Take That have set the bar so high when it comes to their tour productions that you almost wonder when the bubble's going to burst. They've sung atop a 50 foot robot, played presidents and ridden an oversized elephant around Wembley Stadium, for crying out loud. Surely there's nothing left for even the most inventive of bands to do, right?
Er, wrong.
Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen kicked off their Greatest Hits Live 2019 tour at Sheffield's FlyDSA Arena last night; and in a bid to prove they're bike for good (it'll make sense later...) the three-piece took 13,000 fans on a retrospective journey through 30 years of monster pop hits. Let's find out how it went, shall we?
The setlist
Right, let's just get the negative out of the way. We were BURSTING for a wee.
You now how, at your typical pop show, you have those moments that just scream 'toilet break'? Those niche, plodding album tracks that give you chance to pop out and relieve yourself? Well the Greatest Hits Live show doesn't stop for a second; meaning our bladder took a bit of a beating. "This is the most songs we’ve done in a set," Mark tells heat. "It's twenty five songs."
It goes without saying that the boys' back catalogue is brimming with bangers, from their 1993 debut number one Pray to most recent single Out of Our Heads; and narrowing down some 41 singles into a setlist is no easy task.
With this being, as it says on the tin, a greatest hits tour we obviously knew not to expect some of our fave deep cuts (Lovelife says hi); but what we did get was a non-stop tour de force of a career spanning three decades. The ballads, the bops and those iconic Babe backing vocals. Die-hard and casual fans alike will leave happy.
Fun fact: The setlist's actually the Odyssey album, in order, from start to finish. Genius.
The staging
If the Take That lads are known for one thing, it's the insanely-slick spectacle they bring with every show. While some bands are happy with Windows '98-esque graphics and a questionable confetti cannon, the boys' production values are unrivaled in pop; a reign upheld on the Greatest Hits Live tour.
Things have, quite literally, switched up a gear since the Wonderland Live tour. For Spin, the lads straddle three Harley-Davidson motorcycles in perhaps their most brilliantly-kitsch moment since the Do What U Like music video.
The show centres around a giant 30 ton orb - a reimagining of their iconic logo seen throughout the Odyssey campaign - where the boys make their awe-inspiring entrance. Elsewhere there's pyrotechnics, dancers with more energy than a seven-year-old on Sour Skittles and a surprise for those at the back.
Worried your seats might be a bit sh*t? NEVER FEAR. There's even a b-stage which Howard claims is his favourite section of the show.
Chatting to heat, he said: "It’s a treat for the people that think they’re at the back; they become the front for about fifteen minutes." Hoorah.
The best bits
Where do we even begin with this one?
For a start, fans will love the band's tributes to past members Robbie Williams and Jason Orange. The former recorded a special clip for his lead vocals on Everything Changes, with Jason getting a video homage ahead of A Million Love Songs. We knew we should've packed the waterproof mascara, dammit.
Then there's Lulu. Entering in the aforementioned orb to belt out their 1993 number one collab Relight My Fire, the 70-year-old star sent the crowd wild with her surprise appearance. What a moment.
Other highlights included the live debut of new track Everlasting, slowed-down Odyssey version of Pray with signing for the hearing impaired and Sigma collaboration Cry; which proved the lads can still Take That & Party with the best of 'em.
The final verdict: 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
In a time when, quite frankly, the country doesn't know whether it's coming or going, Take That's Greatest Hits Tour journey from the early '90s to now provides the perfect escapism. A show packed with nostalgia, new highs and endless 'OMG' moments proves Gary, Howard and Mark still haven't hit their peak. We can't wait to see where the band take things next.
Are we sure? SO sure.
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