Take That will never break up

Gary Barlow has revealed that Take That will stay together for the 'rest of their lives'.

The singer said that the group will continue with or without Robbie Williams and they will record their next album as a four-piece.

Barlow told the Daily Star: "We will always be around. Having Rob back or not, I think we can do it for the rest of our lives now.

"For now Progress is done, but I think we will come back to it with Rob whenever we feel like it. Rob wants to do a solo record next year. So it will be the four of us."

He added: "I have no idea what direction it will go in. We will only know that when the four of us go back in the studio. At the moment I have no time to write new songs because of all my other jobs."

Meanwhile, Williams revealed on his blog recently that work was progressing quickly on his next solo album, which he is believed to have written with Barlow.

Fuente: Gigwise

Progress live DVD review

The new Take That Progress Live Tour is out on DVD on 21 November and we've had the pleasure of watching it. All (nearly) three hours of it. Yay! But don't worry, we're not just got to sit here and gloat at you, we're going to give you valuable information on what you can expect from it. You know... Just in case you're thinking twice about buying it.

First up, there are two jam-packed discs. Disc one is all about the live show - which we assume a few thousand of you must have seen. For those who haven't, trust us - it's pretty awesome. We were particularly impressed with the camera work, which basically shows off just how huge the crowd is at TT gigs AND gives us better access to Jason Orange's nipples, Howard Donald's crotch shots and a whole load of a smiley Mark Owen. Plus you get some amazing close ups of Gary Barlow's gorgeous facial stubble and Robbie Williams', frankly, crazy faces. Brilliant!
Of course we don't have to mention the amazing load of hits the boys perform, but we will - everything from Shine and Rule The World, Let Me Entertain You and Angels, Kidz and The Flood are covered before all five lads get together to serenade the audience with A Million Love Songs, Back For Good and... our highlight Pray! *does the dance*

After the live show fix, disc two softens the mood with a 30-minute Making Of documentary. There, you'll get to hear all about how Mark, Gary, Jason, Howard and Rob' put together this incredible show and watch them get pretty emotional about it all. In fact, Mark has a tear in his eye at one point! And for those worried that there won't be enough Jason and Howard, don't. There's plenty of good footage of the lush ones.

A happy Gazza B says at one point, "[All of us] feel totally secure, real strong. It felt good. I love being up there with everyone. I hope I never take this for granted." We're obvs taking that to mean Take That, the five-piece are here to stay.

So we've waffled on plenty and to conclude, this is one of the best live DVDs we've seen in a long time. Get it, love it, watch it (over and over, like us).

Fuente: HeatWorld

Gary gana un premio Q al mejor compositor

Q magazine twitter: "The winner of the 2011 Q Award for Classic Songwriter goes to... it's our favourite X Factor judge @GBarlowOfficial !!!"

Foto publicada en twitter por Gary

Censuran los desnudos en el nuevo DVD

Take That have allegedly decided to bin naked footage from their Progress Live tour DVD.

According to The Sun, the man band have appointed themselves as producers of the film to ensure that any scenes which show them nude are axed from the final cut.

An insider told the tabloid: "Now they are all around the 40 mark, they worry about their bodies."

They added: "Their last tour DVD showed the lads getting changed but the film will have no such scenes."

Reports also claimed that the group have debated whether to include Robbie Williams' battle with food poisoning in the DVD, which resulted in TT having to cancel a series shows in Denmark in July.

Fuente: MTV

Louis Walsh: Gary Barlow needs to be "more fun" on The X Factor

Louis Walsh has hit out at Gary Barlow, saying he needs to be more fun on The X Factor! Speaking to the Daily Star Sunday today, Louis explained how the Take That star was too serious about his acts, and needed to understand the show has to have some ‘wackos’.

The Irish music mogul explained: “Gary doesn’t get the novelty value of certain acts and just cares about the singing. He’s a serious singer-songwriter and sees it from a musician’s perspective.”

“He needs to understand that it’s a TV show and you do need big personalities.”

With Louis responsible for the likes of Jedward and Wagner, we’re not sure we like his idea of big personalities.

Louis added: “If they’re just good singers and no fun it’s boring. Simon likes crazy, eccentric acts and we need that on the show.”

Meanwhile Louis admitted to missing Simon Cowell, because he made the show more fun. He said: “The panel is less fun and more business now. They’re all so keen and it’s lost the fun since Simon left.

“Sometimes we worked from 9am to 2.30am. We work so hard we barely even get time to talk. It’s tough.

“We don’t need Simon but I do miss him,” he added.

