With 30 years of hits to their name, even the most cynical of music fans could name at least one or two Take That songs they’ve enjoyed over the years.
Well, apart from long-serving band member Howard Donald, that is.
Asked about his favourite track from the group’s vast back catalogue during a recent interview, Howard joked: “I don’t like any of them, they’re all shit.”
Speaking to the Events That Made Me podcast host Liz Taylor, Howard went on to clarify that he prefers dance and electronic music to the efforts usually put out by Take That.
“At the moment I’ve got 15 boxes of vinyl, all dance music from the late 80s and 90s, I’m sifting through – Beck, Chemical Brothers, Kraftwerk, Human League, Gary Numan,” he explained.
“I generally listen to a lot of electronic music - I listen to a lot of dance music.”
But even if he’s not going to be spinning Take That’s greatest hits any time soon, one area Howard can’t fault them is with their elaborate live shows.
He said: “We’ve always said we want people to walk out of those arenas and say: ’Wow. It was an amazing show. I got my money’s worth.
“Production wise, you could spend anywhere between £10 million to £15 million producing a show like that. Then obviously you’ve got to do enough shows to get your money back, otherwise you would be doing it for free. And we are a business at the end of the day.”
He added: “We never used to see guys at our show, and bit by bit the girlfriends would be bringing the guys, and the guys would have their arms in the air.
″[Then] you’d have boxes booked out with stag dos, singing along – whether they’re p*ssed or not, it doesn’t really matter. They’ve come along because they know Take That’s going to deliver a performance – whether you like the music or not.”
Howard was one of Take That’s original five members in the 1990s, and after going their separate ways in 1996, chose to join the hugely successful reunion in 2006.
He has remained with the group ever since, including when former members Robbie Williams rejoined for their Progress album.
Take That has been operating as a three-piece since September 2014, when Jason Orange made the decision to quit the band.
Listen to Howard’s interview on the Events That Made Me Podcast here.