IF IT was going to work it had to be spectacular, and Take That’s reunion tour was certainly not short on spectacle.

From the moment that the four remaining members of the 1990s boy band appeared on a platform high in the air, the silly set-pieces, costume changes and high-octane pop songs didn’t stop coming.

Nor did the screams of women who were girls last time round and suddenly felt like girls again.

A decade has passed since Take That split, and time has been kind to them all. Only Gary Barlow had to breathe in to squeeze into the frilly shirt and velvet frock coat that was Outfit No 1, but then he always was a touch on the chubby side.The others played to type too — Mark Owen was still the sweetest, the chiselled-cheekboned Jason Orange the best dancer and Howard Donald the shaggy-haired extra seemingly bemused by the whole carry-on.

A big-budget set boasting lighting rigs that came down to double as walkways and giant video screens with cubbyholes from which women performed a peep show was the band’s unofficial fifth member. Without it, more focus would have fallen on the songs and, despite being played by a tight, six-piece band, not all had aged as well as their owners.

Once You’ve Tasted Love was an awful opener and even Pray wasn’t a patch on its former self, although the band’s ridiculous dance routine was distracting enough to almost not notice. It Only Takes a Minute marked the real start of the evening’s entertainment, and it was a shame that few other songs were as well reworked. Stripped down to percussion, piano and strings, it augmented the drama of a superb tango dancer who led the lads all over the stage and simply oozed sex. Relight My Fire came with female acrobats in barely-there bikinis, Beverley Knight as a Lulu stand-in with flapping silk wings, a wall of flames and outrageous outfits for the band.

A Beatles medley was performed from a second stage in the centre of the arena — a trick Take That used in the 1990s; a fabulous Back for Good saw the band soaked in water, and a self-mocking comedy routine had all four as robots in skintight, white suits inspired by Star Trek.

As good-looking gigs go, only Kylie can do better, but the real surprise was that Robbie Williams was rarely missed. Take That’s most famous member did make a brief appearance though, as a huge hologram for the intro of Could It Be Magic. Spooky? Yes. Fun? Absolutely.

The tour continues until June 25. www.takethat.com