BRIDGET'S GUIDE TO BOY BANDS

TAKE THAT

If you're an American person, your familiarity with Britain's Take That begins and ends with Back For Good. But by the time, that sumptuous song had crossed the Atlantic, Take That's glory days were already behind them.

The group had scored handfuls of hits in their homeland, the majority of which were written by  founder Gary Barlow, ironically their least scream-worthy member. The more scream-worthy members, two of whom were employed for their diligence at the gym and their ability to rip off their shirts in time to the beat rather than any kind of singing ability, had whipped the UK  into a molten hysteria. And the bad boy of the group, Robbie Williams, was about to sensationally quit the band in a Zayn-like grasp for independence.

Soon after Back For Good, Take That called it a day causing British suicide hotlines to draft in small armies of volunteers to cope with the outpourings of grief from devastated fans.

Over the next decade, Robbie Williams would ascend to superstardom. Gary barlow's attempt at launching a solo career would sputter and fade. One of the other ex-members would devote his time to building a garden shed.

And then they got back together. Unlike most reunions, it was a triumph. They had not lost a single fan. More than that, they found a way to pull off the trick that eludes most boy bands: they were able to grow up.

Robbie Williams, who had used his stardom to openly mock the decline of his former colleagues, now found himself eclipsed by the return of Take That. So he did the one thing he swore he'd never do: he got back together with the band for a new--and fantastic -- album, and a blockbusting tour.

Post-Williams, the bloom went off the Take That rose. Another member left, reducing them to a three-piece. Their next album was a snooze. Currently,  Gary Barlow is hosting a  show on British TV designed to find five singing actors talented enough to play Take That in an upcoming West End musical based on their rise, fall, rise and current position which is neither a rise or a fall.