A JUGGERNAUT of a musical is set to hit Southampton in just over a month’s time.

If this week’s star-studded world premiere of The Band, attended by the Daily Echo, is anything to go by, then audiences are in for one hell of a (Take That and) party.

The show, part heart-warming play from the pen of Calendar Girls creator Tim Firth, part top notch musical with the highest production values and part atmospheric pop concert, is set to the soundtrack of hits from the world’s greatest man band.

It was a huge nostalgia trip back to the 90s for the audience, which included Graham Norton, a host of soap stars like Hollyoaks actors Gary Lucy and Ashley Taylor-Dawson and all five Take That mums, and they lapped up every brilliant minute of it.

Five To Five, who were discovered on TV talent show Let It Shine, play the fictional boyband, appearing in various guises including naked statues in a hilarious twist, providing the soundtrack to the lives of a group of best friends whose world centres around their idols.

The five lads – AJ Bentley, Curtis T Johns, Nick Carsberg, Sario Solomon and Yazdan Qafouri are utterly mesmerising, doing full justice to all the Take That numbers and even, I dare say, improving on A Million Love Songs.

The girls are firstly seen as their younger teenage selves, following their heroes from afar as obsessed schoolgirls before being reunited quarter of a century later in their own comeback ready to rediscover their lost youth.

Filled with laugh out loud gags, but with enough poignant moments to have you regularly reaching for the tissues, The Band will undoubtedly be a smash hit which will surely transfer to the West End and perhaps even Broadway, allowing Take That to finally crack America.

Pop legend Lulu joined Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen on stage for the show’s dazzling finale, which of course included Relight My Fire and was followed by a surprise announcement from producers David Pugh and Dafydd Rogers that the show has been booked to tour for at least another year beyond the already announced dates.

The remaining three members of Take That, who with a little help from Robbie Williams and the endorsement of Jason Orange, were heavily involved in the production, spoke to the Daily Echo on the red carpet.

Gary Barlow said: “It’s lovely, it really is. It’s so special to us. We’re looking forward to letting everyone see it in Southampton.”

Howard Donald added: “This reaction is absolutely mind-blowing. We’re really excited.”

Mark Owen said: “Our music is in the show and we’ve been a big part of producing it, but in all honesty we’ve got a wonderful team of cast and crew and Tim (Firth) who wrote it. It’s a lovely show, a beautiful show. We’d love to take all the credit but we can’t!”

It is hoped Take That, which includes Hampshire residents Howard Donald, who has a home in Ringwood, and Mark Owen, who lives in Petersfield, will make an appearance at their nearest major theatre during the show’s two-week run in Southampton.

The Band is at Mayflower Theatre from October 31 to November 11.