[Princess]

Just got e-mails about the 26th and 4th saying I have to pick up my tickets at the box office. Fine by me! Far less stress than waiting. Hoping I get a smiliar e-mail about the 27th.

[Princess]

ARGHHH!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-K1mtV6Q-g

The bit where Mark went 'Fashionable?' where he was facing was basically where I was,argh! Like 2 metres away!

[Princess]

Have now uploaded photos to here,Twitter,Bebo and now Facebook. My definition of a few to Facebook was like over a hundred,hah!

[MrGaryy]

SIA has slipped back to 23 again

[Princess]

Feckkkkkkk.

On Thrusday it was still in Top 10 so hopefully it will be Top 10! A lot of us buy singles and use 7Digital-especially the European fans,they download from 7Digital to make it count towards the UK chart.

[BigSister]

My friend said it was the best concert shes been too(She went on Friday)

[MrGaryy]

just had a look at the mid weeks. Apparently it;s slipped even further but is still there.

[Princess]

YAY Becca! Almost everyone has said that far,including 3 newspapers,can't get much better reviews than that!

Gaz-In the top 10?? Hope so. I ain't listened to the charts since UAN fell out of it,I'm going to be sat there tomorrow and not know any songs!

[MrGaryy]

ooh yay so you'll be listening. I'm sick of being lonely in the Chart show thread.

[Princess]

Lol yeah for once. I only listen when the boys are in it. Go look at that video I posted in the other thread! I need a reply,lol.

[BigSister]

Yep she really enjoyed it. Ill get a better review when she comes home from holiday next week

[Princess]

Apprentley SIA wasn't any higher than 20 on most download places so it must have got a lot of physical copies bought for it to be 9! Which is all down to us fans

Just happy with Top 10! And album back up the chart!

[Princess]

Eeek my 5th of July arrived this morning and it's so pretty! Will post a pic later along with some well good reviews.

4 DAYS!!!!

[Princess]

Right ACTUAL NEWS! To start some gorg pics of the boys with media people-the 3am girls and Gordon Smart(Sun I think). MARK




I also love how How and Gaz both seem to be wearing TT hoodies!

[Princess]

Sunday Herald,just stuff about women taking over but I like anyway

Girl power takes over
Take That’s concerts saw female fans from the 1990s return with their daughters. They also hint, writes Edd McCracken, at a shift in the balance of power over who decides what music is listened to
FOR ANYONE wanting a glimpse of the future, the 6.05pm from Glasgow Central Station to Mount Florida on Friday provided it. As the train passed through suburbs such as Pollockshields, Shawlands, and Langside the carriages' population and mood changed. The usual commuters were filleted off, shuffling back to their homes south of the Clyde. Songs began to be sung, enthusiastically if not in key. The dominant colour switched from business grey to hen-party pink. And with every passing station, men became ever more outnumbered.

Some Darwinists believe that within several thousand years mankind, aided by technology, will have evolved in a way as to render males redundant. On Friday night, over five miles, this process took a mere 20 minutes.

The reason for this microcosmic acceleration is Take That. It is the first night of the biggest concerts of the summer. Driven by the loyalty of their mainly female fans, Mark, Gary, Howard, and Jason have sold out Hampden three nights in a row, equal to more than 150,000 tickets.

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This circus-themed arena tour, part of their hugely successful comeback, has led some to believe that the days when men's CD collections dictated what is heard in the nation's arenas may be coming to an end.

In comparison, music's equivalent of Old Spice aftershave - Bruce Springsteen, AC/DC, Coldplay, and U2 - are only staging one night each at the venue, while the Lynx deodorant of the live entertainment, Oasis, managed just one night at Edinburgh's Murrayfield last Wednesday.

The streets around Hampden look like match day in reverse. Feather boas replace scarves, Take That flags and "The Hampden Phwoar" banners fly instead of football colours, women replace men as the majority.

Janice Stewart, who travelled from Irvine for the concert, looks out into the gathering crowd of 30-something women. She has a theory about what has fuelled the success of Take That's comeback.

"It's women living in the past, basically," she said. "It's about looking back to the 1990s when we were young. For me it is anyway. I'm reliving my youth."

There are also a large number of girls who are in the full flush of youth first time around. Four men in their late 30s dressed in sensible clothes singing the virtues of patience seems to play well with a demographic more associated with teenage crushes and having things, like, now.

"It's not just mums or women in their 30s that like them," said Lynda Hunter, from Glasgow. "Youngsters like them too. They're always on the radio. My daughter knows all their songs. She loves them. She's not coming though. I want a night out with my pals."

Many mums have brought their daughters, however. Kathleen Muir, 53, and her daughter, Laura Bradshaw, 24, have come from Kilsyth. It is hard to know who is the biggest fan. Both bob up and down at the turnstiles waiting to enter the stadium, and descend into giggling when contemplating the night ahead.

Hampden is full of family outings. Somerville Drive, leading from the station to the stadium, is packed with what looks like several generations of families taking snaps of themselves for the family album.

