大象传媒

Boys to Men

• Kim Lenaghan
• 12 Oct 07, 01:44 PM

As Take That take to the stage of the Odyssey Arena it’s great to know that not only have they re-lit the fire under their own careers but rekindled the girlhood memories of thirty something (and older!) women everywhere.

I won’t get a chance to see them this time round, but I did go to the gig they played in Belfast last year and they were fantastic….and that was in the early days of their comeback. I have some friends who were at last night’s concert and today, despite being hoarse and hungover, they were like trilling teenagers, hormones racing – either that or they were having hot flushes, at our age it’s hard to tell the difference.

As for the lads themselves, they may be more of a middle aged man band than a boy band these days but, by all accounts, they still have all the moves. Indeed someone I know very well, whose anonymity I am going to preserve here for the sake of her professional reputation and describe her simply as “sources close to Take That” was very “phwoarrrrrr!” about how they were looking backstage, particularly Gary Barlow. To quote my source “Small, but perfectly formed and very well toned!”

And better yet, no longer is this just any old former boy band – it’s an M&S former boy band. Yes, Take That are the male equivalent of Twiggy, Erin O’Connor and co, modelling this season’s new look. Now, I can see why Marks & Spencer would want them and why they would want to do it, but I’m still not entirely convinced that it isn’t rather ‘uncool’. Let’s be honest, love him or hate him, you can’t ever imagine Robbie modelling a ‘Marksy’s’ cardie.

They do look very mean, moody, sexy and unshaven in the big in-store displays though, and the reality of whether they’re still cool and desirable or not will be if those posters start to go missing. I can see it all now…. dozens of women of ‘a certain age’ wandering out into Donegall Place with strange, rectangularly shaped hips because they have Take That posters shoved down their knickers. God help the store detectives.

PS: Would somebody please nick me a Howard!

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