Read more: http://xfactor.tellymix.co.uk/judges/43808-louis-walsh-gary-barlow-needs-to-be-more-fun-on-the-x-factor.html#ixzz1WKEK2yQu

"Ending Take That would be sacrilege"

Take That could be sticking around for a bit longer, according to Howard Donald. The 43-year-old singer said that he and his band-mates would be crazy to quit now, having just finished a record-breaking sell-out tour - their first since the return of Robbie Williams. He told The Sun, "We're at the highest possible point we can be tour-wise and album-wise. We've done much better than I expected. It would be complete sacrilege if we said, 'let's call it a day, let's stop'." Robbie Williams's return to the band naturally took some of the attention away from the rest of the lads. Robbie may well be off to pursue his solo career for a while, but Howard said it was nice getting to know him again while they recorded the album Progress in New York. "Being in New York and creating half the album there is a memory I will always have," he said. "It just had a different feeling to being in the UK and doing it - you could feel the album coming together, you could feel the friendship of five people." But he admitted that any future tour will have to top their last one to keep the fans happy. "We could stand on a massive stage and put amazing lights and lasers on and not have any of these tricks and hydraulics and the big men and elephants. "We could have all that and we could do a great show. But would they ever come and see us again because we are not of a standard that we were in our last show? "We want people to go home and go to sleep with a smile on their face, be blown away by it, and hope a Take That ticket goes on sale again in a couple of years."

Fuente: Metrolyrics

El más macizo de los ‘Take That’ se divierte como un niño en el mar

No le quitó los ojos de encima a su novia
El cantante y compositor, Howard Donald, disfrutó de un día de playa en las aguas del Caribe junto a su novia, Katie Halil. Ella presumió de cuerpazo con un biquini que se le ajustaba a la perfección. No es de extrañar que el integrante de la banda ‘Take That’ no pudiera quitarle los ojos de encima. Parece que este lugar le gusta a la pareja, pues no es la primera vez que se dejan ver por Barbados. Allí pasaron el Año Nuevo junto resto de miembros del mítico grupo: Gary Barlow, Jason Orange. Mark Owen y Robbie Williams.
DIVINITY

Take That sigue batiendo records

La banda Take That ha batido el récord al mayor número de espectadores en una tanda de conciertos, al acumular 623.737 espectadores durante los ocho conciertos que dio en Londres entre 30 de junio y el nueve de julio.

O sea, 77.967 por noche, que llenaron el estadio de Wembley y dejaron una recaudación total de 42,7 millones de euros.

Sus cifras superan la última gran tanda de conciertos de la historia, la que dio Bruce Springsteen en el Giants Stadium de East Rutherford, Nueva Jersey. Entonces, el Jefe dio 10 conciertos seguidos, vendió 566.560 entradas y recaudó 26,7 'kilos'.

Fuente: El Mundo

Comunicado oficial: Cancelación del concierto en Dinamarca

We are truly devastated to have had to cancel tonight's show in Denmark. This is the first show that we have ever had to cancel in our career as a band. It was a horrible decision to make and one we agonized over.

On Friday night, Rob suffered serious food poisoning from something he had eaten after the show. He was violently ill all night and well into the morning. At 10am this morning, he decided to relocate to his dressing room at the stadium, in the hope that he could recover and prepare for the show. Doctors visited him twice during the day and despite prescribed medication he was still vomiting at 4pm this afternoon. The doctor insisted that he was not fit to perform tonight.

The five of us then had a decision to make: Should we go on with the show without Rob or should we cancel altogether? What would be fairer to our fans? What would people want? It was a very, very difficult decision. In the end we felt that as this tour is about the five of us being back together, and about celebrating that reunion, it would be wrong to go ahead with the show. We also knew that no matter how hard we and our team worked, in the short time we had to make the necessary changes to this hugely complicated and technical production, the show could never be what we wanted it to be, and nor could it be what our fans expect and deserve from us.

We are now back at our hotel and still cannot believe what has happened. Rob is still very unwell, and we are all just focussing on getting him better so we can put on our show in Amsterdam this coming Monday.

We would like to say from the bottom of our hearts that we are truly sorry to all of you who have bought tickets for tonight's show.

Thank you for your continued support.

Love Mark, Gary, Jason, Howard and Rob

Fuente: Universal

TT's plane struck by lightning on way to Milan

TAKE That are used to whipping up a storm on stage but don’t usually find themselves at the centre of real one.

The band’s plane was struck by lightning as they flew out from the UK to the Milan leg of their tour.

Gary Barlow, Mark Owen, Howard Donald, Jason Orange and Robbie Williams were left terrified as bad turbulence hit at 35,000ft.

The quick-thinking pilot had to steer the plane to safety.

The S.O.S singers were flying off to play their first non-UK European date of the Progress Live tour in Milan’s San Siro stadium.

A shaken source said: “The plane took off fairly normally, though we knew there was bad weather ahead, but mid way during the flight the turbulence was really quite frightening.

“Then suddenly, there was a bright flash, and the plane had obviously been struck by lightening.

“The pilot had to make an announcement and reassure the passengers that everything was all right.” We hate to think what UFO fan Robbie, 37, must have made of it. Perhaps he thought the aliens were invading.

