[Princess]

Originally posted by Princess
Setlist I want for the tour in no order (except for the precifics I'll put at the bottom,lol)

Hold Up A Light
Never Forget
Shine
Rule the World
Patience
Greatest Day
Up All Night
Said It All
The Garden
How Did It Come To This
Here
She Said
We Love To Entertain You
Relight my Fire
Back for Good
Something special(Like Give Good Feeling/Apache etc.)
Could it be Magic(re-worked)
Only Takes A Minute(reworked)

Greatest Day as a start with We Love To Entertain You straight after
Never Forget,Up All Night and Hold Up A Light near the end.
Rule the World when its proper dark so we can all look up at the stars when we all sing 'All the stars are coming out tonight,they're lighting up the sky tonight'

That is all! Oh and very little(if any) clothing please Oh and FIREWORKS!!! And loads of ticker tape and ballons and foam. Loads of fun really.

Only songs I didn't get were Here,She Said and We Love to Entertain You. I got Only Takes A Minute in the medley. Also had Pray,Hello,A Million Love Songs,Wooden Boat,What is Love and The Circus! I got GD at the start,UAN as in the middle.Never Forget and Hold Up A Light were near the end.I did that for RTW as it was last! I got some little clothing,lol. And I got ballons,bubbles and fireworks! Very very happy,they did a huge lot of what I wanted,lol!

Saw JR tonight.

Will post all the official reviews in here when I'm bothered.

[Princess]

Said It All out today!!!! Hope it gets at least Top 5,it deserves Number 1!

I adore this picture,from rehearsals

[Princess]

Setlist:

Greatest Day
Hello
Could it be Magic
Pray
A Million Love Songs
Back for Good
The Garden
Shine
Up All Night
Wooden Boat
How Did It Come To This?
Singsong(Dublin was Love Ain't Here Anymore,Babe and Nobody Else)
The Circus
What Is Love
Do What You Like/Promises/Only Takes A Minute/Take That and Party medley
Said It All
Never Forget
Patience
Relight My Fire
Hold Up A Light
Rule the World

Did that off the top of my head,hope it's right.

[Princess]

Look how pretty!!!!!!!!

[MarkWaldorf]

it looks so bright and pretty on the black theme

[Princess]

Ooohhh!!!! Might have a look on that one. I'm on pink.

My granny said she thinks she saw me and my mum in a paper today,embarrassing much,lol!

[MarkWaldorf]

LMAO

[Princess]

OOoooh and the DVD dates are 4/5th so if I get front row I'm definitely going to be on the DVD! Woot.

Thanks again for the set Off for a bit,ttyl x

[MarkWaldorf]

Byee x

[Princess]

Urgh,I'm so annoyed. I didn't get a chance to buy much merchandise at the concert because of the whole running for front row thing and there was a mess up with the ATM so I couldn't get money out. My mum only had so much so I just got a progamme. But I want to order some t-shirts online and they're not avalible till the 30th! I'll be gone to Manchester and back by then.I want to wear them now

[Ross]

I'm going Wednesday!

[Princess]

Ross you will LOVE it. I heard stories from so many people who weren't so keen and they went out and bought all the albums after,lol.

[Princess]

Just heard Greatest Day on a laser eye surgery ad,how random!

Got my fan-made t-shirt today, I went and was like ' Sorry I wasn't here to get it on Saturday I was queuing all day I GOT FRONT ROW!' lol,not that I'm going on about it much

[Princess]

Some Markie interviews

We weren't sure comeback single and reunion would work, says Take That star Mark Owen
Jun 14 2009 Billy Sloan

WHEN Gary Barlow, Mark Owen, Jason Orange and Howard Donald stood behind their mikes at RAK Studios, they knew the stakes could not be any higher.

Take That were recording their 2006 comeback album Beautiful World, their first since the group's shock split a decade earlier.

Their status as the biggest boy band in UK pop history with record sales of 19 million meant nothing.

The future of Take That - if they were going to have one - was on the line.

The four were nervous when the red light went on in the control room to begin taping Patience.

The musical heritage of the legendary RAK Studios in London had piled on even more pressure.

It was where Radiohead recorded their groundbreaking 1995 album The Bends and Duffy laid down tracks for her Grammy-award-winning 2008 debut Rockferry.

Famous names in the visitors book included Paul McCartney, Neil Young, Arctic Monkeys, Rod Stewart, Ultravox and Simply Red.

"Patience was a song we weren't even sure would work," said Mark.

"We looked at each other, saying:'Is this track any good? Do we even like it?' It was only the third song we had written for the album.

"The spirits of all the great artists who had worked at RAK were flying around the studio. It was incredibly inspiring.

