- Aisling Bea Stars in Film about Diehard Take That Fan
- Gary Barlow Reflects on Film’s Concept and Fans’ Importance
- Behind-the-Scenes Insights and Emotional Connection
Aisling Bea portrays a diehard fan of the band who assembles her pals for a once-in-a-lifetime concert in Athens.
Gary Barlow quipped that it was a “mistake” on the part of the film’s producers not to test out his acting skills in Take That’s new film, but in all seriousness, the singer hopes that the film’s success will come from “turning a mirror” on their fans.
He joked that not casting himself as the protagonist was “a huge mistake, in my opinion, but oh well – onward and upward!”
We have a fantastic audience, and you know, the one thing that was so important to us with both the musical and the film was to turn the mirror on them and make it about how important they are to what we do.
Tim Firth adapted his stage show for the film, which is directed by Coky Giedroyc and stars Aisling Bea as a Take That fan who, 25 years after her teenage crush, must round up her old school friends to attend the band’s concert in Athens after winning tickets.
Think nineties nostalgia meets Mama Mia-esque jukebox musical.
Bea insists it was grueling filming, even though the cast had a great time singing on set.
“On Never Forget, we did the conga 30 times down the road,” she says. This scene was rehearsed for two or three days… We hope it appears simple, but it is rarely so behind the scenes.
Their poetry and music are why I still feel emotional about the song.
How was it to be the coveted celebrity?
From fantasies of marrying the boys to the ritual recording of Top of the Pops, while – for fans – the film offers flashbacks to when following the band was for many teenagers an all-consuming fixation, what was it like to be the coveted celebrity staring down from a bedroom poster?
“Honestly? “It was fantastic,” admits Barlow.
They were wonderful years…We embarked on this extraordinary voyage as five strangers.
“A manager placed us together, sent us out into the world. And within a year we were traveling to all of these bizarre countries and having the time of our lives. Indeed, this is how it felt.
I recall the 1990s as being filled with noise, chaos, and screaming, and it was fantastic.
The film Greatest Days will be released on June 16th.