The source continued: “The Take That boys were obviously quite shaken up but they just buckled up and sat tightly in their seats.

“Their knuckles were pretty white though.”

Gary, 40, would have been particularly worried as earlier this year he revealed that he is a very nervous flier.

Asked what super power he would like to have, he replied: “Flying for me, because it means I wouldn’t have to go on a plane again. I don’t like aeroplanes, not a fan.”

We can’t think that being hit by lightning is going to make him more confident in the air.

Fuente: Mirror

Record pic at Take That gig

THE Sun broke a world record at the weekend - by taking the BIGGEST pic in live music history.

We shot a 20 gigapixel photograph of Take That's final gig at Wembley stadium on Saturday.

The 360 degree picture is so detailed you can zoom in and see every member of the 85,000-strong audience in high detail.

We took the photo to mark the band's record-breaking eight-night run at Wembley.

You can view it here from 1pm today. If you were lucky enough to be at the gig you can tag yourself on Facebook.

Fuente: The Sun

The story behind the LED jackets

A Middlesex University student will see his work shown in front of millions of screaming fans, after playing a key role in creating innovative jackets worn by Take That during their 'Progress' tour, which arrives in London today (30th June, Wembley Stadium)

Second year BSc Product Design student, Djorn Fevrier, was selected to form part of a team tasked with designing and producing jackets featuring strips of LED lights, which flash in different coloured patterns as the band move across the stage. Working for top designer Moritz Waldemeyer, Djorn was chosen to help with both the creative process and the programming and testing of the LED strips which ensure the crowd-pleasing jackets play their part in the spectacular concerts.

Moritz Waldemeyer selected Djorn for the project after being impressed by the expertise of Middlesex University students when previously working with them on projects including a music video for pop star Ellie Goulding's single Lights and an advert for Mercedes-Benz TV.

Moritz said: "Djorn was fantastic. Take That were thrilled with the jackets and were impressed with how quickly we were able to create them, which was down to the team. I couldn't have asked for a better group. The jackets look great."

Djorn Fevrier, 22, from Watford said: "Moritz is a brilliant teacher and really values your input and ideas. I've previously worked on similar projects for carnivals, but nothing on this scale. I learnt a lot from the project and got a chance to work with very talented and inspirational professionals."

Djorn's creative talents are set to be seen far and wide, with Take That's tour including dates across Europe.

Fuente: MusicNews

The story behind the Big Yellow Man

MOVE over Robbie – Take That have a gigantic new star, and he’s 100 per cent Brummie through and through.

The Big Yellow Man, the gargantuan aluminium statue which lit up the stage at Villa Park this week for the band’s sellout concerts, is a huge local celebrity, with his roots firmly in the city.

The all-conquering monstrosity which appears to reach out to the fans was produced by Bordesley Green stage set specialists Total Fabrications Ltd.

They built the 100 feet high statue in just 12 weeks for Take That stage designer Es Devlin.

The project was the biggest yet for the small Bordesley firm, which has worked with a string of worldwide rock and pop acts over the years, including the Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Kylie Minogue and Phil Collins.

Total Fabrications Ltd owner and founder Chris Cronin said: “We are very proud of the Big Yellow Man, and I am particularly proud of the achievements of our guys who produced it.

“It should have been impossible because of the scale of the project and the timescale involved – but it has exceeded everyone’s expectations. The Big Yellow Man is unique, a total one-off.

“The Take That tour is the biggest UK touring production ever, and to be part of that was great.

“We were given 12 weeks to do the job and we had to build two Big Yellow men because the show is so big and spectacular. It’s an all-aluminium construction and was a real challenge – nobody has ever built a Big Yellow Man like this one before.

“The project was of such a size that we had to take on another 20,000 sq ft building. It’s bigger than the Angel of the North, standing over 100 feet high and 200 ft wide. It takes six days to build and dismantle it; the Villa Park one is now on its way to Milan.

“The guys had to work at such a height that we had to have extra scaffolding put up. There are 50 people in our company and we had to have another 30 freelances.”

The £5 million annual turnover Birmingham firm is one of only three of its kind in the world, with just two rivals in the UK and the USA.

Fuente: Birmingham mail

Time Out London interview

Take That are about to wow London on their biggest and boldest tour yet, arriving at Wembley Stadium on June 30 2011 for eight shows. But will this tour also be their last? Time Out's editor corners them in Dublin's Croke Park Stadium to find out…

They'd have you believe, would Take That, that this is all normal, run of the mill. Just a group of friends, backstage, about to play a concert. Just, you know, hanging out. One of them, Mark, is busy making pasta for two of the others, Howard and Robbie. Gary is making a business call, Jason smiling for a photo. Robbie's wife, Ayda, is there, and two of their eight dogs are running around the place. Just a group of friends, spending time together. Except this is Croke Park, Dublin, capacity 77,000, and this is the biggest tour Britain and Ireland have ever seen.

