We’ll Never Forget our fans NeverForgetourfans
Story starring Let It Shine winners is boyband’s tribute to faithful who supported them from beginning
TAKE That are on the cusp of a sold-out global tour – and tonight they’ll get a chance to warm up by stepping out on stage in front of millions of TV viewers.
Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen’s stadium and arena gigs to support their new album Wonderland will include three nights at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow in May.
An Evening with Take That, a one-off special on STV, will give a taste of what the lucky ones with tickets can expect.
Fans from all over Europe will be in the studio audience. They have been asked to come dressed in their own costume creations to add to the spectacle – and they will get to ask the band questions and request songs from their back catalogue.
Gary said: “We are really looking forward to performing material from our new album Wonderland, some of it for the first time. But a Take That special would not be the same without a few classics thrown into the mix.”
The latest tour marks the band’s 25th anniversary. And their journey – and especially their beginnings – was very much in their minds when Gary, Howard and Mark held court earlier this week at the Manchester Apollo, a venue on their first-ever concert tour, to announce a new venture altogether.
While the Wonderland tour will see them performing in the round – which means they will be centre stage for all fans to see – the trio, along with sometime member Robbie Williams, have moved behind the scenes to produce musical The Band.
The show tells the story of five girlfriends and their journey from 16-year-olds in 1992 to 40-somethings reuniting as they try to fulfil their dream of meeting their pin-up heroes, The Band.
AJ Bentley, Nick Carsberg, Yazdan Qafouri Isfahani, Curtis T Johns and Sario Watanabe-Soloman, otherwise known as Five To Five, were picked for the musical via BBC talent show Let It Shine. But although they will perform to
It’s a roller-coaster
a Take That soundtrack, they won’t be playing Gary, Howard, Mark, Robbie and former member Jason Orange.
The Band is based on a letter from a real fan and Take That wanted to put the focus of the musical on the people who have supported them.
Gary, 46, said: “We are so involved with the musical and we are starting to fall in love with everybody we are working with.
“We feel very proud to be able to sit in an audience. This is all new to us, to watch our music being performed.
“One of the things we loved when this story came about is it pays the ultimate respect to our audience.
“This turns the tables and pays respect to those who have loved our music, supported it, made it part of their lives.
“It’s a celebration, a beautifully written story and a roller-coaster of emotions.
“It is what theatre is all about, putting something on stage which will take people from laughing to crying to standing on their feet dancing, singing along, making them feel like they are 15 again.”
Mark, 45, said: “We met those kids when they were 16 years old and they were outside our houses screaming, and we have seen them grow up. That is the story of Take That in many ways, the audience and the support they have given us.
“We sometimes say we are just a vehicle for them all to get together and have a good time.
“We’ve always had a great relationship with our audience and this is why we were keen to do this and find the right story.
“All these people are going through their lives that are changing left, right and centre and music is the central core.”
The fans obviously agree. The Band took £2million within two hours of going on sale this week, making it the fastest-selling theatre tour to date.
It will arrive in Scotland next summer, playing at the King’s Theatre in Glasgow from June 26 to July 7, 2018, and at the Edinburgh Playhouse from July 10 to 14, 2018.
Since they made their top 10 chart breakthrough with It Only Takes a Minute, Take That have enjoyed a career spanning three decades, selling 45million records, shifting eight million concert tickets and setting the record for the fastest-selling tour in UK history.
They’ve also won five Ivor Novello and eight BRIT Awards.
Returning to the Manchester Apollo brought it all back for Howard, 48, who admitted he was reduced to tears the first time round.
He said: “It’s funny, because when we went backstage today, it sent a shiver up my back, because I always remember on that tour, the volume of the screaming girls.
“When you are in such a confined An Evening with Take That is on STV at 8.30pm tonight. The Band is at the King’s Theatre, Glasgow, from June 26 to July 7, 2018, and at the Edinburgh Playhouse from July 10 to 14, 2018. space, well it’s very intimate, put it that way.
“Before nearly every show, I used to break down in tears because of the emotions, because of the noise. It’s amazing coming back.”
The Band also involves West End producers David Pugh and Dafydd Rogers.
It has been scripted by Tim Firth, who wrote Calendar Girls, which he recently turned into musical comedy The Girls with childhood pal Gary.
The singer revealed the 1992 Manchester gig had on a profound impact on him too.
He said: “I met Tim when we were 15. We lived in the same village and the first gig he came to was Manchester Apollo.
“I called him the next day to say, ‘Did you enjoy the gig’, and he said, ‘It was absolutely brilliant but I didn’t hear a word of anything you sang.’
“It was literally three days before he got his hearing back, the fans were that loud.”