25 facts you probably didn't know about Take That
Get to know the boys!
Think you know everything about Take That? Well, we've pulled together 25 facts about the band and its members, past and present: Gary Barlow, Mark Owen, Howard Donald, Robbie Williams and Jason Orange.
With their ninth album 'This Life' having been released, Gary's upcoming food and travel show, and a new documentary in the works, let's test your knowledge on these interesting tidbits. Find out all the interesting facts you never knew about Take That right here...
1) Take That haven't always been called Take That
Take That's original name was The Cutest Rush, made up of Gary Barlow and Mark Owen. Then, when Robbie Williams, Howard Donald and Jason Orange joined the band, they called themselves Kick It for a while. Of course, that didn't last long, and they changed their name to Take That and Party, before finally settling on Take That.
2) Gary Barlow says his biggest regret was not living in the moment
Gary opened up in December 2022 saying that his biggest regret from his time in Take That was not living in the moment. He explained in an interview with Ross King: "Everyone always has their different role and I was the worrier. It’s my only regret looking back, is that I wish I was in the moment more.
"I’m always thinking about tomorrow... what do we do next year? Big plans? Always planning ahead, and I don't ever really enjoy the moment."
3) Although Take That have a huge fanbase now, it wasn't always the case
It's hard to believe now, but their first few singles struggled. In 1991, Take That's first song and debut single 'Do What U Like' only reached Number 82 in the UK. Their second single 'Promises', also in 1991, reached Number 38. Take That's first Number 1 was with 'Pray' in 1993.
4) Of Take That's eight studio albums, six of them hit the top spot in the UK charts
They achieved Number 1 status in the UK.
5) Take That were formed as the UK's answer to American boyband New Kids on the Block
Actor Mark Wahlberg is a former member of the US band.
6) When Gary joined Take That, he had been performing in clubs since the age of 15
Wow! Now that's impressive.
7) Mark had previously been working at a bank before joining the band
He was 18-years-old.
8) Gary is married to a former backing dancer for the band
Dawn Andrews and Gary married in 2000, and share son Daniel and daughters Daisy and Emily.
9) Before Take That, Jason and Howard are believed to have been in a break-dancing band
Apparently, it was call StreetBeat.
10) Take That's eighth album 'Wonderland' was kept off the top spot by Ed Sheeran
It was his '÷' album in 2017.
11) Robbie was the youngest member to join Take That
He was just 16-years-old when he became part of the band and, according to the documentary Take That: For the Record, he has his mum to thank for his involvement with the band. Robbie's mum responded to a newspaper advert wanting members for a new boyband... And the rest is history!
Who is the oldest member of Take That?
Howard is the oldest member of Take That! His birthday is 28th April 1968, making him currently 55-years-old. Gary is next oldest, his birthday is on 20th January 1971 and he's currently 53-years-old.
Jason Orange is the middle child - his birthday is 10th July 1970, and he's currently 53-years-old. Mark is next on 27th January 1972, and currently 52-years-old, whilst Robbie's is 13th February 1974, making him currently 50-years-old.
12) As a group, Take That have won a whopping eight BRIT Awards
Including Best British Group and Best British Live Act.
13) Take That's hit 'Back for Good' was used in a popular Korean drama
It was called The 1st Shop of Coffee Prince, appearing as part of the soundtrack.
14) Robbie's dad is a comedian called Pete Conway
He appeared on an episode of The X Factor, where he jokingly sat in for Robbie on the panel, next to his daughter-in-law Ayda Williams.
15) Gary has written a number of songs for other artists
Including Alesha Dixon, Donny Osmond, Lily Allen as well as his former bandmates, Robbie Williams and Mark Owen, for their respective solo careers.
16) Robbie is believed to have a keen interest in UFOs
In 2008, the Mirror reported that the singer was planning to give up music to full-time ufologist - thank goodness that didn't happen!
17) Howard rarely sang lead vocals
However, he was the lead singer on 'Never Forget', which reached Number 1 in the UK in 1995. Since Take That reunited in 2005, he's taken the lead on a couple more of the band's tracks.
18) Howard suffered a collapsed lung on tour in Milan in 2007
It happened when a stage manoeuvre went horribly wrong.
19) Robbie voiced Dougal in The Magic Roundabout movie
It came out in 2005.
20) Robbie Williams made a cameo in EastEnders!
He was in an episode in 1995.
21) Take That's first TV appearance was in 1990 on The Hit Man and Her
They performed 'My Kind of Girl'.
22) Take That's 'Circus' tour in 2009 became the fastest-selling of all time
'Take That Present: The Circus Live' tour broke all records by selling all of their 650,000 tickets in less than four and a half hours.