Some facts and figures about Take That's 'Progress' tour: 1.76 million people in UK and Ireland will see them perform live this summer. The band will play a record-breaking eight nights at Wembley Stadium. That record was previously held by Michael Jackson, who played seven nights there on his 1988 'Bad' world tour. Two hundred and eighty-seven people are on the road at all times with an extra 160 local crew in each city. The show and performance are so elaborate, so detailed, that in an empty stadium, it takes 48 hours to build the stage and set. At each date, a field kitchen is constructed where 14 chefs and catering staff prepare more than 1,100 restaurant-quality meals per day. Oh yeah, and on the stage with them is a huge robot which has been given the nickname of 'Om'. Om is 20 metres high and weighs 25 tonnes. It took 14 weeks to build him.

As Dublin is about to find out, in four and a half hours' time, this tour is taller, wider, camper, more roboty and, yes, way bigger than any we've ever seen. Now, you did remember to get yourself a ticket, didn't you?

Incredibly, when it's all over, this tour probably won't be remembered for its hugeness. Instead, it will be remembered primarily for being 'the tour that Robbie Williams was on'. Robbie rejoined the band officially in 2010, some 15 years after leaving the group ('I was sacked, I didn't leave,' he will protest later onstage) for, at first, a period hanging out with Oasis, then rehab, then a series of huge-selling singles and albums, then more rehab, then a flop album followed swiftly by a pledge to stop touring for good. One constant theme throughout this whole period was Williams's disregard for, or, at times, downright loathing of, his time in the band. He'd tell the audience at the Brit Awards that he'd always been the talented one of the group. He'd perform the band's biggest hit, 'Back for Good', on his solo tours as an aggressive, confrontational, thrash hate song. While sitting on a motorised toilet. It's a wonder Take That wanted him back at all, but they did and the resulting album, 'Progress', is their best one yet, and ended up being the bestselling album in the UK last year. But Williams's history of live-show burn-out in his solo career made a tour of 'Progress' seem unlikely.

So how did they get to this point? What happens now? And why the hell can't Howard Donald and Robbie Williams make their own bloody pasta?

At just after 4pm, Mark Owen walks into the friends-and-family lounge beneath Ireland's biggest sporting venue. Mark is softly spoken, fragile and badly burnt by the press fallout from things that happened on the last Take That tour. In March last year he admitted to multiple one-night stands on the band's 2009 tour, 'The Circus'. In an interview with The Sun, he blamed his heavy 'party boy' drinking for the affairs. He checked in to rehab the next day. Mark is married with two young children. Personally he's been through a tough time. Professionally it's a different story.

He was often a creative bystander in the group's early-'90s boy-band days, but the reformed Take That now feels as though it is largely formed around Mark's lyrical themes, imaginative ideas and outlandish performances. He plays a leading role in a band he was once a pretty-boy frontman for, but appears to still have insecurities about his position. He also thinks way too much about stuff. All of this combined makes him a cautious interviewee.

When you were all planning this tour, what did you want to achieve? What questions did you ask yourselves?
'We just wanted a tour that did justice to the reunion, to Robbie playing with us again. But how do you play it? Do we sing on Robbie's solo songs? Does he sing on the songs we've made as a foursome? It wasn't easy.'

How is Robbie dealing with being back? The rumours had it that he didn't want to tour at all…
'It's great to see him perform with such passion. Because speaking to him a year and a half ago, you'd get the impression that he wouldn't do it. He thought he wouldn't be able to get on stage again. He'd fallen out of love with it all. The spark's back, he's bouncing around. We feel so blessed that he's back with us - it's such a joyful thing, it really is.'

Certain aspects of your behaviour on the last Take That tour have been well documented since. How are things different this time around?
'Well I've been going home a lot! I've been doing the shows then going home to see my kids. I never did that before. I always thought that the mentality was “When you go on tour, you go on tour”. I've realised now that it doesn't have to be like that. Life needn't be that one way or another. So we finish here in Dublin tomorrow then I go home for a few days. I don't feel as disconnected from my family now. When we're doing the dates and I'm off-stage I just spend a lot of my time on my own being quiet. Our head chef guy is teaching me some recipes too, so I'm cooking stuff most nights.'

And the temptations you succumbed to after shows previously - how do you pull yourself away from them now? What's replaced them?
'Green & Blacks organic milk chocolate! The world when you drink is different to when you don't. So different. There are different habits when you drink. I would come off stage and start drinking. Just head to the bar. That's what everyone does when they finish the show. Then you realise you don't need to go to the bar. You just don't need to go there.'

Were the tabloid revelations the thing that made you stop?
'They'd already stopped, to be honest. [Goes very quiet] It's difficult to talk about all of this...'

