Take That's The Band musical becomes the fastest selling UK Tour ever

The Band launches in Manchester this September

The UK Tour of Take That and Tim Firth's new musical The Band has become the fastest selling theatre tour in history. According to a press statement, having gone on sale at 12noon today, within the first two hours the box office had taken £2 million.

The musical, which is produced by David Pugh & Dafydd Rogers, was launched at the Manchester Apollo where Take That first performed in 1992. The UK tour will begin at the Manchester Opera House on 8 September, with an official opening on 26 September 2017.

Described as a new musical about what it's like to grow up with a boyband, it follows five 16 year-old friends in 1992, for whom 'the band' is everything. 25 years on, we are reunited with the group of friends, now 40-something women, as they try once more to fulfil their dream of meeting their heroes.

The cast of The Band includes AJ Bentley, Nick Carsberg, Yazdan Qafouri Isfahani, Curtis T Johns and Sario Watanabe-Soloman, who, as Five to Five, won the BBC talent search Let It Shine. They will be joined by Rachel Lumberg and Faye Christall in the roles of Rachel and Young Rachel, with further casting is to be announced.

Directed by Kim Gavin and Jack Ryder, the musical will feature designs by Jon Bausor and choreography by Kim Gavin, with lighting design by Patrick Woodroffe, video design by Luke Halls and sound design by Terry Jardine and Nick Lidster.

Following the opening in Manchester, The Band will tour to Sheffield, Bradford, Southampton, Llandudno, Stoke, Cardiff, Liverpool, Norwich, Canterbury, Hull, Leeds, Newcastle, Bristol, Birmingham, Plymouth, Northampton, Nottingham, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

A West End run at a yet-to-be announced theatre is said to be on the cards following the tour.