'We wanted to tell Take That's story our own way'

9 hours ago

Lauren HirstNorth West

News image — The Netflix series charts the band's journey from Manchester to pop stardom

Netflix/Take That The original line-up of Take That - Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Mark Owen, Robbie Williams and Jason Orange - are posing for this professional photograph in front of a white background. They are wearing black leather clothing embellished with metal studs. — The Netflix series charts the band's journey from Manchester to pop stardom

Take That's Gary Barlow said the band really wanted to "tell our story properly" ahead of the release of a new documentary about them.

The three-part series, which drops on Netflix on Tuesday, tells the story of the early beginnings of the five-piece band in Manchester and their journey to global pop stardom.

The documentary features never-before-seen footage and new interviews with Barlow and two of his bandmates Howard Donald and Mark Owen.

"Our story is amazing – and we were all excited about sharing it in a way people haven't seen before," said Barlow.

He added: "Some of the headlines from our early days made it seem like there was a lot more drama than there was.

"So, we felt that if we were going to tell our story properly, it needed to be more representative."

Amongst the new footage are recordings which Donald captured on a camcorder.

"I gave some of my camcorder tapes and old diaries – from the 1990s to 2015 – to the production company, and they delved in and picked up the right bits for the documentary," he explained.

"There was so much information – where we played gigs, how much money we made, what the shows were like and how I was feeling at the time – and we then talked about those things in the documentary."

Take That/Netflix Howard Donald and Gary Barlow, pictured during the early days of Take That, are pictured sitting at a piano in this candid image. Barlow is making notes on a piece of paper. — The Netflix documentary will show never-before-seen footage

Take That/Netflix Robbie Williams, who is wearing a white baseball cap and jersey with red detailing, is holding a camcorder up to his right eye. — The documentary features archive interviews with Robbie Williams

Take That/Netflix This close-up image of Gary Barlow shows him with his mouth wide open as he stares directly at the camera. — Gary Barlow said the series was a "reminder of the rollercoaster we've been on"

Take That/Netflix Mark Owen is laughing as he lies back on a sun-lounger on a busy beach while holding a book. — Mark Owen said watching clips of the Progress tour was the "divine moment of the whole series for me"

Donald said the second episode was "hard to watch" since it "brought back the question of why I felt so angry when the band broke up".

But he said the documentary made him realise that he would not "change a thing about the last 35 years".

The documentary gives an insight into their experiences in a band that captivated millions of fans while playing sold-out shows, topping the charts with 12 huge UK No.1 hit singles and selling more than 45 million records around the world.

Owen also said the documentary had brought back many memories from over the past 35 years.

"A moment that sticks in my mind was when we wrote and recorded the Progress album at Electric Lady Studios – which was Jimmy Hendrix's old studio – in New York," he said.

"That was the first time the five of us had ever been in a room making music together, and there was so much energy flying around… It was beautiful, magical and at the same time incredibly fragile."

Take That/Netflix Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen are laughing as they sit on a couch during a TV interview for the The Graham Norton Show. — Gary Barlow, Mark Owen and Howard Donald were interviewed for the Netflix series

Owen added: "I keep thinking how amazing it is that we've done so many things in the last 35 years, that it's even possible for us to make a three-hour documentary with Netflix."

The episodes will be available on Netflix on Tuesday 27 January.

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