"Apart from maybe a lick of paint, it has not changed much over the years since it was opened by hit producer Mickie Most in 1976. It has an amazing history.

"When we started singing Patience, we could see people around getting into it. Immediately, that took a lot of pressure off. The record company were very enthusiastic when they heard it and reckoned it would make a great single.

"We were unsure of what we were doing but it felt, musically, like we had moved to a higher level." Patience hit No.1 in the UK charts, staying there for four weeks and shipping 535,000 copies to become one of the 10 best-selling singles of 2006.

The self-penned song was voted Record Of The Year and won a Brit Award the following February.

Three years on, it seems bizarre Take That had any self-doubt. They have eclipsed the achievements of a phenomenal career spanning from 1991 to 1996 and survived the headline-hitting departure of bandmate Robbie Williams.

On Friday, Saturday and Sunday they will headline spectacular gigs at Hampden Park in Glasgow - as part of their spectacular Circus Tour - to a combined audience of 165,000 devoted fans.

When Take That exploded on to the UK music scene in 1991, they chalked up a string of hit singles including Relight My Fire - a rousing vocal spar with Scots singer Lulu - and Back For Good.

Their albums Take That And

Party (1992), Everything Changes (1993) and Nobody Else (1995) helped make them global stars.

The group have even surpassed that success since their surprise reunion in 2005.

On November 14, 2005, Gary, 38, Mark, 37, Jason, 38, and 41-year-old Howard appeared together on ITV documentary Take That: For The Record.

They were adamant there would be no group reformation. The documentary was intended to show what each member - plus Robbie -

had been doing in the decade since their split.

Mark said: "We were nervous about a comeback. Could we reinvent the wheel? The only reason we did For The Record was to close the door on Take That but we ended up kicking it open even wider.

"Off the back of it, we were asked to do a handful of concerts. We just fell into it.

"Initially, when we were told seven UK arena shows had been booked, our reaction was,'Hey, that's maybe pushing it a bit'. Our promoter was confident we would sell them out. Suddenly, it progressed to 25 arena concerts and four stadium shows.

"Then we wanted to prove to ourselves we could still do it." The group's Ultimate Tour 2006 - which included two gigs at the SECC in Glasgow - broke box-office records before they had even sung a note live.

On the opening night, at the Metro Arena in Newcastle on April 23, self-doubt again crept in.

Mark said: "The crowd in the Metro Arena seemed so vast, I remember looking out from behind the stage and feeling very moved.

"We had a look at each other and thought: 'How did we end up here?' It was overpowering to be hit by such a wave of enthusiasm when we walked on.

"I don't want to get all drippy but I got pretty emotional.

"Each of us knew what was at stake but there was a feeling of, 'Let's go out and enjoy this because it's going to be over so quickly'.

"We didn't think our reunion would last beyond that string of gigs." The tour helped cement Gary, Mark, Jason and Howard's relationship as friends but, more importantly, it proved the catalyst for the four to begin writing together.

In the previous incarnation of Take That, Gary Barlow penned all their key songs.

After their split in 1995 he enjoyed considerable success as a solo act - with UK No.1 singles Forever Love and Love Won't Wait - and wrote hits for Atomic Kitten, Donny Osmond, Blue and Delta Goodrem.

Mark never anticipated the new four-way writing collaboration would yield such pop riches as hit singles Patience, Shine, Rule The World and The Greatest Day.

If the UK music industry was surprised by their prowess as writers, so it seems were the band.

Mark said: "First time around I don't think we got enough respect for our music - we struggled to win credibility for our songs. We had to come back with something a real step up musically.

"It wasn't that we didn't take our music seriously before. We were only 18 or 19 years old then.

Gary had always done most of that stuff.

"He had to take a step back, change his way of working and think how we would approach it as a group.

"When we realised we could write together, it was all a happy accident.

"There's definitely much more soul in Take That now. Our music is more grown-up and honest.

"Back then it felt like we were part of a big machine churning things out.

"That's why we called it a day - there was a danger of being swallowed up by all that.

"In 1996, at the end of Take That, Gary was a bit lost in his own thing - and he would even admit that.

"We never got the chance to try anything new. We were so tired, knackered, we knew it was time to stop."

A follow up to the two postreunion group albums - Beautiful World and The Circus - has been put on hold until after this tour.

Mark added: "We've talked about recording another album but nobody is looking beyond these shows.

"People might hate the gigs. Then we will have to call it a day. Hopefully, it won't come to that."

