[Princess]

1 review,1 interview with Howard with some stage detail stuff as well and lovely little Mark story. I love these men!!!!

Review: Take That at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff
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THE circus came to town in style tonight when Take That hit Cardiff.
The pop super group played to a packed Millennium Stadium for the first of their two dates in the capital.
The circus theme - born from their most recent album title was apparent from the off.
And as the foursome opened with Greatest Day, the fans went as wild as they did in the early 1990s.
Clowns, balloons, and even a 30 ft elephant were all part of the act as the boys belted out their wealth of hits.
While the group have arguably been more successful since reuniting, they harked back to their younger years by honouring their back catalogue.
Fans were thrilled by hits such as Relight My Fire, A million Love Songs, and It Only Takes a Minute.
And during Back for Good, sprinklers soaked the boys which, reminiscent of the video, no doubt sparked a nostalgic moment for many fans.
In the spirit of a circus and unlike many gigs at the stadium, much of the action was in the centre and it was happening from all angles as an army of dancers, acrobats and gymnasts adorned the stage.
In a display of guts, they attempted circus stunts themselves, with Jason, Howard and Mark riding unicycles.
And proving they're now more than the polished manufactured boy band they once were, this time round they proved their musical credentials.
Gary was on keyboards, Mark on bass, Howard on drums, while Jason played the guitar.
And by this point it was clear they certainly didn't need Robbie Williams to thrill a crowd any more.
As the two hour show drew to a close, the group maintained their energy to belt out Rule the World.
In recent months Madonna and Oasis have played at the stadium, but there's a reason why Take That are able to attract twice as many fans.
Their obvious talent and energy is matched in droves by their humble nature and warmth. It's clear they're truly grateful for all the hysterical support they so clearly deserve.
Seeing Take That live undoubtedly pleased their abundance of fans.
And it's likely that any dads or boyfriends dragged along will have enjoyed it an awful lot as well.
EG

http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/ne...l/article.html

Take That Circus is rolling into town.. and there was never a chance of Robbie Williams being involved, says Howard Donald
Jun 18 2009 By John Dingwall

BOY-BAND hysteria will hit Scotland when Britain's favourite pop act roll into town for the first of a hat-trick of shows at Glasgow's Hampden Stadium tomorrow night - but there will be no sign of the band's old mate Robbie Williams.

The Let Me EntertainYou singer has been told to forget all talk of a reunion and to knuckle down on finishing his own solo album.

And his former bandmate, Howard Donald, insists Robbie has given up on all hope of rejoining his old band and knows he will have to rekindle his own career without them.

Drawing a line under the Robbie rumours once and for all, Howard claimed that it was never really on the cards for Robbie to join the band.

"There has been all sorts of talk in the newspapers, but that's all it was," Howard insisted. "We know between us that he is a good friend. We respect that he is making an album and he respects our career, but everything is great."

The solo star's career had hit the doldrums in recent years and Robbie knows only too well that he would have benefited by association had he been given the chance to go onstage with Take That on any of their tour dates. It would have given him a captive audience of 1.2 million fans and would have been an enormous publicity coup.

But, as well as giving up on the idea, Howard says Robbie has finally come to respect his old band and has been told to buckle down and record a new solo album for release in October - giving him time to cash in on the lucrative Christmas market.

"Robbie has got his own career," Howard added. "We think he has an album coming out at the end of this year and we have this tour to concentrate on. There has been no time to see Robbie because we spent a very busy time in rehearsals and in dress rehearsals leading up to the show.We were getting the show together because we wanted it to be perfect for the fans."

The lads are playing not not one but three sell-out shows at Scotland's national stadium and Howard admits he is blown away by the level of success Take That have achieved.

"It really is incredible," he said. "To be honest with you, I lost track of how many shows we were playing in Scotland and when I saw that we were going to be in Hampden Stadium for three shows it really hit home to me just how great the fans in Scotland really are.

"It is quite unbelievable really to be playing three shows in the same stadium in Scotland in the one weekend. I have to pinch myself sometimes because it is hard to come to terms with the fact that we are even able to play stadiums. It's unbelievable."

