Progress tour 2011 - First night review

Robo pop
Stunning first night of Take That
Progress tour features 60ft man

TAKE THAT kicked off their record-breaking new tour in spectacular style last night - promising fans "the best show in the world".

And going by the sound of 54,000 people screaming before, during and after the gig, the most popular band in the country have delivered the goods yet again.

ROBBIE WILLIAMS, 38, joined his old bandmates on stage for a full set for the first time in 15 years at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland.

And the roar must have been heard for miles around when he took to the stage five songs into the first night of the sold out Progress Tour.

Choking back tears of pride, he said: "We have spent a lot of time and money on this show to make it the best in the world this year. And I'm very proud to be a part of it all again."

GARY BARLOW, 40, MARK OWEN, 38, JASON ORANGE, 40 and HOWARD DONALD, 42, set the bar extremely high two years ago with their epic Circus show.

Progress is not as good, folks... it is even better.

The last time they hit the road they had a gigantic mechanical elephant as the centrepiece of the production. And the lads have taken another step up in scale since then - introducing a giant 60ft mechanical man.

It is a staggering piece of kit, and a real symbol of the band's huge ambitions with this show.

The 1.75 million fans lucky enough to snap up a ticket to see them this summer are in for an incredible night.

No expense has been spared in the £15m production. It has everything - the greatest hits, a jaw-dropping set, amazing costumes, intricate choreography, stunning pyrotechnics and even a lesbian kiss for any reluctant husbands dragged along.

All the blokes who go along will be impressed by some of the death-defying stunts too. When I bumped into Gary afterwards, he joked: "Robbie has become the LEE MAJORS of this show. If any stunts need doing, dangling upside down or throwing himself from a great height - Rob's the man."

It's not often you see acrobats in wetsuits scaling an amazing wall of water the length and height of the stage. In fact, it's a world's first. You have to see it to believe it.

A total of 31 performers appear during the show with nine costume changes. The lads themselves have five different costumes including modified tracksuits lined with LEDs - "staying true to their northern roots" according to Mark afterwards.

A few eyebrows have been raised about how Robbie would slot into the set. When contracts were signed for the big comeback a deal was agreed for him to perform 40 minutes of solo material.

But his introduction with a handful of his greatest hits, including Let Me Entertain You, Feel and Angels, only added to the excitement of the occasion.

Robbie has talked about nerves and crippling stage fright, but as soon as he took to the stage, the old show pony came out. He was loving every minute.

All his trademark dance moves, cheek and charm were back on show.

He immediately won over any cynics with some warm words for the crowd, a gag about the dodgy weather and a brilliant ad-lib song about superinjunctions.

And he even poked fun at his own ego as he was pulled across the stage on a chariot by a gang of gorgeous, roller-skating dancers wearing tiny hotpants.

The loudest cheer of the night came when the band finally appeared on stage as a five-piece again.

It was a spine-tingling moment as they performed The Flood, their first single to hit the charts when they got back together.

For all the fans from the first time round, the medley of their biggest hits is priceless. Robbie and Gary doing the famous dance routine during Pray was a special moment - especially when an out-of-breath Gary asked Robbie to adjust his sports bra for him afterwards.

The dance off between Jason and Howard during recent single Kidz was seriously impressive for two men the wrong side of 40.

But the real beauty of the show is that all five members had their chance to shine in equal measure - with no-one stealing the show.

The encore was an emotional moment with an impromptu group hug - probably the first of many over the coming months.

Speaking in the dressing room after, Mark told The Sun: "It's a proud moment for us all getting up there again together. We forget because we have been hanging around so much together, but the fact that all five of us are up there again is a brilliant thing. We just can't wait to get out there for the next two months.

"Then who knows what will happen?"

It was a tall order improving on Circus, but the band have succeeded. You won't hear many complaints if they decided to do it all again in two years time.

It'll just be the noise of a stampede for more tickets.

ROBBIE ad-libbed a song about the biggest topic of the day - super-injuctions.

He poked fun at the rich and famous hiding behind gagging orders.

The crowd roared as he sang: "Loads of Mackems, loads of Geordies there could be a fight on opening night.

"I've just done some coke and I've sh***ed a wh*** that's what a super-injunction is for. Peter Reid has a monkey's heed, you could be a Mackem lass and p*** on the floor. It's opening night."

The tune was song Opening Night from musical The Producers.

TAKE THAT'S full line-up joined Robbie on stage as he performed his solo hit No Regrets - a song Rob wrote about his decision to quit the band back in 1995.

In the most poignant part of the show, he belted out the track with Mark, Howard, Jason and Gary.

It was the only time the other four sang on one of Rob's solo hits.

Since being reconciled with the band, he has frequently changed the line "I guess the love we once had is officially dead" to "I guess the love we once had is officially alive".

Fuente: The Sun