Been There, Done That but My Daughter Got the T-Shirt!

I recently took my sixteen year old daughter through to Glasgow to see Take That in concert. And, of course, we had to check out the merch and, yes, she wanted a t-shirt...

It Only Takes A Minute

As Take That played some of their back catalogue to an absolutely packed stadium, I understood, yet again, just how lucky I was during my career with BBC Television.

You see, I've met the Take That 'boys', (all five of them), in person, on more than one occasion. The first time was when we flew to Australia together. At the time, I was working as a Production Assistant on a programme called, The OZone, and we were doing a 'behind the scenes' film about Take That breaking Australia. It was a real eye opener in more ways than one...

Be Sure

For starters, I hadn't realised that this, as I considered them to be, manufactured boy band, actually had some talent. That soon changed when I heard them sing a cappella in a shopping mall in Sydney. I was fairly blown away by what I heard and the crowd loved them too so, I wasn't alone. Never judge a book by it's cover - or a boy band by its covers or originals!

I also learned the names of the band members - helpful when you have to produce a shotlist of everything recorded! I can still remember standing in the OZone production office, before heading to the airport, with a colleague pointing at a poster, saying, 'That's Gary, that's Mark, that's Jason...' And to then discover that the guys were, and presumably still are, some of the most genuine and nicest people in the pop world was an added bonus.

Shine

For some time, I'd known that everyone in TV production worked incredibly hard - out on location in all weathers and all hours, carrying on until the job is done and carrying all that equipment around too! However, watching Take That in action was impressive. They tirelessly, (ok, they got tired at times but they carried on regardless), went from interview to interview, studio to studio, performing and meeting and chatting with industry professionals, journalists and fans, including the fans who'd flown to Australia especially! Take That were constantly on the go and, of course, that meant that we were too! Amusingly, we'd often arrive at a location to find fans already there and telling us, 'They went that way!' Apart from the obvious long hours, I got to watch, close up, a music PR machine in action. Nicki Chapman was on hand to work her magic, along with the record company's Australian team, and it was a smooth process, filled with opportunity. It was fascinating to observe.

Said It All

Watching the enthusiastic (understatement of the year!) audience of what was the third sell out show in Glasgow, it registered how my Australian experience would have been a dream come true for so many of the people there. (I can still remember my Dad telling me that when one his colleagues told his daughter about my trip, she apparently burst into tears and ran off to her bedroom! This was at a time when Take That were BIG news and they were being hailed as the next Beetles.) I did also become known at TV Centre as, 'the one who went to Australia with Take That' but I was ok with that!

This Life

There were, largely unspoken, protocols when working at the BBC with celebrities at that time - it was unprofessional to ask for autographs or photographs etc and this was indeed before the days of selfies or phone cameras. It is a shame that I never had a photo taken with 'the boys' but I do have other souvenirs and memories from that trip. I learned my craft working for BBC Television, with some of their top talent, and I'll always be grateful for that and, yes, I'll 'Never Forget' my trip to Australia with Take That!

My daughter

got the t-shirt.

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