When Take That announced their return to Milton Keynes one Friday morning last September, the internet went a little bit bonkers with excitement.
The same afternoon, Mark Owen called Sammy Jones to talk exclusively about the tour, the album, Odyssey, and the band's future beyond the Greatest Hits Live 30 package.
"I remember Milton Keynes from when we used to do our club circuits many, many years ago," he said, "...because I came from Oldham, I always thought that Milton Keynes was like taking a trip into the future.
"I used to love going to Milton Keynes because it looked different."
The band famously returned to the new city in 2006 and enjoyed a sell-out two night stint at the National Bowl, playing to an audience of 130,000 avid fans.
"When we last played, we had just come back together and were playing a few arenas, and then it escalated to some stadiums. I think originally we were going to be doing Wembley Stadium, but they hadn't finished it," he remembers.
"It was amazing it really was, and it felt very exciting to be playing venues like that - I'd spent a lot of years looking at a lot of my favourite acts who were playing there, like Foo Fighters and Eminem. It was incredible to be playing there."
Rick Astley will join Mark, Gary and Howard on this tour, occupying the special guest slot.
"We've bumped into Rick a few times over the years, and because we felt that this tour is a celebration of our history and our music, we wanted the other people to have a catalogue where the crowd could come and know every song that was going to be played, so they could really enjoy the evening..."
Total MK saw Rick guest with Foo Fighters a while ago...
"I knew he'd done that, and I was like 'If the Foo Fighters are doing it, we're doing it!"
David J Hogan / Getty images
Mark also explained the process behind Odyssey, the Greatest Hits package which was released at the tail end of last year.
It had been lovingly pieced together. The band spent the necessary time to make sure everything was right. It would have been easy to pull the expected hits together with some new artwork and have done with it, but that was never going to happen.
"For us, that would have felt like a non-event," Mark said, "Originally, the record label wanted to issue the package last year (2017), but we said 'Listen can you give us some time to do some stuff with it - to make it a bit more unique and a bit more special.
"Thankfully they said they would, and it allowed us to go into the songs again, and to start to play with the sound.
"We re-recorded a few, re-invented some, and put some new songs on there too, we wanted to do something that had a bit of our personal touch.
"It's been exciting for us to be able to do that, and a wonderful experience for us to be involved in."
"It's the best Greatest Hits album I've heard," he says, sincerely.
Past members have been wrapping their ears around the disc too: "Rob has got the record, and as it tells the history of the band, he's all over it."
While Take That these days is a well-oiled uber-successful six-legged machine, fans have been messaging us and asking 'Could there be any special guests who might appear during the shows?'
"Touring is a big commitment, but we want to make this as much of an event as possible. If you are talking about Jay and Rob, they could turn up tomorrow if they wanted to, there would never be any issue and we would love that."
Tucking three decades under their collective belt is a massive milestone for Take That, and there aren't many bands who that make it that far, so absolutely this is a celebration.
But, says Mark, it's also the perfect way to 'tidy things up.'
"When we came back in 2005, it was for four of five days to say goodbye to everybody, and we ended up staying together for 14 years," he says, looking back.
"This record feels like it tidies it up and closes this part of the band. It's a nice way for it to be wrapped up and say 'That's that chapter done.'
Is it a step too far to think about Take That beyond the tour, then?
"I don't know what our plans are beyond this tour," Mark admits, "We just want to make this as positive as possible and a great experience, and a way for us to say 'thank you' for the time, and also for us to celebrate the years, the reincarnations, and the different songs we've made in whatever shape or form they've come along.
He pauses: "Then, who knows?
"We'll see where everyone's hearts and spirits and souls are at the end of it..."
Take that play Stadium MK today (May 23). For details click here
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