I understand…
'[Interrupting] I don't know whether you do understand because I have a wife and two kids and actually it's nobody's fucking business. My wife will read this interview, and her friends will. And we've dealt with it. I don't want to make her feel sick again, you know? Because I did make her feel sick and she's just starting to not feel sick after a year and a half and… [Starts welling up] I don't want to make her feel sick any more. I feel the most peaceful I have ever felt. I'm the luckiest… [Trails off].

'This tour for me is a lovely cap on it all. I'm not looking beyond this, at this moment in time, not with the band. It's a chance to say thank you to 1.8 million people, thank you for sticking by us through the last 20 years for all our shit, these five fucking idiots, because that's what we are are, all our shit that we've gone through they've stuck by us. Then I want to go home and spend some time with my kids and my wife and look after them for a bit.'

You were about to say how lucky you feel. Is this because you realise that you could have lost all of that?
'You realise none of this is worth anything without them. None of it. If I don't have them… there's no point to any of it.'

Have they been out on tour with you?
'They came to Sunderland. My wife is coming out for virtually all of the European leg too. Elwood watched his first show, Willow watched half. Elwood loved the robot!'

What happens after this? You make it sound, with some of the things you say, that this is you bowing out?
'I don't know. I don't know. In my head at the moment… I just want to get through this at the moment. If there's stuff that we can do, we'll do it. If something happens that means there's a reason to carry on we will. If we come up with songs we think people will want to hear we'll do them. If someone comes up with an idea that's about putting money in the bank then no…'

How's the next year of your life panning out in your head?
'The mind's a funny thing. I hear it in my head sometimes: “What are you going to do when this tour finishes? Gary's got 'The X Factor', Robbie's got a solo record, what about you? You're gonna get left behind again?” I hear that voice. And I go: “No, I'm not.” I'm going to enjoy myself, I'm going to take my time. One of the hardest things to do is nothing. That's what I'm going to try and do when this tour ends. Nothing. Achieve nothing.'

The band's security guard comes to fetch Mark. He's needed elsewhere.

'I'm sorry for snapping at you,' he says, then adds quietly: 'Sorry if I offended you.'

Gary Barlow wanders into the room. He starts talking about Owen, unaware of what we've just been discussing.

'Look at him, still trying to hog the headlines! Mark - the head judge is here!'

It's 4.45pm now, the doors to the stadium have just opened and Gary Barlow is already talking about the thing Time Out was told he wouldn't be talking about - his new role as head judge on 'The X Factor'. Mark leaves for his tenth fag of the day and his fourth coffee.

Gary Barlow is a whole different ball game to Mark Owen. Louder, more self-assured and patently not someone who overthinks anything. 'I leave that to Mark,' he says, quite correctly. Seen as the controlling, creative figure in the band in their early days, a role which meant he bore the brunt of Robbie's ire in his time away from the band, Barlow has relaxed into a far more democratic role. But it is still his band really, and with his boundless energy and inability to stress about any of the madness Barlow is an important figure in a group full of eccentrics. Life hasn't always been peachy - when his solo career fell apart in the late '90s he turned to drugs and suffered from depression. But it's this tough time that has made him so determined to enjoy every second of his renaissance. Including taking on a second role as a primetime ITV1 judge. Talking of which, and seeing as how he brought up the subject…

Throughout much of this tour you've been judging 'The X Factor' contestants during the day and singing live at night and you seem to be dealing with it…
'Workwise, they're pretty tough those days, but from a mental situation - which I'm often driven by - as I'd sit there on the helicopter being taken from “The X Factor” to a gig, I think: This is life at the top; this is as big as it gets. You won't find me complaining about that 'cos I know what it's like to be out of work with nobody interested in you, and it's shit.'

Apparently you're the tough-guy judge?
'Apparently I am! I don't know how it comes across but if they're no good I'll say I'm not interested. But I'm going to be tough on everyone, especially the acts I'll be looking after. 'Cos it's serious, this. It's bloody hard to make a living in music and I don't want to dress it up for anybody. Our responsibility is to mentor these people properly and we put through the ones that not only deserve a place but are also mentally prepared to take it on. They're plucked from nowhere, they're put into this spotlight - and “The X Factor” spotlight is bigger than any other. You see the slightest sign that they can't deal with that… well, you can't use them.'

Reports at the time of the Manchester gigs alleged that your female fans were getting so drunk they were becoming a burden on the city's ambulance services. Your fans are all drunkards: fair or unfair?
'I looked around and there were a few lairy people at those Manchester gigs. They come for a good night out and however they want to conduct themselves, well, it's up to them, really. I'm not bothered - as long as they're not causing too much trouble, not hurting one another, I'm fine with whatever they do.'

It has a knock-on effect though, doesn't it? Police in Glasgow are now saying that if your fans get drunk at the gig then try and get on a train home they could be arrested.
'Really? [Laughs] Right, well I hope they've extra staff on.'