There's no chance of it. This time Take That are back... for good..

http://www.sundaymail.co.uk/tv-showb...8057-21440106/

After months of waiting, Take That fans will be treated to two gigs at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff next week. Band member Mark Owen takes time out of rehearsals to talk to Karen Price about the shows, family life and a certain Mr Williams

IT’S the day before the most anticipated date in the music calendar and Mark Owen is trying to keep the nerves at bay.

Just 24 hours after our phone chat, Owen and the other members of Take That staged the world premiere of their much-anticipated tour, The Circus. And just like their massive comeback three years ago, which saw the chart-toppers give a blistering performance at the Millennium Stadium, their latest show has gone down a storm.

Critics at the opening gig at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland last weekend described the performance as “a real pleasure” and “pure theatre”.

All that, and there wasn’t even a mention of the R word in any of the reviews I scoured.

Yes it seems that Mark Owen, Gary Barlow, Jason Orange and Howard Donald, are back at the very top and they don’t need any help from former bandmate Robbie Williams thank you very much.

When the tour was announced last year, there was much talk about whether Williams would reunite with the band or not.

Three years ago he was represented on stage during the comeback tour as a hologram. But it doesn’t appear that he’s referenced this time, even though the boys are all on talking terms once again.

“No, he’s not going to come,” says Owen, 37, when I ask the inevitable question about whether Williams will join the 2009 tour.

“I’m so glad Robbie is back in contact and we see him now. We talked last year of him maybe coming (on tour). We were all a bit giddy about seeing each other but it’s not possible at the moment. Rob’s doing a new record. But it (reunion) will happen one day.”

When we speak, the father-of-two is looking forward to the world premiere of the tour the following night, but he admits the nerves are kicking in.

“I have been really good all week and quite calm but I can feel myself starting to tense up a little bit. I woke up this morning and felt a bit...” he trails off.

“Sick?” I offer.

“Yes, sick,” he laughs.

“The nice thing about the first venue is you’re in there three or four days before, so we’ve done most of our sound checks and stuff.

“I’m hoping not to go in too early before the show. I’ve got the kids coming up today with my lady so I probably won’t get any sleep tonight.”

The tour opened just two nights after Britney Spears launched her series of London gigs as part of her tour – coincidentally also called Circus. But it seems Take That had no reason to worry about any competition.

As one critic, who has seen both shows, stated: “The boys’ show makes their rival’s look like an end-of-pier performance. Britney has a cast of 50? Pah, Take That have over 200. She rides an umbrella, they have a hot air balloon hovering above, but hitch a lift from the centre of the stadium to their big top tent on a 20ft-high, mechanical elephant with glowing eyes whose tail is an upside down woman with hair extensions. Heck, they even learned to ride unicycles.”

Owen admits: “It’s a big show – the biggest we have done, or it feels like it is.

“There are 58 trucks. On the last tour there were 30.”

Those trucks are carrying a selection of outrageous outfits – the boys don amateurish face paint and clowns’ outfits for one section – and some magnificent sets, including the hot air balloon.

But Owen plays down the costumes.

“There are not as many as in the past,” he says. “We’ve got an amazing wardrobe. People have been coming in and making stuff for us. We’re not like the Spice Girls so it isn’t all by John Galliano. But they are all beautiful.”

While it’s all well and good to put on an extravaganza – what about the main ingredient: the music?

“We are not one of those bands who don’t play the back catalogue. We think we’ve got a good set list. I think we’ve got the balance right,” says Owen. “Gary’s slightly concerned we are playing one too many off the new record. I said, ‘It will be great. Don’t worry. Just smile and sing and shut up’!”

Take That originally dominated the charts from 1991 to 1996 when they sold 19 million records. They announced their split seven months after Williams quit the band in July 1995.

Following a TV documentary in 2005, in which they aired their views on the split, the post-Williams line-up announced they were reforming to tour in 2006. The rest is history. Now they are bigger and better than ever, notching up more chart-toppers with the albums Beautiful World and The Circus and their current tour is said to be “the fastest-selling in UK history”.

While all of them, except Orange, are now fathers, it seems they are enjoying life in a band even more second time round – mainly because they are not afraid to speak their minds and want to be the best possible for their fans.

“We get on really well, better than we ever have done. But we are not afraid to say: ‘That’s not working.’ We are more honest. We all really care. We really care so much,” says Owen.

Due to their personal commitments – Owen is dad to Elwood, who’s nearly three, and six-month-old Willow – their tours are now condensed. They also travel with old friends.

“There’s a really nice atmosphere. We have a really great crew. Everyone started with us back in ’91 or ’92. There’s a real family atmosphere back stage. Everyone wants it to go well. There’s a crew of 238 and you don’t want to let them down.”

