Britain's hottest tribute to Gary, Mark, Howard, Jason and, more recently, Robbie, could well be breaking hearts at the Beck Theatre. SIBA MATTI spoke to lead singer, Lee Cornick, to find out more about the show
PICTURE the scene: it is 1994 and practically every teenage girl in the country is in hot pursuit of tickets to see one of the biggest boy-bands to dominate the pop charts, Take That. Fast forward more than 15 years and tickets to see the group - who can boast an ever-loyal army of fans - remain equally elusive.
But local followers of Gary Barlow, Mark Owen, Howard Donald and Jason Orange, who were recently reunited with ex-member-turned-soloist Robbie Williams, have another opportunity to swoon over their favourite band, courtesy of tribute act, Take That Mania, comprising lead singer Lee Cornick, 35, Lee Bennett, 31, Mike Howard, 24, and Tim Carr, 22.
Lee explains: "We were working together on a project in the entertainment industry when one of us asked, 'do you remember Take That?', about six months before they reformed in 2006.
"We decided to do a little tribute show and it went so well, we decided to pursue it full-time."
Although the foursome now unashamedly admire Take That, Lee confesses he wasn't a fan as a teenager: "When I was growing up, it wasn't cool to listen to Take That and be a boy, but since their comeback, they have an uber-cool collection of music and everyone seems to like them.
"I was surprised at how well I actually knew their music. Gary Barlow is a brilliant songwriter and the group do cover versions really well, too."
Lee, who also manages the group, says they have done their homework to ensure they look and sound like their idols: "We went to see Take That for their Circus tour and they were fantastic. It has to be one of the best concerts of all time," he gushes.
"We have also listened to their albums non-stop and spent hours watching their videos to perfect their moves."
So what can fans expect to see at the Beck Theatre?
"The show is all the greatest hits performed live on stage, with high-energy dance routines, fantastic harmonies and amazing costumes," Lee reveals.
"Each gig is different but we play all the classics including Relight My Fire and, of course, Never Forget, when everyone gets up on their feet and sings along. We will also perform some newer material, including anthems like Greatest Day, which makes everyone, including myself, feel good. Tim is a gymnast and also does parkour [free-running] so he is very flexible and can do all of Mark's famous flips."
Despite Robbie's recent return, Take That Mania, for the time being at least, will not be adding a fifth member to their troupe.
"Part of me is a bit cynical about Robbie's return and we are going to wait and see before we ask another person to join," Lee admits. "Take That have achieved so much success without Robbie and a lot of their songs have been designed for four people, so as a result all our routines are made for four.
"Having said that, we have open minds and we know plenty of Robbie tributes who we could potentially sign up."
And all four members have no issue with the stigma of being a covers band: "We know we are not Take That, and we are not trying to be them, we are just performing their music in a way people expect to see it," Lee insists.
"I was in a couple of signed pop bands and appeared on CD:UK, but they didn't go so well, even though we had a lot of fans.
"Nowadays, everyone wants to be on The X Factor and have a number one, but sometimes the journey there is better than the actual destination."