Take That's biggest tour has seen Gary Barlow, Jason Orange, Howard Donald and Mark Owen deliver one of the most elaborate pop shows ever seen.

"We can't wait to get on that stage at Hampden," Jason agreed. "I just can't wait. It's going to be brilliant. It's the biggest tour we have ever done. It's a wonderful honour."

Fresh from Cardiff's Millennium Stadium, the lads hope to dazzle fans with their Circusthemed shows, which will see them performing acrobatic tricks and riding unicycles and include a huge hot-air balloon centre-stage, a giant circus tent, a high-wire, trapeze, and clowns handing out balloons.

The four-piece will dazzle on a £10million stage at Hampden, performing acrobatic tricks, in keeping with their latest chart-topping album, also called Circus.

And to make sure all their fans are catered for, whether young or old, Take That will be performing a selection of songs spanning their entire career - going as far back as their early 1990s hits to their most recent hit single, Said It All.

Fans of the band, which reformed in 2006, will arrive in their droves to catch their idols and support acts Gary Go and The Saturdays.

The fastest-selling show in UK pop music history boasts jugglers, trapeze artists and tight-rope walkers - and a set list including Take That classics, A Million Love Songs, Could it be Magic? and Shine.

A giant mechanical elephant and a 10.4mhigh puppet ringmaster sounds like the sort of stuff we might expect from Pink Floyd but not from a boy band, but Mark admits the band were determined to give their fans value for money.

"It's a big show, the biggest we have done," the 37-year old said: We think we've got a good set list and got the balance right."

At the start of the show, the stage will open up like the petals of a flower with the four members of Take That slowly rising up on a platform that gradually reveals itself to be balanced on top of the giant, 7.6m-tall mechanical elephant.

Then a section of the circular stage swings away and the elephant performs a full turn, blows some water from its trunk and begins to move.

The show was conceived by stage designer Es Devlin but it is down to Brilliant Stages project manager Clay Brock to make it happen. Brock, who has designed stage sets for Metallica, assembled a team of specialists, including structural engineers.

"The set designer dreams up these crazy ideas and has no idea how they're going to work," he admitted. "My job is to make sure we get it done on time and on budget with design intent. They wanted a puppet that leans forwards, holds out its hands and goes 'boo'. That was our creative direction."

"We had to do this earthquake scene for Metallica, where two pylons had to crash to the ground in two seconds," says engineer Andy Edwards of 3D Design, one of the specialists on the project. "Nobody else would touch it. It was a nightmare to do but we made it work.You do it on the basis of a gut feeling - you can do all the calculations, but you don't know if it will work until you try it."

The ringmaster puppet is constructed from five scissor lifts stacked one above the other. The one below the head has a cantilevered platform for the band to stand on. The scissor lifts are clothed with a body made from aluminium hoops joined with fabric that unfold as the puppet extends, like a jack-in-the-box.

After Sunday's third Hampden Stadium show, the entire set will take 37 hours to dismantle for the next show.

Howard said: "I think in the old days, when we are talking about the early 1990s tours, we danced and pranced around to choreography for every song. And we drank so much water onstage because of how much we were dancing and how much younger we were.

Now the whole show has been designed for a stadium tour which means everything needs to be much bigger and we need many more people and a bigger cast to make sure the stage doesn't look empty."

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/ed...6908-21450130/

IAN Barnett couldn’t believe his luck when he bumped into Mark Owen in a city hotel.

Ian, 33, from Penylan, Cardiff, was refused a picture but was bowled over when he was promised two tickets for Tuesday night’s show.

Ian, right, saw Mark at the Park Plaza Hotel’s Laguna spa on Tuesday afternoon. He said: “I was getting changed and he walked in and I thought: ‘Was that Mark Owen?’ He must have gone to the steam room because I was swimming and I didn’t see him again until I was on my way out. I grabbed the opportunity and asked for a picture but he apologised and said no. Then he stopped and asked me if I was going to the Tuesday night show.”

When he said he wasn’t, Ian could not believe his eyes when Mark wrote down his name.

“He asked me how to spell it and if I wanted another ticket for a friend, then told me to pick them up at the box office,” he said.

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wa...1466-23907424/