Take That recall how Hull teenagers propelled the boy band to stardom

Gary Barlow performs at Hull's Lexington Avenue nightclub in January 1992

An impromptu performance at an under-18s disco in Hull saved Take That from being dropped by their record label, the band have recalled.

After two of their early singles bombed, music bosses warned they'd be finished if "things did not change".

Take That were due to perform at Lexington Avenue nightclub in 1992 - but bosses put them on early, to see if a younger audience would warm to them.

Gary Barlow recalled they were "mobbed" and the moment was a "turning point".

Speaking to Dermot O'Leary on the BBC's Reel Stories, Barlow said they were due to perform at 22:00 but their manager Nigel Martin-Smith got a call the week before telling them they would be doing an earlier slot for a younger crowd to "see how it goes".

Barlow said: "We were mobbed. Fans chased the van down the road and Nigel looked into the air, and I remember thinking, 'this is a turning point'."

The band recounted the fateful gig on BBC Two's Reel Stories

From then on, Take That's management realised the band's fan base were "younger, not older".

Barlow - along with Robbie Williams, Mark Owen, Jason Orange and Howard Donald - went on to take the music world by storm.

Karen Ledner, 46, was at the fateful Hull gig and told the BBC: "I had never heard of Take That before and it was the first time we had seen young boys dancing and singing like that.

"I think I was about 15.

"We were all screaming and shouting. I remember thinking Jason and Howard were really attractive.

"Afterwards all the boys signed autographs and I have one with all their names on it - such special memories."

She added: "It's crazy to think that us young girls from Hull sealed their fate."

'It was pandemonium'

Another Hull fan, Lizzie Metcalfe, said she had seen Take That perform on the same day - but at her school.

Her teacher at Newland School for Girls won a Teacher of the Year award and part of the prize was a performance by the then-unknown boy band.

She said it was "pandemonium" because the girls were so excited and she was sure that Williams "winked at her".

Ms Metcalfe, 47, also remembered that the band were "really lovely" and excited to be there.

She said: "They came in a people carrier and when we left we all tried to rock it.

"They were fantastic, and we changed the course of music history for them."