Everyone was expecting Robbie to choke at some point. How has he been?
'Amazing. Never seen him like this before.'

Were you worried he'd change his mind?
'I was at the very start. 'Cos he did change his mind a couple of times! The touring was always the icing on the cake. We thought: If we can get this album done and away - great. Then if we tour… well, that would be amazing. And Robbie was just not looking forward to doing it on tour. He liked being with us and enjoyed spending time with us but the tour side of it seemed like a no-no. He has issues with the touring thing because of what happened before. Self-doubt and the rest. But there's been no issues at all. Me and Mark watch him every night do his solo bit from the side of the stage and we say, “Well, we've done our job here.”'

Gary is a little bit more sure on what his plans will be over the next year and a half. But his plans don't feature a new Take That album. He'll be producing Robbie's next solo album, performing a Children in Need concert in November, then in 2012 he's musical director for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee gig ('I'd prefer it with the band, but if it turns out they don't want to do it I'll do something on my own'). And he has his eye on a slot at the Olympics closing ceremony ('If asked, we'll do it'). Something tells me they'll ask.

Howard pops in to the lounge for a quick chat. The oldest of the band, and a father of two, Howard was recruited primarily for his dancing skills, but his singing on fan favourite 'Never Forget' and tracks on their more recent albums have meant he's increasingly been regarded as a lead vocalist in his own right. Howard is sure about his plans for the next 18 months: he's going to learn to fly a plane.

'I'm going to be doing my private pilot's licence. I ordered a plane last year' - he announces this with all the casualness of someone telling you which toppings they plumped for on their pizza - 'from America, and it's an amphibious plane so it can land on water and land. That doesn't arrive until 2013, so I've got to learn how to fly one before it arrives! It's always been one of my ambitions to fly a plane. Can't wait.'

The concert that night is a triumph. It's a spectacle unlike any other the country has seen. Even Om the robot - who is supposed to unfurl to his full height as the show progresses - works, and he has been temperamental on five dates already (including one memorable night in Manchester when Howard got stuck on top of him and had to be rescued by ladder). Dubliners go home happy. I go back to London, where the tour is heading now. Wembley, Gary makes clear, isn't just another date. Or eight dates. It's the ultimate date.

'You enjoy the hometown gigs, the Irish gigs, all of them,' he says. 'But I think as a venue Wembley is the one everyone dreams of. As a kid the TV show you would dream of was “Top of the Pops”, and the gig you would dream of was Wembley Stadium.'

But is it the end? Almost certainly not, but no one is giving me concrete evidence that plans for the future are being made. Maybe they're just too shattered (and exhilarated) to make plans. The only pattern emerging is of a group of people unable to see how they can top what they're doing now. And, frankly, how can they?

Fuente: TimeOutLondon

She cancelled their wedding to go see Take That

that's what I call a fan !


A DIEHARD Take That fan who cancelled her wedding to see the band perform in Brum was devastated – after her tickets never turned up.

Debbie Pickett, 38, paid for two seats for the £50 million Progress Tour gig at Villa Park as soon as the dates were announced last autumn.

In December boyfriend Tony Huxley, 34, popped the question and set about planning a summer register office wedding for Tuesday June 28.

But the hubby-to-be was stunned when mum-of-three Debbie announced: “We can’t get wed then. It’s the same day that Take That are playing Villa Park!”

The couple cancelled their plans, and started looking for another date later in the year.

“He couldn’t quite believe it,” said Debbie, who lives with Tony in Clifton Campville, near Tamworth, Staffordshire.

“I just knocked him straight back. There was absolutely no way I could miss seeing Gary, Howard, Mark, Jason and Robbie.

“He had sorted out the wedding and pretty mucharranged everything – so it was a big decision.

“But I went to see them at Wembley in 2009 and it was amazing. There was no way I was missing them in Birmingham.

“I did say I’d marry him in the morning and go to see them at night, but he said he would rather just wait.”

Debbie bought the £85-a-time tickets from BLC Event Tickets, an online company whose website she had used in the past to go and see other bands in concert.

But last week she got an e-mail from the firm saying that they had been let down by a supplier – and could no longer provide the seats she had bought.

“Gutted is not the word,” said unemployed Debbie, who suffers from depression. “It is so upsetting. I have been looking forward to it for ages. I postponed my wedding!
Take That ticket agony for Tamworth woman who cancelled wedding to see Jason, Mark, Robbie, Howard and Gary - Sunday Mercury

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Take That tour t-shirt to raise money for Comic Relief

The iconic Smiley Company has teamed up with Comic Relief to create a special ‘Happy Now’; Take That tour t-shirt to raise money for Comic Relief.
Nicolas Loufrani (CEO of The Smiley Company) said: "We’re really proud to have donated the use of our image to the ‘Happy Now’ Take That t-shirts because all the profits from the sale of this t-shirt will go straight to Comic Relief where they can spend it helping the people that need it most."

