radio DJ Christian O'Connell's Beer and Cake Club, Decker said: "I just felt like I'd been kicked in the stomach. I was speechless.
"I just thought it was unnecessary and completely untrue, I don't sing out of tune. In fact, I'm not perfect but I find it quite difficult to sing out of tune, I've got very good relative pitch if you want to be boring and trainspottery about it.
"So if he was looking to be controversial because he's in the Simon Cowell chair he just picked the wrong thing to say. But then I could not get over how many people leapt to my defence, and my Twitter following went from 9,000 to 31,000 in about an hour."
She continued: "I'm surprised at him because he is an excellent songwriter and a really, really good musician, so he knows that what he said isn't true, that's the first thing.
"I'm known for that song, I'm known for my big voice and my vocal performance. So he sort of like trashed everything I'm respected for in a second, and it was a very peculiar thing for him to say."
Asked if Barlow was playing up to the cameras, Decker said: "If he was he was silly. It was the wrong thing to say.
"If it popped into his head he was daft, if he was primed by the show he should have had more sense, you know, but there you go."
Decker, who performed Take That's 'Back For Good' at the Leicester Square Theatre, also suggested doing a duet with Barlow so that he could see "how well" she sings.
Have any commentators actually listened to any of T'Pau's music (I mean, apart from the obvious one album's songs)? I missed them when they were around in the 80s/90s but now have all 5 of their studio albums plus their recent 'Behind the Tracks' DVD. I'm not a nutter, I just like big voice 80s rock pop and T'Pau did a lot of cracking tunes and for anyone into such music their albums are well worth picking up. So thanks to T'Pau and Carole for their services to music over the years along with all the other bands big and small, here and gone. At the end of the day, bands and musicians people are entertainers and they do the world a great service - so if you derive some pleasure from any band, you should try to be decent enough to not rubbish groups which are now gone, or are on the 'blast from the past' circuit - whether you're a presenter on a pop music sausage machine show or a commentator on this page. I missed Bucks Fizz and Iron Maiden in the 1980s too but have seen them both in the 2010s and they both did cracking gigs (unfortunately I think I've definitely missed Bach).
Gordon Panther
PS And she does not sing out of tune!
May 10th 2012 at 12:23am
enough with the mil, kng.
December 7th 2011 at 1:40pm
Please bare in mind, the interviewer asked Carol about the incident, not like she ain't going to reply. Gary was wrong, she accepted his apology and as she said, all forgotten time to move on, so Carol at the end of the day is right in responding, he started it by his comments, not the other way round. Good to see you back Carol.
December 7th 2011 at 11:27am
this happened weeks ago! its old news... and you swearing was a bit unnecessary too.. voice your feelings but there's no need to swear.
December 6th 2011 at 10:14pm
I agree, aside from the t'pau comments he has really gone down in my estimation, the blatant attacks on other acts to make his seem better than they are is so annoying. I don't doubt his song writing abilities but the guy is coming across like a complete ****.
December 6th 2011 at 8:55pm