Take That may be one of the most recognisable boy bands to come out of the North of England, but the person who initially signed them lost his job just months later12:50, 04 Aug 2026Updated 12:53, 04 Aug 2026Take That may be hugely successful – but it came at a cost for the person who signed them. The group was formed in 1989 by Nigel Martin-Smith, who noticed a gap in the market following the disbandment of New Kids On The Block.‌Gary Barlow was the first member, before Howard Donald, Jason Orange, Mark Owen and Robbie Williams eventually joined the line-up. And the rest, along with a staggering 45 million records sold worldwide, is history. Two years later, the band signed to Sony RCA thanks to former A&R Manager, Korda Marshall.‌But for Korda, Take That would be the last deal that he sanctioned for the label. Just three months later, he was axed from his role after failing to make enough profit from their launch and investment, before going on to set up his own label, Infectious Records. Every year, Sony RCA sent Korda on a management course, which, of course, enhanced his CV.‌"Then I became head of A&R, I signed Take That, and they fired me," he said. Korda said that at the time he was "cocky" after having success with other artists he'd signed at RCA. He was handed a budget of around £7million each year for 40 or so acts on the roster.£5million of that was spent on signed acts, with a £2million budget to sign more artists. Speaking on the UPRAWR Podcast, he went on to add: "With Take That, I had an innate love of pop music from the 70s. I grew up with Sweet and amazingly great pop music – we didn't have any at that time, because we'd signed a lot of all these other acts." These acts included Pop Will Eat Itself and Primitives.‌Korda added that after the split of New Kids On The Block, he was looking for "holes" in the industry and decided to meet with Nigel, who was managing Take That. Korda, along with colleague Nick Raymonde, met with Take That – but "everybody laughed," he said."I went 'No this is actually quite good,'" he added, before explaining that he eventually saw Take That perform at a club in London, which turned out to be an old church. Recalling the first performance, he said: "They came on, and they did three songs. They could dance really well. I remember them being able to dance really well.‌"Apart from the singer. Gary couldn't really Gary was a bit lumpy. He couldn't, you know, but the others were really good dancers. And I know this sounds really silly, but they had really good complexion." During the performance, the group performed Take That, Party, and A Million Love Songs, amongst others – leading Korda to sign them."We brought them in, and we talked to them, and Nick, then we signed them. Nick made the record. We spent a lot of money making He spent a lot of money making the record," he explained, but when it went wrong, Korda got the blame. This included around £250,000 worth of debt associated with Take That and M People.But a genius idea for Barry Manilow to cover Could It Be Magic saw Take That's popularity rocket after it emerged that, as well as Gary, Robbie could also sing. "The first singles came out, and they all stiffed," Korda revealed. But after a new managing director came in and reviewed the balance sheet, Korda was "marched out" due to Take That's music failing to reach the Top 10. "The phrase of the time was I didn't give good corporate head," he said.‌He was just three months into his new contract as Head of A&R when he was sacked from his role. Do What U Like, Take That's first single, charted at Number 82, while their follow-up, Promises, peaked at 38.However, in 1992, they broke the Top 10 with It Only Takes a Minute, which peaked at Number 7. A year later, Take That secured their first Number One – Pray, which started their run of four consecutive Number 1 hits, including Relight My Fire (feat. Lulu), Babe and Everything Changes. Their debut album, Take That & Party, released in August 1992, peaked at Number 2, shifting around 870,000 copies.Shortly after Korda was fired, Take That went on to become a smash amongst fans, predominantly teenage females. To date, Take That have bagged an impressive 12 Number 1 singles and a staggering nine Number One albums. But with success came lineup changes, with Robbie quitting the band in 1995.Article continues belowA year later, the group disbanded, sending shockwaves across the nation with helplines being set up to console devastated fans. Nine years later, though, they joined forces again, minus Robbie, who rejoined the band in 2010. However, four years later, both Robbie and Jason decided to step back from the band, and they now tour as a three-piece.Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.