The boy band kick off their biggest tour yet at Sundeland's Stadium of Light tonight, and as they put the finishing touches to their show, Gary Barlow and Howard Donald took tme out to speak to the Gazette.

Gary said: "It's going to be the Greatest Day of Our Lives.

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"This is like a dream come true for us. This is a massive, massive tour - and not just because of the amount of people, it's the sheer size of the tour as well.

"It's probably seven or eight times bigger than anything we've done before."

Howard added: "We're really excited. It's going to be a really big day for us and we can't wait to get it started."

After a week of non-stop rehearsals the boys are raring to get out there in front of their fans to strut their stuff on stage.

And, despite battling pre-gig nerves, they have vowed to impress their army of admirers with what they claim is their best show yet.

With plenty of surprises in store, which the boys are keeping well under wraps, flamboyant costumes and some pioneering magic, The Circus Live is definitely going to push the boundaries of gigging.

"This is such a great venue," Gary said. "I can't believe there hasn't been anything put on here before, I think Steve Bruce will be made up.

"We're quite nervous because this is the first night, and we've put so much hard work into it.

"We will be doing things that have never been done on stage before, and that have never even been done in concert before, so we hope to lead on that."

Since landing in Sunderland last weekend, the boys' jam-packed schedule hasn't given them much time to discover Sunderland, but they have had a little time to get to grips with Seaham, where they are staying.

"It's been beautiful weather and there's such a lovely coastline here," Howard said.

"One day, when we had a bit of spare time, me and Gary went for a stroll along the beach and it was absolutely stunning. You're so lucky to have that."

Take That are no strangers to the North East. Since their first tour in 1991 when they turned up at Newcastle City Hall in one minibus - a world away from the 59 buses that landed at the Stadium last week - there has only been one tour that they've started elsewhere.

"Starting in the North East is an omen for us now. The reason we keep coming back is the audiences are so great so let's keep that up," Gary said.