Byline: James Tozer
THESE days, the waistlines are a little wider and the clothes a little more refined.
But as Take That embark on their first tour with Robbie Williams for 16 years, these previously unseen photos of the then fresh-faced group offer a glimpse of a bygone pop era.
They are also an example of how their 1990s fans effectively invented social networking long before the advent of Facebook and Twitter.
The candid snapshots were pasted into 'friendship books' - squares of paper stapled together and posted to pen-pals who would add star-struck comments before sending them on again.
Eventually the intricately-produced booklet would return to the fan who started it, by now a lavish memento of their fascination with the group from fans all over the world. Now that the full band is back together, surviving friendship books have been dug out and form the centrepiece of a new exhibition.
The month-long show began yesterday at the Kraak Gallery in Manchester to coincide with the group's eight performances in the city.
One of those who has donated her memorabilia is Joanna Howes, a die-hard Take That fan who plastered her Liverpool bedroom with their photographs as a teenager and is seeing their latest tour ten times. 'In the days before the internet it was amazing to receive these booklets which people all over the world had put so much effort into,' she said yesterday.
Now a 33-year-old office administrator married to an oil refinery worker, Mrs Howes added: 'What we did was so close to Facebook, but somehow it seems more special.
'We spent hours writing letters and drawing pictures, whereas now everything is sent instantly, and a new photograph can be seen by millions of people.'
CAPTION(S):
Fan: Joanna Howes in 1992 Clockwise from top left: Take That in the early 90s, Robbie Williams, Jason Orange and Mark Owen
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