When we speak, The Circus show isn’t the finely-tuned spectacular that fans in Sunderland – and earlier this week, Coventry – enjoyed.

“I hope it’s going to be alright. At the moment we’re coming in at about six hours,” laughs Owen of the gig.

“There’s been a few hiccups – technical things really. We’re hoping it’s going to be about an hour and 45 to two hours. We don’t want to go on too much. People get bored after that.”

I don’t think there’s much chance of that happening. There is a variety of support acts – from James Morrison and The Script to Lady Ga Ga and The Saturdays – to warm up the crowds, mainly made up of 30-something women. There is also little known singer Gary Go, who Owens tells me “we have been championing”.

So which member of Take That gets most nervous before performing live in front of 60,000 fans?

“I think on the outside it’s probably me or Jay. Gary on the outside is very cool usually. We are all getting a bit nervous about it. I’m trying not to think about it.

“But I love touring as long, as I’m looking after myself; and as long as you’re feeling strong, it’s great. The worst thing that can happen is you wake up and go: ‘Oh my throat’s sore.’ That’s my one dread. It would break my heart if I were to lose my voice.”

Owen is not sure how long his children will join him on tour.

“It’s quite disrupting for them. Elwood knows daddy’s in a band but he thinks all daddys are in bands.

“The other day we saw a male friend in the street and he told us he was going to work. Elwood said: ‘What’s your band called’?”

After the hysteria of being in a band first time round, when Take That disbanded, Owen managed to lead a relatively quiet life, despite continuing as a solo artist and even winning Celebrity Big Brother.

But although Take That are now one of the world’s biggest bands once again, Owen says the fame doesn’t bother him and he manages to lead a relatively “normal” life away from the public glare.

“It’s not too bad at all. Everyone’s got their own lives now. You don’t get people outside your door. It’s fine.”

As far as Take That are concerned, will they now be like a new version of the Rolling Stones and go on forever or do they plan to bow out at the top?

“We just want to get this tour right and get through it but everyone’s quite up for a new record,” says Owen.

Surely music to their screaming fans’ ears...

Take That are at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff on Tuesday & Wednesday

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/showbiz...1466-23850601/

Love this bit,too cute!

Owen is not sure how long his children will join him on tour.

“It’s quite disrupting for them. Elwood knows daddy’s in a band but he thinks all daddys are in bands.

“The other day we saw a male friend in the street and he told us he was going to work. Elwood said: ‘What’s your band called’?”

[M X]

I love Said It All.

[pinkmichk]

love your new sig and avatar laura
said it all is really growing on me i love it now hated it when i first heard it

[Princess]

YAY for the Said It All love! And thanks Mich!

SIA has been one of my favs since my first play of the album,I cried on my 2nd listen and I've played it more than other song on the album even though HUAL is my fav.

[Princess]

A wonderful Irish review and a Gaz interview which has made me VERY happy!

Music Blog - Roll up, roll up...
That's it. I've decided I'm running away with The Circus. I've always been a bit of a tomboy. I reckon I could perfect some lion taming. I like to dress a bit colourfully, so maybe I could do the clown thing... I have no co-ordination though, so that rules out the tight-rope and the unicycles... OK, so I don't have many obvious skills to bring to the table but last Saturday night in Croke Park I was convinced that it would be a pretty cool job, if they'd have me.

Elephants, giant inflatable men, tightrope walkers, fireworks...
Take That's latest tour is a non-stop gasp-fest. I went along to Croke Park expecting to have a good time (after all I've loved them since I was about ten-years-old) but the show that I saw completely surpassed all my expectations. It was just such a spectacular visual experience. Everything about The Circus was amazing. Yeah, last week I wrote about Beyoncé's gig being one of the best I've ever been to, and it was. She has an amazing voice and brilliant natural presence, but Take That just took my breath away. I found myself gawping at the stage like a child as all the circus acts kicked off the show and I kept a silly grin on my face right up until their final goodbye. This, folks, is how comebacks are done.

If you're a fan of Take That then you were always going to enjoy the show. Most of their new stuff from The Circus album is in there but they've also hung onto the elements that worked from their last tour, like Jason Orange's amazing performance of Wooden Boat - and, for good measure, all of the old classics from their first time out (like Relight My Fire, Could It Be Magic and A Million Love Songs) are included too. It's total sing-along fare.

The opening to the show was spectacular for me. First the clowns come mingle in the crowd (nice touch... particularly if you're the kind of person who feels the need to drag one of those colourfully dressed characters into a picture with you!)... then there's the entourage of circus fun - the balloons, the bright costumes, the dramatic music and a surprise entrance from the lads on the B stage - nice touch. And then it's almost all a blur. There was just too much going on to try to remember it all.