The t-shirt will be sold during the Take That summer tour.

The ‘Smiley’ company is home to one of the most recognisable symbols in the world. The original Smiley brand was born on January 1st 1972 with the ‘take time to smile’ promotion in French newspaper ‘France Soir’. The Smiley logo was used to highlight all good news so people could choose to read positive and uplifting articles.

40 years on the logo is now the symbol for a globally recognized brand and has enjoyed worldwide success with extensive licensing partnerships.

In 1997, Nicolas Loufrani launched the brand ‘SmileyWorld’ by creating variations of the original Smiley developing expressive characters and promoting the universal language of the ‘emoticon’. Today the company has thousands of different icons and characters.

10% of all royalties will go to charity through the Smiley World Association, which was formed in 2005 to help people in need by setting up health and educational infrastructures in third world countries.

Fuente: The Drum

Review of Take That live at Glasgow

The heavens opened as Take That bounded onto the stage at Hampden Park but no-one in the 50,000 strong crowd cared.

Despite the almighty downpour the band minus Robbie beamed sunshine with a rousing rendition of Rule The World.

Gary Barlow echoed everyone's sentiments at the start of Greatest Day as he said: "Good evening Glasgow. It's raining but we couldn't care less. What a beautiful night."

Twenty years ago, almost to the day, Take That began their first ever tour in a Scots nightclub.
Gary joked: "Twenty years ago we were nothing."

Pyrotechnics lit up the stage during Hold Up The Light but the boys were on fire already.

Jason said: "Some of you might know this or not. Our very first tour when we were 18 a 19 was in Glasgow when we did a little club. We stayed in a hotel room and it was our first time away from mum and dad."

Mark led the crowd into a rendition of Flower of Scotland to put a smile on Robbie's face backstage before the four sang Patience.

A carnival of colour with bees, butterflies, trees and a rabbit made for an Alice In Wonderland styled set for Shine with Mark on lead vocals riding a caterpillar and Gary at a twisted piano.

And then it was Robbie who fell onto the stage from above.

Let Me Entertain You he sang passionately as he splashed through the water-coated stage and instructed: "Hampden, bounce!"

Thousands of feet leapt into the air and screamed as Robbie asked: "Glasgow can you feel me, can you hear me? Hampden where's my roar?"

During Rock DJ, he showed off his naughty side as he put his hands down his pants and played with his bottom.

He summed up his joy saying: "I've come home. Scotland I want to be your son."

Robbie also referred to bandmate Howard Donald's former super-injunction rhyming: "I did some coke and slept with a whore, that's what a superinjinction is for."

He urged: "Put the English to shame and sing up for the lads."

And then he joked :"You can study Shakespeare and be quite elite or you can come from Possilpark and just p*** in the street.

"Which one's fat, which one's gay? My money's on Jay."

Robbie then apologised to any "little ones" for turning the air blue during his excitement.

Songs like Strong showed off his powerhouse of vocals before he wrapped a saltire round his neck and disappeared through the stage.

Shaolin monks welcomed back the bands as a fivepiece to sing The Flood at the top of a giant waterfall.

As the band abseiled down to the stage Gary said of his reassembled group: "This is progress ladies and gents."

A medley of new songs marked the most recent album and a dance off between Jason and Howard during Kids with Gary and Robbie presiding as judges and Mark mediating.

For an old fashioned singalong round the piano Mark sang the Proclaoimers 500 Miles while Gary made everyone forget how cold they were with A Million Love songs.

Mark's rendition of Babe also got everyone feeling nostalgic while Back for Good and Pray sealed the deal.

Love Love bought the sound back up to date before classic Never Forget and No Regrets.


The clothes might have been damp though but all the fires were relit.

Fuente: DailyRecord

The TT power

Why Take That can do things to women that their husbands can’t

This week Scotland’s men have been puzzled by the sight their sensible women go daft in anticipation of seeing someone called Robbie and his friends

The excitement had been building for weeks. Take That fans had been counting down the slow days until the gates finally opened at Hampden for last night’s show.

Women of all ages had been caught up in the fever – ordinary mums and wives transformed by degrees into hysterical screaming fans. The boys are in town and nothing is going to stop the Take That party.

And the girls weren’t disappointed. Apart from the non-stop downpour that had even the most die-hard fashionistas hiding under shapeless ponchos, the roller-coaster of female fun left fans thrilled and wanting more.

From the first sight of the boys – Jason Orange, Howard Donald, Mark Owen and Gary Barlow – bounding onto the stage for Rule The World, they were hooked. After such a long wait, it was happening.

The women threw their pink cowboy hats into the air, yelled and cheered, sang and danced, waved their arms and hugged strangers. When Robbie Williams did his solo, they were enthralled – screaming back at him, whooping when he said: “Scotland, I still wish I was your son.”