23) 'Progress' sold a massive 235,000 copies sold in just one day
This made it the fastest selling album of the century.
24) Take That reunited AGAIN during the pandemic
Take That reunited with former member Robbie Williams for a reunion concert on Friday 29th May 2020! The gig took place on both Compare The Meerkat's Facebook page and YouTube page.
In a statement, the band said: "This is a world first for us. Reuniting with our old friend online for a one-off performance! It’s always great getting back together with Robbie and we are really excited to be part of this unique show that everyone can enjoy from home.
"We are also delighted to be supporting Nordoff Robbins and Crew Nation around this show, two charities very close to our hearts."
25) There's a Take That film!
Yep, you read that right! Gary Barlow, Mark Owen and Howard Donald executive produced a musical film called Greatest Days, based on their jukebox production The Band, which ran in 2017.
Scroll through to see Take That through the years...
1989
Starting with a line-up of five young men, Take That consisted of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Mark Owen, Jason Orange and Robbie Williams, with the original (short lived) name of Kick It.
1991
Take That's original line-up of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Mark Owen, Jason Orange and Robbie Williams. Thankfully they changed their name and after a few unsuccessful songs in the early 90s Take That's breakthrough hit 'It Only Takes A Minute' was released. The song was a cover of a 1975 song by Taveres and reached number 7 in the charts.
1992
In 1992 Take That had hits with 'A Million Love Songs' and 'Could It Be Magic'. The boys' follow-up single 'Could It Be Magic' quickly propelled them to super-stardom with a string of number 1s not far away.
1993
Take That had huge success in 1993 with 'Pray', 'Relight My Fire' (featuring Lulu) and 'Babe'.
1994
The band's success continued in 1994 with 'Everything Changes' and 'Sure'. Here they are performing at The BRITs 1994.
1995
However, in July 1995 after countless hits, fans heard the devastating news; Robbie Williams would be leaving the band following friction with other band members. Robbie later admitted in a TV documentary in 2005, that he did some "stupid stuff" after parting ways with the band over 20 years ago, but said he didn't regret it because he was young.
1995
The remaining members of Take That continued to perform as a quartet.
1996
Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Mark Owen and Jason Orange performed at The BRITs in 1996. The remaining group of four continued to tour and release songs for another year, releasing 'Never Forget' and the Bee Gees cover 'How Deep Is Your Love', finally announcing they would be disbanding in February 1996. 'How Deep Is Your Love' became the band's final number 1 before they reformed 10 years later.
Late 90's
During the late 90s three of the band members, Gary Barlow, Mark Owen and Robbie Williams, enjoyed solo singing careers with varying degrees of success. Jason Orange went into acting and Howard Donald, despite being the lead singer on a number of Take That songs, made a name for himself as a club DJ across Europe.
2005
Skip nearly a decade and ITV reunited the group for a documentary called Take That: For the Record in which the former members of the boyband were interviewed, discussing how they were discovered and looking back at their experiences in the band.
2005
Following the successful reception of the documentary by fans and the press, the decision was made to reunite with the 'post Robbie' line-up and a 2006 tour titled the 'The Ultimate Tour' was announced. After a break of nearly 10 years, Take That members Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Mark Owen and Jason Orange reformed in 2005.
2006
Take That performed on The X Factor in 2006. In 2006 they had a Number 1 single with 'Patience'. Gone were the cheesy pop tunes of the 90s, Take That had grown up with their fans and the men, now in their 30s revealed a much more mature sound, with their 2006 comeback single 'Patience'. The song quickly hit the top spot in the UK and around Europe becoming the eighth best-selling single of 2006 spending a massive 11 weeks in the top 10.
2007
In 2007 Take That embarked on their 'Beautiful World' tour. Since their reunion as a four-piece, it was clear that they hadn't lost the momentum they had in the 90s with another string of hits including 'Shine', 'Rule the World' and 'Greatest Day'.
2009
After the release of fifth album 'The Circus' in December 2008, the boys headed out on their 'Take That Present: The Circus Live' tour to promote it - and what a spectacle it was! Tickets to the entire tour sold it in less than five hours, making it the fastest-selling tour in UK history.
2010
Robbie Williams made an unexpected return to the group in 2010, joining forces with Gary Barlow - the first time since 1995 - writing a song that would feature on both Take That and Robbie's albums. Then, later that year, the news that all Take That fans had been waiting for was confirmed, the original line-up would be reforming for the wildly successful album, 'Progress' and its live tour. Their lead single 'The Flood' was released and peaked at number 2 featuring both Gary and Robbie as lead vocals.
2011
Following the band's 'Progress Live' tour in 2011 they then decided to take a break.
