I had been waiting to see the tour for months and I had seen teaser bits and bobs in the press before I finally got to see it. Possibly the greatest pop music comeback ever had seen Take That fans from twenty years ago alongside the fans from five years ago. I am one of the former. Yes I am. I’ve owned up.
Now Take That were back as a 5 piece; Gary, Mark, Howard and Jason were reunited with Robbie for the Progress album and then of course the tour. As soon as the tour started it was in the news for many things but mostly for the fantastic stage.
The Pet Shop Boys supported the tour and they were fantastic, as expected. I know the crowd were waiting for Take That and it must be hard to support a band let alone deal with the screaming Take That fans! The Pet Shop Boys made full use of the stage and of course had their quirky sense of fashion and fun which kept the crowd entertained. Their set was a good back catalogue of their hits and Wembley was singing along!
Soon it was time for Take That to be on stage. Gary, Mark, Howard and Jason arrived on stage without Robbie with a promise that he would be on later. They kicked off the show with their hits from the last five years without Robbie, Greatest Day and Shine were my highlights. There was even a Wembley crowd + Take That performance of God Save The Queen as we were at the national stadium!
Then it was Robbie’s turn. He got Wembley up on their feet and dancing as he stormed through Let Me Entertain You and Rock DJ. The audience was at his mercy and he orchestrated them. He’s a pure entertainer and he deserves to be back on stage again. As his solo set came to an end he sung Angels, well the crowd did!
Then it was time to see Take That back again as a five piece. As they went through the recent songs with Kidz being my personal favourite, it was like they had always remained a five piece. Then came the hits from years ago as the crowd screamed, cheered and sung-a-long with Back For Good and Pray. More hits came and the crowd again lapped up their chance of seeing Take That performing together again.
Robbie has been pretty vocal in recent days that he will go back to his solo career. It was clear from his little solo section on this tour that it’s on his own that he enjoys, he enjoyed the comfort of performing again with the other lads but you could see this is all about him. I don’t just mean his ego.
I also found the reports of some people being shocked by Robbie’s swearing through the concert, the tour was never said to be family friendly and we all know what he’s like. So for his solo tour it is definitely not family friendly. You read it here first folks!
The tour now ends across Europe. Who knows what’s next for Take That…