meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
The Romesh Ranganathan Show

Take That: 90s Regrets, Songwriting Pressures & The Circus Tour Returns

The Romesh Ranganathan Show

Ranga Bee & Platform Media

Comedy, Society & Culture

4.6711 Ratings

🗓️ 9 February 2026

⏱️ 66 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Gary Barlow, Mark Owen, and Howard Donald sit down with Romesh to talk about the ups and downs of Take That – from their crazy beginnings in the 90s to the reboot of their legendary Circus Tour. They talk about the band's audition process, the pressures of songwriting, and Gary Barlow's not-very-popstar passions: Star Trek and interior design magazines. Plus Romesh admits to a 30-year-old act of jealousy. A Ranga Bee Production in partnership with Listen.  00:00 Intro 00:32 Romesh Admits Being Jealous 02:30 The Audition for Take That 05:33 Gifts 08:50 Mark Owen's Dream Trip to Graceland 10:02 "Heimscheißer" 12:40 Take That's Circus Tour 20:00 Take That's Early Career Regrets 21:22 The Take That Annual Fact File 24:53 Gary Barlow's Star Trek Fandom 27:33 If Not Music, Then What? 32:03 Take That's Favourite Films 33:42 Netflix Documentary 37:17 The Pressures of Songwriting 40:04 Howard Donald on His Role in the Band 42:50 The Most Unusual Present from a Fan 44:37 The 90s  48:47 Misquoted: "Beards Can Get a Bit Sweaty" 53:32 "We Weren't a Boy Band" 57:10 Future Ambitions Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Ready to launch your business? Get started with the commerce platform made for entrepreneurs.

0:04.8

Shopify is specially designed to help you start, run and grow your business with easy customizable themes that let you build your brand,

0:12.4

marketing tools that get your products out there. Integrated shipping solutions that actually save you time.

0:17.4

From startups to scaleups, online, in person and on the go shopify is made for

0:22.8

entrepreneurs like you sign up for your one dollar a month trial at shopify.com

0:27.7

slash setup Jamie Lang and Sophie Haboo have arrived on Disney Plus we're having a baby

0:35.6

we're having a baby I've always wanted to be mom. And we're

0:39.8

bringing you on our journey through everything. I have no idea what we're doing. Thank you. I have

0:44.5

more of an idea. I think of it like a Tamagocchi. At the end of all of this, we're going to have a little baby.

0:51.9

Raising Chelsea, a Hulu original series, streaming exclusively on Disney Plus.

0:57.4

18 plus subscription required T's and T supply.

1:00.3

Is that sweet and salt that?

1:02.3

I think it's just sweet.

1:03.9

Okay.

1:04.3

How do you feel about that?

1:05.5

Yeah, because you live in America now, are you?

1:07.4

It's actually like quite yeasty.

1:10.2

Can I ask what your opinion is on this? Because

1:12.1

I was in LA a long time ago, I did a shirt there. And this like pumping the, you know,

1:18.0

the, oh yeah, put on it on. So that, that bottle. I'm not sure about that. Like, what's going

1:23.4

on it? Yeah. Are you in favour of that? No. No, okay, good. No.

1:27.9

But we got our first hot take of the pod.

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Ranga Bee & Platform Media, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Ranga Bee & Platform Media and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.