Back in the day five lads with toothsome grins, buckets of sex appeal and a wicked way with a song lyric – be it theirs or someone else’s – held the hearts of the world’s teenage girls to ransom.

The hysteria that enveloped Take That and its members in the early 1990s, and to a certain extent still to this day, was a phenomenon not witnessed since the heyday of The Beatles.

If Robbie Williams was the band’s twinkly ‘bad lad’ and Gary Barlow their establishment stalwart, Mark Owen was the little cheeky smiling chappy adored by girls and approved of by their mums.

When Take That initially crashed and burned in the mid 1990s Mark became the first member to release a solo record. He also won Celebrity Big Brother in 2002 and despite a couple of rocky patches and less than glowing solo reviews has maintained a popular public profile, despite never quite reaching the solo heights achieved by bandmate Williams.

Earlier this summer he released the album The Art of Doing Nothing, which he is promoting with performances at a number of high profile festivals including Dorset’s very own Camp Bestival at Lulworth Castle from August 1-4, which he is visiting with his wife Emma and three children.

“I’m really looking forward to it because everyone says how amazing it is,” he said.

“It’s the only reason I did the album – I thought ‘go on, release an album and get free tickets to Camp Bestival!’ I’ve already booked my Winnebago.

“It’ll be really nice for us all to be there, although I haven’t told the kids they’ve got to spend three days in a van with their dad!”

The first release from The Art of Doing Nothing is Stars, a really rather lovely piece of upbeat power pop with more than passing similarities to Moby’s We Are all Made of Stars.

Even the two videos are remarkably alike, with both singers walking around a city – LA for Moby, Berlin for Mark – dressed as spacemen.

“I wanted to be an astronaut but the problem with going to space is that it’s very expensive. I came across some artwork by Victor Ash, who was an early-day Banksy, of an astronaut painted on a wall in Berlin and I thought ‘it’s a sign, I’ve got to go there’.

“The strangest thing was we had two cameras to film the video – one watching me and one watching the people’s reaction to me – and no one batted an eyelid at the sight of a man walking the streets of Berlin dressed in a spacesuit.”

Mark is charmingly chatty, always laughing and refers to The Art of Doing Nothing as a ‘record’, instead of an album or CD, which sounds extremely endearing in his broad Lancashire accent.

“I wanted a change after being part of the Take That world for a couple of years, I wanted to sit down and put something together myself, make a record and achieve something.

“I had some time on hand and unfortunately – or fortunately – most of my mates are musicians so when they came round the house for a cuppa we would end up writing songs and before we knew it, we had enough to make a record.

“I have recording studio in my garden where I can go when inspiration strikes, or when being the father of three kids gets a bit much!

“I think my kids like my music. I can ask them if they like the next single I’m planning to release. I asked my son which song I should do next and he suggested Raven, which will be the next single. So there’s no pressure on him then!”

So is it strange going solo again after the recent success and adulation that came from the reincarnation of Take That in 2005 and culminated in a blistering performance at the closing ceremony of last year’s Olympic Games?

“It’s funny, because a couple of gigs into a tour and I’m loving what I’m doing but I do get nervous going on stage because that’s where your drive comes from. It’s good to have a bit of nervousness because you can turn it into a positive and do your best.

“Having said that, there’s no point in talking to me the hour before a performance because I’m in ‘my zone’ getting myself ready. I’m not sure what ‘my zone’ is, but I’m in it and there’s really no point coming over for a chat.

“I do a few shows and I love it a lot more than I thought I would do and then when there’s a break in the schedule I’m really gutted because I want to be out doing more.”

Life has turned out pretty all right for Mark Owen. He is a member of one of the biggest and longest-lived boy bands in pop history, has a respectable solo career and a lovely family. Is there anything he would do differently?

“Have a hit solo record!” he laughed – Mark is a ready laugher.

“No, I don’t think I’d do anything differently. I go through stages when I listen to my old stuff and think I could do certain things better, but that’s just a part of the process of growing up. I am so lucky, to be where I am and looking forward to coming and exploring the Dorset countryside.”

Mark Owen may not have realised his ambition of being a spaceman, but I bet his life has been more stratospheric than he ever dreamed it could be, as a result.

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