Take That BST review - Pop royalty, a saucy confession and superstar guests

04 July 2023 , 08:57
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Take That wowed fans with their two-hour show (Image: (Credit Dave Hogan / Hogan Media))
Take That wowed fans with their two-hour show (Image: (Credit Dave Hogan / Hogan Media))

As confessions go, this was a huge one.

‘I think of you when I s**g my husband’, read the banner at the Take That gig, sparking laughter from 65,000 fans.

And quick as a flash Gary Barlow simply replied: “Which one?”

It’s the band’s ‘first proper show’ in four years and they’ve turned Hyde Park into one big pop carnival.

Gary, Howard Donald and Mark Owen kicked off their set with an acapella intro to The Flood before the first of many confetti cannons exploded over the crowd as a light waterfall cascaded over the stage.

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“Good evening, Hyde Park!” Gary announced to the crowd. “If you know the words, sing along. If you know the dance moves, dance along.”

Take That BST review - Pop royalty, a saucy confession and superstar guestsTake That were joined on stage with an incredible dance troupe ((Credit Dave Hogan / Hogan Media))

And that they did non-stop - including mum Tracie and daughter Ellie - who sang their hearts out all night long - as the fab three belted out song after song from their 33-year career without barely a pause during their headline slot at American Express Presents BST.

They teased fans with a slowed down start to Could It Be Magic before the familiar intro kicked in.

The boys last performed at the King’s Coronation but on Saturday night, it was the boys who were pop royalty.

The reworking of Greatest Day with Calum Scott sent more confetti into the air before the BGT finalist was backed by the boys for a piano-led rendition of his cover of Robyn’s Dancing On My Own.

Throughout their performance on the main stage and runway, the band were supported by an incredible dance troupe, which Owen thanked part-way through, saying: “It’s not easy running up and down these stairs.”

Do you know the woman holding the yellow banner? Email [email protected]

Take That BST review - Pop royalty, a saucy confession and superstar guestsTake That fans came up with some imaginative banners ((Credit Dave Hogan / Hogan Media))

"In rehearsals, our run from there to there was about five feet so we were doing it quite easy but when we turned up here today we had an extra 50 metres so we had to run a little bit faster so we might miss a few of our cues tonight so I apologise for that.”

But nobody would have noticed (or cared) had that been the case but Take That, forever the professionals, didn’t miss a thing.

“I don’t think this song needs any intro”, says Howard, as Musical Director Mike Stevens joins them on the runway with his saxophone and the solo for A Million Love Songs begins.

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Take That BST review - Pop royalty, a saucy confession and superstar guestsIt was Take That's first show in four years ((Credit Dave Hogan / Hogan Media))

Other highlights of the night include Pray, Back For Good and Said It All.

Before performing their number one hit Patience from their 2006 comeback album, Barlow reminisced about how they got back together.

He said: “In the middle of this 30 years, we didn’t perform together, we weren’t a band at all. So when we did eventually come back, we were amazed to see this amazing audience waiting to see us again.

“And oh my goodness did we need a song at that point, it’s so funny because after all the years of being together, we finally learnt to work as a team.

Take That BST review - Pop royalty, a saucy confession and superstar guestsFireworks ended the night as the band finished their set with Rule The World ((Credit Dave Hogan / Hogan Media))

“We went in the studio and wrote this next song we are about to sing. It’s the song that brought us back.”

Highlight of the night was when ’Queen’ Lulu emerged from the back of the stage among the flames shooting to the sky to sing her part of Relight My Fire.

The fans were asked to sing Never Forget “loud and proud” before 65,000 phone lights lit up the night sky for Rule The World to close the show.

Owen had promised fans it would be the ‘greatest night’ and he wasn’t wrong.

Take That BST review - Pop royalty, a saucy confession and superstar guestsThe Script paid tribute to band member and co-founder Mark Sheehan during their set ((Credit Dave Hogan / Hogan Media))

And music fans got a taste of what to expect earlier in the evening when The Script pulled a huge crowd for the band’s first festival show since the sad passing of co-founder and guitarist Mark Sheehan in April.

The band belted hit including Superheroes, The Man Who Can’t Be Moved, Breakeven and Hall Of Fame.

During their set the band paused to speak about the loss of Mark with frontman Danny O’Donohue telling the crowd: “We want to take some time out right now to say thank you to the Script family who have been there for us for the past few months.

"For those of you who don’t know we lost our brother and our guitarist Mark Sheehan – we lost him a few months ago and it’s been some of the toughest months that we’ve had.

"I just want to take this time to say thank you to everybody for your messages, your support, your prayers. We wouldn’t be able to get through these few months if it wasn’t for you guys.”

Take That BST review - Pop royalty, a saucy confession and superstar guestsGuns N' Roses thrilled the crowd with a three-hour electrifying, super-charged performance of hits ((Credit Dave Hogan / Hogan Media))

The band then dedicated a beautiful acoustic version of If You Could See Me Now to Mark as a tearful Danny looked to the skies.

Just 24 hours earlier and it was the turn of Guns N' Roses to thrill the crowd with a three-hour electrifying, super-charged performance of hits including Welcome to the Jungle, November Rain, Sweet Child O’Mine, Civil Rain, Nightrain and Don’t Cry.

Not forgetting the obligatory covers, of course, of Wings’ Live and Let Die and Bob Dylan’s Knocking on Heaven’s Door before Axl Rose, Slash and the band took everyone to Paradise City.

Andy Rudd

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