Gary Barlow admits to stealing lyrics in past

The Take That singer and writer said that when the band first started out, he could never think of anything original to make into a song.

Speaking to The Sun, he explained: 'Throughout the '90s I didn't have any views. I always felt lyrics were a weak point for me and I was often a copier of lyrics. I would use other people's emotions. I'd listen to conversations and talk to friends and always stole my lyrics from people around me. I very seldom looked inside myself to write. That's something I've acquired this time round.'

But he has managed to find a cure for his writer’s block in the shape of his mum’s living room.

He said: 'One of my best tricks is that every now and again I go and see my mum for a few days. I leave a keyboard there and I set it up in front of the window, overlooking the fields. Suddenly I'm in a whole different situation. It's a new environment.'

Talking about Robbie Williams’ recent reunion with the group, he revealed he made a conscious decision to back off and let Williams and Mark Owen have free reign with the writing. 'I'm sat there thinking, 'OK, I'm a writer, Mark's a writer, Robbie's a writer. Now, listen, on a three-minute single how much of each individual can you get on? So I had a plan, I thought 'I'm going to become like one of these hip-hop producers and I'm going to make the backing tracks'.'