Giants of pop hit the road
THEY are celebrating 30 years together and now Take That have revealed they plan to follow in the footsteps of Elton John – by touring into old age.
The lads – Gary Barlow, Howard
Donald and Mark
Owen – took to the stage last night at Sheffield’s FlyDSA Arena with a spectacular highoctane show complete with pyrotechnics and full band.
But before the madness kicked off, I spoke to the trio backstage.
Gary, 48, tells me: “The old-school ones, the Rods [Rod Stewart] and the Eltons, this is all they do.
“They just tour and tour and tour. This is where I am most comfortable, on a stage. It’s where it makes sense.”
Elton is embarking on the UK leg of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour aged 72 this summer.
And while Take That are at the top of their game, like Elton, they still get nervous. Howard, 50, jokes: “I’m full of trepidation, anxiety, I’m thinking of going home actually.”
Mark, 47, adds that stage fright means he thinks of quitting “all the time”. And they haven’t ruled out a reunion with Robbie Williams and Jason Orange.
Mark says: “They are a massive part of the 30 years and part of our conscience when we were putting the show together and the album. We wanted to show respect.”
Gary chips in: “I think we will get back together at some point. It is something to look forward to.”
And as we got talking about other 90s bands, namely the Spice Girls and Mel B’s story about a fling with bandmate Geri Horner, Gary jokes: “Me and Howard have something to confess...”
The lads stripped off for the 1991 Do What You Like music video. And Mark says: “I don’t know how you top that really.”
Gary adds: “You are meant to reach that point and we started like that. We slowly put our clothes back on. There is nothing I haven’t seen.”
Swoon.