THE BAND

Opera House, Manchester

Until Saturday

Twenty-five years ago, a five-piece boyband called Take That provided the soundtrack for a generation.

It was the era of Top of the Pops, Kangol hats and inflatable bag packs (remember those?!).

Now it's 2017. Take That have slimmed down to a trio, TOTP is no more and those ridiculous bags — one of which I so desperately wanted at the time — are long gone.

But something that has stood the test of time is the fantastic music of Take That and here it is, all rolled up in simply stunning musical The Band.

Earlier this year, Let It Shine set out to find five performers to play a boy band in this very show.

Five to Five were born in the BBC talent show which I dipped in and out of watching, but it struck me as a bit cheesy and dated and not really my cup of tea.

Scroll through the gallery above to see all the action from the show (credit Matt Crockett)

Off I went to Tuesday evening's official opening of The Band, by The Girls' writer Tim Firth, and I was expecting something similar.

How wrong I was.

As well as the iconic tunes of Take That, The Band has a wonderful story, solid performances by a fantastic cast and comedy from beginning to end sprinkled with nostalgia and heart-warming moments.

For five 16-year-old friends in 1992, ‘the band’ is everything. Twenty-five years later, they are reunited as 40-something women, as they try once more to fulfil their dream of meeting their heroes.

The actresses, young and old, are a delight to watch but particularly gobby young Heather, played by Katy Clayton, and Rachel Lumberg, who plays older Rachel, the pal who brings it all together.

The Band — AJ Bentley, Nick Carsberg, Curtis T Johns, Yazdan Qafouri and Sario Solomon — manage to capture the magic of Take That without appearing like a second-rate tribute act.

The show features 14 Take That songs, including Never Forget, Pray, Back for Good, Rule the World and Shine.

The talented boys perform the tracks as they are cleverly weaved into the story, I challenge you not to sing along.

As it the show's official opening night, the audience was in for an extra special treat as Take That themselves — Gary Barlow, Mark Owen and Howard Donald — appeared on stage to bring the show to an epic close by singing Relight My Fire with Lulu.

It has just been announced the tour has been extended by a year. If you are a Take That fan, young or old, new or hardcore, be sure to get a ticket.

Visit thebandmusical.com for more information.