And when he kicked off with Let Me Entertain You, every woman just knew he was singing especially for them. He has that affect. How do I know? Because I was one of those women – and I know that a wet Wednesday in Glasgow was a tiny bit of dream-come-true.

But what do these five men have that gives them the ability to cast a spell over ordinary women. It’s not because they’re good looking and fit, although they are. Even Gary. It’s not even because they were on a million teenage bedroom walls. It’s something else.

These 40-something year old men grew up with us. They started out as a not particularly cool boy band, made up of the kind of awkward but nice lads you could take home to your mum. Last night they poked some fun at this with a jokey squabble about whether or not they were a pop group or a boy band.

On the way to becoming a man band, they’ve fallen out then made up, got things spectacularly wrong but apologised then made things better, and through it all not lost that essential niceness. Even, you, Robbie - nice enough to take back for tea.

And when they put on a world-class show with 20 metre robots, fireworks and spectacular costumes, underneath you know they’re still five lads who can’t quite believe they’ve done so well.

That's their secret, they might have the huge glitzy show, millions in the bank, and fans around the world, but they still turned out in the pouring rain and remembered to say thanks for buying a ticket.

Thanks boys, you re-lit our fires and we are delighted you're back for good.

As one fan, Annie Boyd put it: “I have no voice, I'm soaked to the bone, I queued for 45mins for a train but I had THE best night ever with Take That.”

Fuente: STV

Take That working on new material

Mark Owen says the group have started writing new songs.

Take That have already started working on new material.

'The Flood' group have released their last full album, 'Progress' in November last year, and followed it up with mini album 'Progressed' this month, but singer Mark Owen said they have already started working on even more songs.

He told the Daily Record newspaper: "We've done a few new tracks that over the last year we've been working on."

He added that the group - which also features Gary Barlow, Jason Orange, Robbie Williams and Howard Donald - are currently focussed on their 'Progress Live 2011' European tour, which they have been planning since early 2010 - even before Robbie had announced he was rejoining them.

He added: "Even before the record was out, the stage designs were coming through. The show has been in planning and production stages for about 10 months.

"We started with the set list and the songs we wanted to play, we spent a day just talking about them before throwing ideas into a bag and putting a show together.

"There hasn't been a week since that we haven't been in rehearsals. It's brilliant and I'm really proud of what we've achieved."

Fuente: Musicrooms.net

Drunk Take That ladies at Progress Tour shows ‘worse than football fans’

More than 100 women had to be admitted to A&E because they got so drunk at the Take That concerts.

The number of people treated at Manchester Royal Infirmary jumped dramatically on six of the band's eight dates at Eastlands – with doctors blaming the gigs.

And the MEN can reveal that 65 drink-sozzled women were thrown out of the City of Manchester stadium by stewards - with a further 35 men being the worse for wear.

One steward said the women behaved worse than football fans. It is understood that the majority of the patients brought into the MRI were women aged in their 30s and 40s.

They were mainly treated for alcohol-related injuries, such as ankle sprains. But some of the most serious cases included alcohol poisoning and broken wrists.

Doctors had to treat about 160 extra patients on the concert dates – or 27 per day, stretching hospital resources.

This works out to be roughly a 10 per cent increase in the number of people taken to accident and emergency compared to the same period last year.

Dr Steve Jones, the MRI's clinical director of emergency services, said: “We saw an increase from people who’d been at the Take That concerts.”

A steward at Eastlands said: “I have worked at lots of concerts and some of the drunkenness was unbelievable. Some women were slumped in their seats barely able to walk. It was way worse than a football match.” Almost half a million people watched the group over eight nights. Ten concert-goers - six women and four men - were arrested in or near the ground.

Police confirmed they received 22 reports of crime in or near the ground before, during and after the concerts. Among those crimes reported were five public order offences, three assaults, one sexual assault and a number of thefts. The accusation of sexual assault came from a female member of security staff who reported she had been groped by a concert-goer.

The report of an assault was made by a woman who reported she was beaten around the head by a man after she had tried to jump a queue for the male toilet. She was not seriously hurt.

Police had asked licensed premises around the ground not to sell alcohol to concert-goers to prevent trouble. They all abided by the request. Alcohol was still on sale inside the ground.

Senior police say the booze ban outside the stadium prevented more trouble.

Insp Mike Coombes said: “A small minority of fans were able to drink to excess to the extent that they spoiled the evening for other fans attending the concert.

“I would expect a small minority to behave poorly and to have to deal with that. But I would say that over all the number of incidents and arrests are what we would have anticipated for a pop concert of this size.

“We're pleased with the policing operation and we are grateful for our partners in the licensing trade for working with us to help to reduce the amount of alcohol fans drink.”

Fuente: MEN