TAKE THAT The Circus Show REVIEW

19 years ago Take That were playing to Gay clubs and school halls.
17 years ago Take That played to arenas and got their first of 11 number one singles with the song Pray.
16 years ago Take That played a European tour which took them all over Europe ending in there Manchester home town
15 years ago Take That release there biggest selling hit Back For Good and get ready for another massive tour.
That same year one of them leaves due to drug related problems and distancing himself from a band that he felt were massive yet never cool.
14 years ago Take That split. A special helpline was set up for the millions of upset girls.
For the next ten years they all tried different solo things. Some didn’t go as well as others. The one that got away first though became the biggest selling solo artist ever. Selling more albums, more singles, more concert tickets, more merchandise, and winning more awards then any other solo artist in Europe (out that against Bowie, Colins, Richard, Elton John, the solo acts from The Beatles etc it’s impressive). He sold out three nights at Knebworth to 375,000 people. The biggest in the country and still it is un beaten. During his Knebworth show’s he dedicated his song No Regrets to Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Mark Owen and Jason Orange.
5 years ago there was a Take That documentary.
A year later Take That, minus the one who’d left a year before they split, reformed. It should have, for all intense purposes been a disaster. They are in the later half of their thirties. They won’t be able to dance, they won’t sound good. It will be a desperate bid to sell a even newer greatest hits package.
It was brilliant. Owen, Barlow, Donald, Orange did sell out arenas to mass sell out crowds. All the dance movements were there, they sounded great. They were brilliant. In fact, they were modern.
A year later they released a new album which was a belter. They all took writing credit, instead of just Barlow. They went on tour and they were even better.
Now with a new album The Circus they finished their third tour in five years at Wembley Stadium.
The boys did good.
To see 86 thousand people clapping to Never Forget is a testament of their power.
The truth is though they needed to split up in 96. They needed to get away and be forgotten.

This is my manly review of seeing Take That at Wembley stadium……

After good support acts from Gary Go and Lady Gaga the boys arrived at 8.30pm. The lights didn’t go down, there was no ‘and here’s the band’ on the speaker. Just a small quite circus show slowly building up with gentle music over the top. The anticipation was at a high from all the women around me.
On a side note it’s great to see a lot more men at the concerts. When they reformed it was me, a gay guy and 40 thousand women. Nice to see a higher ratio.
The balloons on the B- stage flew away and Gary, Mark, Howard and Jason stood on the stage and burst in to Greatest Day.

SET LIST
Greatest Day
Hello
Could it be Magic
Pray
A Million Love Songs
Back For Good

Now Take That are not old as people, but for a band (ex boy band now man band) they are. They are beginning their late 30's/40's and you wonder where they get their engery from. From wiggerling their hips in Could It Be Magic and swinging from side to side in Pray.
But, it never looks wrong or like a dad dancing. This is a proper show and proper moves. Plus they still have sex appeal. The fans who loved them in the 90's, the young girls who loved their boyish good looks have grown up as well. The girls turned women nows need real men to stare at and wish they were the boys...sorry, mens wifes.

All on the B stage. Cracking out some boy band moves from days gone, and getting soaked by the water machine for Back For Good.
Then a plastic elephant appeared to carry them to the main stage.

As the plastic elephant, with people inside moving the legs like it was walking, moved to the stage we got the glimpse of a women with long hair hung upside down on the elephant's backside like a tail.

After a costume change they picked up instruments to prove they can play guitars, drums and pianos.

Set List cont-
the Garden
Shine
Up All Night
Wooden Boat
How Did It Come to This
Love Aint Here Any More / Babe / Nobody Else (Gary Piano Solo)
The Circus

What is Love
Do What You Like / It Only Takes a Minute / Take That and Party
Said It All

Then they changed in to clown make up and suits and did a funny melody of Take That hits. Donald, Orange and Owen rode uni cycles, while Gary came out in a clowns small bike shouting to the audience he couldn’t ride the uni cycles.

Set List cont-
Never Forget
Patience
Relight My Fire

One of the great things about Take That is they are not afraid to play their old hits. Relight My Fire, Never Forget etc fit in well with the new stuff.
And then the clown/old Take That hits melody is a tongue in cheek to the days of lycra and bum wiggerling. They know that their first ever single, which got to 98 in the charts, Do What You Like is horrble. But, playing it is just a sign that they love to make you smile. It's done without the cheese.

One of the great things about Take That now is they all do singing. Gary has the love songs, and the more disco tech songs. He's voice soulful and pure pop.
Mark has the kooky cheerful songs such as Shine and the fanatsic Hold Up The Light.
Howard who only sung Never Forget back in the days sings alot more and has the nicest voice out of the lot. He also has the best song of the night, a beuitful poetic song called What Is Love?
Then Jason, who only sung in the background when they were first around. He was more the dancer. But with songs such as Wooden Boat and the fantasic How Did It Come To This? he has the story telling songs.
I feel that on their next record, which is rumoured for next year, they may need to change things around a bit before they come a little samey and still. Maybe gives Donald or Orange a single.

A round of hits and cracking encore proved that they can hold their own in a stadium.

Encore:
Hold Up A Light
Rule The World

Towards the end they all look caught up in how this moment is treating them. From being the biggest band to being alone, with out music contracts and watching other boy bands form, then coming back to mass appeal and perfoming in front of 86,000 people. They look touched by the responce and how they have been treated.

Fire works, trapeze artists, clowns, water canons, fire, dance moves, drummers, everything in a circus was there. It was a full on show.
Compare it to world wide stars like Spears or (if he had done them) M Jackson who dance and mime their songs, Take That make sure they dance, jump around, have fun while singing LIVE (For Owen this is not always a good thing mind)

As a massive Robbie Williams fan I wouldn’t want him to come back to Take That. But, watching the four guys together it’s very hard to see where William’s would fit in if he did. I can't see Williams doing Could It Be Magic dance moves, plus it would be wrong for him to sing on the songs the band has made since he left/sacked/walked out/got bored of (or whatever William's reasons are on his ever changing moods.
The truth is the reason the others didn’t make it as solo stars is their songs were to Take That sounding, and they don’t have the ego or the presence to be alone. As a group they are brilliant, so tight together and having great fun. Doing fab shows and writing hits.
Williams could never go from what he has to being with them. It would ruin the dynamic.
With a new album by Robbie in September and a tour next year Robbie needs to do one thing and one thing only, beat Take That.

The thing is Robbie left and Take That failed. Robbie goes to rest in LA and goes out the spot light and get rid of his demons, Take That reform and become the new nations sweethearts.
Can Robbie and Take That work on their own things but still be in the same charts, can both work together at the same time. Can there only be one winner? Maybe.

Robbie is the best entertainer, though his last tour he let himself down due to his weirdness of aliens and his on going battle with his inner demons. But, he has proved he doesn’t need Take That.
Take That, now a proper reformed band with own songs and style have just proved they don’t need the one that left...

9/10
Make no mistakes. This isn't Oasis, Rolling Stones, this is Take That who put on a proper over blown show. They sing live. They can still pull out dance moves. They are funny. And by the look on their faces and the people who stood around me watching is awe they and us want they to stick around for some time

They will forever remain the come back kings and long may they reign...........