2014
A couple of years later Take That reformed as a group to record their seventh studio album, but it was short-lived, in 2014 both Robbie and Jason decided to leave. Robbie had recently become a dad for the second time and saying he would find it difficult "logistically". The band continued as a trio made up of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen.
2017
Take That returned earlier this year with their new album 'Wonderland' and their single 'Giants' which peaked at number 13. 'Giants' was written by the remaining three members of Take That along with some co-writers and the lyric video can be seen below.
2019
After celebrating Take That's 30th anniversary in 2019, the band put out a Greatest Hits album called 'Odyssey', which featured song "re-imagined with new arrangements and production". It debuted at Number 1, and the group embarked on a huge UK tour in 2019.
May 2020
Take That reunited with former member Robbie Williams for a very special performance in May 2020 during the lockdown amid the global pandemic of Coronavirus, performing a 40-minute set.
June 2020
The band's musical film Greatest Day was confirmed in June 2020! Although it had been in the pipeline for a couple of years, things started to get in motion in the summer, which is based on the jukebox musical The Band, containing Take That songs.
November 2020
Gary released his fifth solo studio album on 27th November, 'Music Played By Humans', which debuted at Number 1 in the UK! It features singles 'Elita' featuring Michael Bublé and Sebastián Yatra, 'Incredible' and 'This Is My Time'. Other album tracks feature vocals from the likes of Beverley Knight, Alesha Dixon and James Corden among others.
2021
On 7th October 2021, Gary surprised fans with the announcement that he was launching his own wine company. He shared photos from his new company Gary Barlow Wines on his social media.
2021
In October 2021, Gary announced his first Christmas album 'The Dream Of Christmas' would come out on 26th November. The album includes new songs like 'How Christmas Is Supposed To Be' as well as Gary's take on some classic tunes.
'Sleigh Ride' and 'The Dream Of Christmas' were released on 28th October ahead of the album.
2022
In January 2022, Gary Barlow announced he would be putting on a theatre performance show called 'A Different Stage', with dates being added throughout the year.
2022: Take That attend the Cannes Film Festival
Howard Donald, Gary Barlow and Mark Owen attend the Cannes Film Festival in the south of France in support of Greatest Days, the musical movie inspired by Take That, featuring their songs.
2022: Mark Owen teases future plans
Mark told PA that he, Gary and Howard had been working remotely to make music for their ninth album, adding that a tour could follow suit: "We have been talking. We have got a movie coming out next year. And we have been talking obviously about a new record and when that will be and what kind of thing that will be.
"So those kinds of conversations are open and always a part of the background. It is always there in my head. I am always thinking."
2023: Take That performed at the Coronation Concert
Gary, Howard and Mark performed at Windsor Castle as part of the Coronation Concert on 7th May 2023. According to a press release, former members Robbie Williams and Jason Orange were offered the opportunity to reunite with the band for the occasion, however they did not appear during the concert.
Speaking about the performance, the current line-up of Take That said: "This will be our first live show since the 'Odyssey' Tour, four years ago in 2019, and what a stage to come back on. A huge live band and orchestra, a choir, military drummers, the backdrop of Windsor Castle and the celebration of a new King. We can't wait."
Taking to Twitter to share footage of their performance following the concert, Take That later assured fans that there will be more to come from the group. The band wrote: 'It was incredible to perform live together again for the first time in 4 years and there is so much more to come. We're back for good.'
2023: Take That documentary
On 14th June a Take That documentary called 30 Years in The Making was released on ITVX. The documentary is designed to accompany the musical film Greatest Days, which was in cinemas from 16th June.
2023: Take That announce tour and release ninth album
Take That released their ninth studio album called 'This Life' on 24th November. They have also announced a tour in support of the album for 2024.
2024: Take That release new single 'You and Me'
At the end of March 2024, Take That released a brand new single called 'You and Me' to celebrate their upcoming 'This Life on Tour' shows.
2024: Take That announce 'The Greatest Weekend' festival
Take That have announced a special four-day event called 'The Greatest Weekend', which will take place in Malta in October 2024. The event will include two performances from the band, in addition to appearances from special guests, a pool party and nightclub events.
Fellow artists on the line-up include Sugababes, Ella Henderson, Sam Ryder, Daniel Beddingfield and Heather Small, with more to be announced.
2024: Take That join Lulu on tour in Manchester
Surprising fans, Take That joined Lulu while she was on tour in Manchester, on her 'Champagne For Lulu' tour. They performed their 1993 hit 'Relight My Fire'.
2024: Take That Netflix documentary announced
In August 2024, Netflix announced a new Take That documentary was in the works. The series, which has not been named, will feature unprecedented insight into the band, and include interviews with former members Jason Orange and Robbie Williams.
Hear Take That's biggest hits on the Northsound 1 playlist
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