The best bits
Afterwards you were on such an annoying high that you couldn't stop talking about the concert - but what was your favourite part? Was it the giant people-powered elephant? (Too impressive for words - go creative team!) Or was it getting hosed down with a mini-shower if you were close enough to the stage? (If anyone else had sprayed water on me at a show I might have been a little peeved but I was more than alright with that on the night). Or maybe it was the comedy touches whether intentional (some great unicycle moves) or unintentional (like poor Mark Owen's trousers splitting after a costume change - not that anyone seemed to be complaining... roughly 80,000 people were of the opinion that it was a sign and he should just shed them!).

Or was it watching the lads dressing as clowns on stage or almost having a heart-attack watching that very brave tight-rope walker or maybe it was just reliving all the memories of their songs from down through the years or watching the pyrotechnics and fireworks display at the end? I honestly couldn't pick a stand-out highlight myself... unless I'm going to be totally biased towards Jason and pick Wooden Boat but that would be unfair, right? Mark carried on performing with a giant split in his pants. Gary held the show single-handedly at the piano churning out all the old classics that had everyone singing along. And Howard came up with the unicycle idea, which was so funny on stage.

When I tried to describe the concert to other very jealous people who weren't there I just couldn't seem to explain how big it all was. That's why it worked. No detail had been overlooked. It was just such a spectacle. Credit has to go to the massive crew who work on staging, choreography, special effects and all the tiny elements that together make this the kind of circus you'd never forget.

Several days later, after sleeping on it like my mother advised, I'm still not for changing my mind. Now where do I sign up to run away with this amazing circus?!

Linda McGee

http://www.rte.ie/ie/entertainmentmu...g_roll_up_roll

KE That WILL make a new album after their tremendous Circus Live shows come to a climax.



Despite rumours of solo projects, the band are committed to continuing their all-conquering pop rule as a foursome.
And in the latest move, the lads' stunning new single Said it All is out this week.

Gary Barlow confirmed to me: "We will take a break after the tour then start writing again for the next album in autumn. It would be stupid to stop now wouldn't it? I'm feeling so vibed up. I haven't started writing yet, but we've got ideas."

The humongous stadium shows are the most elaborate the manband have put on.

Yet they're fi nding bigger is most definitely better. Gary, pictured above right on stage, continued: "This is the most relaxed tour we've ever done because of how the dates fall.

"We usually do something like 10 nights back to back. But it is more spaced out, which is nice."

As well as cooking up new songs, Gary is also considering adding to the Barlow household.

His wife Dawn, 39, gave birth to daughter Daisy in January.

And the 38-year-old revealed: "Dawn wants to have another baby.

"I'm happy with three but what the woman wants, the woman usually gets. The first two are a bit older now and take care of themselves, but Dawn is really enjoying Daisy."

Eight-year-old Daniel, and six-year-old Emily will pop along to see dad Gary in action on the live tour whenever they can.

As Gary explained: "We can't take them out of school as we get told off."

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/playlist/...-not-splitting

After the tour they'll properly be a drought until the DVD and the book later on in the year. Doubt they'll release anymore songs until the next album which will hopefully be out about this time next year-be nice to have a summer album for once,although I do not want a winter tour! I'm sure they'll figure it out.

[MrGaryy]

SIA has over taken the Saturdays and is now at 22! I reckon it will crack the Top 20 within the next day or so as it's behind Pokerface which has been sliding consistently for ages and We Are The People by Empire of the Sun which are still pretty unknown over here.

[Princess]

I heard it was Top 10 in the midweeks due to Play.com doing a 3 single deal which we all latched onto,lol. I really really want Top 10!

Thanks Gaz

[MrGaryy]

oh yeah, thats iTunes btw :P

and yeah apparently it;s slipped a little but still inside the T10.

[Princess]

Lol yeah I got the iTunes bit :P I just want Top 10,the album sales are incredible,I just want Top 10,lol.
Hopefully the tour is good enough promo!

[Princess]

I was bored I counted all the lead's everyone has done since the comeback-albums,b-sides and random tracks

Gary-18
Mark-12
Howard-4
Jason-3

I'm so cool

[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
Wednesday, June 17, 2009, 08:2024 readers have commented on this story.
Click here to read their views.
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/

[Princess]

*talks to self*

No one can really say anything bad about TT and it be true. They can sing,dance,write,produce,play instruments,come up with the ideas for their tour and put on incredible shows. They're nice,funny,gorgeous,they get on with one another,they're lovely to their fans and they give their very all.

*proud*