‘We want to tell Take That’s story our own way’ in Netflix series

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.”

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.”

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.