The UK Tour of David Pugh & Dafydd Rogers and Take That’s production of Tim Firth’s new musical, THE BAND, with the music of Take That, went on sale at 12 noon on Monday 3 April nationwide, and, within the first two hours, took £2 million at the Box Office, making it the fastest selling theatre tour ever.

The musical was launched on Sunday 2 April, on stage at the Manchester Apollo (where Take That first performed in 1992), at a rehearsed reading in front of an audience of invited guests, from fans to friends.

THE BAND is a new musical about what it’s like to grow up with a boy band.  For five 16 year-old friends in 1992, ‘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 Band will be played by AJ Bentley, Nick Carsberg, Yazdan Qafouri Isfahani, Curtis T Johns and Sario Watanabe-Soloman, who, as Five to Five, won BBC’s Let It Shine.  Playing the parts of Rachel and Young Rachel will be Rachel Lumberg and Faye Christall respectively.  Further casting is to be announced.

THE BAND will be directed by Kim Gavin and Jack Ryder, designed by Jon Bausor and choreographed by Kim Gavin, with lighting design by Patrick Woodroffe, video design by Luke Halls and sound design by Terry Jardine and Nick Lidster.

THE BAND will be produced by David Pugh & Dafydd Rogers and Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Mark Owen, Robbie Williams.

Tickets for THE BAND are now on sale. To book, call 0844 338 5000 or visit www.birminghamhippodrome.com