To be fair, the male proportion of the crowd is healthy. Looking out into the 50,000 people filing into the stadium, which at times resembles an explosion in a party supply factory, balding pates and short back and sides can be seen amidst the cowboy hats, feather boas, and rabbit ears.

Bruce Renwick, from Kelso, is here with his wife, Beverly, and seems quite happy about it. This is the first time he has seen the band. And he is not afraid to admit that his interest, which began back in the school canteen, was as practical as much as musical.

"All the good-looking girls at school liked Take That, so I took an interest," he said. "It was almost as if we were made to like Take That to get the girls."

And then there is the gay community. When Take That first emerged in the early 1990s their high N-RG dance moves and short shorts made them gay pin-ups. It is a following that has stayed with them through to the more mature ballads and Marks and Spencer suits of the comeback albums.

Adrian McMeechin was at their last show in Manchester before they split up. "I was in the third row," he said. "I had a banner and everything. It said: I love you Howard.'"

This is the first time he has seen them since. He admits that Take That concerts have benefit attractions beyond the musical: "I've also just split up with my boyfriend, so I'm checking out the talent," he said.

For Vicky Macdonald it is a pilgrimage. The Forfar resident has never seen Take That before. She is dressed as befits one who is about to receive a religious pop experience: draped in a technicolour Take That flag, hidden behind large sunglasses, and topped by a marshmallow pink cowboy hat with her heroes faces glued on. "I am in awe," she said, dancing with excitement. She was a fan first time around but had small children at the time.

"We weren't able to go see them," she said. "Our money was too precious to be spending it on a gig. But now my kids have grown up, this is our time. Absolutely."

Macdonald may hold the key to why Take That have given the laddish Oasis, grandfatherly Bruce Springsteen, and the testosterone-flecked AC/DC a bloody nose this summer. Gennaro Castaldo from music and film retailer HMV has noticed a shift in the entertainment world. And it is armed with a handbag full of disposable cash.

"The reason why these guys are so successful was first time around they were playing to young female audiences who made all the noise, wore all the gear, but didn't necessarily have the disposable income to go out and see them," he said. "Second time around these same people are now married, they have more disposable income, so they can go see them and take their daughters with them.

"As a consumer and a decision maker the power of women has never been greater. The more live venue owners, record labels, movie studios see that, the more they will cater to it."

Hollywood is catching on as well. Year dot for female orientated movies could well be 2008. In the summer of male-friendly fare such as The Dark Knight and Wanted, Sex and The City clattered through on high heels to became a huge hit. But even Carrie Bradshaw and co. were overshadowed by Mamma Mia.

The Abba musical became the highest grossing film of all time in the UK, using a song and dance to scamper to the top rather than car chases and explosions.

"I think Hollywood has failed to maximise its potential by underestimating its female audience," said Charles Gant, box office blogger and film critic for Heat magazine.

"Studios are constantly being surprised by its potency. Each time it is like they are discovering it for the first time, such as the success of something like Mamma Mia and Sex and the City. At the root of this is the assumptions around couples' behaviour, which is that girls will go to boys' movies and men will not go to girls' movies. That assumption takes an awful lot of shaking."

Thanks to the time involved in making a film, the fruits of Mamma Mia's success will not be seen until next summer. Whether the movie industry becomes more feminised permanently, as opposed to opportunistically, will depend on the success of the next Sex and the City film, out in 2010.

Some movie insiders are sceptical about whether Mamma Mia marks any real change, however. "The last big, big success that was seen as driven by a female audience was Thelma and Louise," said Sandra Hedron, director of the London International Film Festival. "That was in 1991. That's a long time for the movie industry to be wondering if it will make something for a female audience. I'm sceptical about the idea of a massive change."

But in other art forms women rule the roost - nowhere more so than in books. In fiction 80% of all readers are women, according to a 2007 survey. Women also tend to buy more books as presents.

"It is a largely female market and publishers react accordingly," said Marion Sinclair from Publishing Scotland. "Romance and Mills and Boon, for example, sell huge quantities. Men, by comparison tend to get turned off reading at school. And when they do read they don't like things that are imaginative, they prefer to deal with facts."

If women boycotted gigs or movies neither industry would grind to a standstill. Both still have a natural male bias. But to witness Hampden on Friday is potentially to see the balance being redressed.

Take That fittingly finish their spectacular show with a recent song, Rule The World. Their adoring female fans sing along, arms and mobile phones aloft. Soon, they very well might.

http://www.sundayherald.com/news/her...515612.0.0.php

Lovely lil blog from a random bloke!

A Day At The Circus
Monday, June 22, 2009
Music history is littered with over-reaching statements bearing no relation to hard fact.

John Lennon claimed, at the height of The Beatles' fame, that they were bigger than Jesus. Keeping up his own Fabs-robbing legacy, Noel Gallagher later went one better, saying Oasis were bigger than the Messiah's own daddy.

Paul Weller, upon hearing that John Peel had declared The White Stripes' Jack White to be "the new Hendrix" responded by saying "That old **** should know better".

And though he was a fictional comedy character, Alan Partridge's assertion that Wings were "the band The Beatles could have been" can never be forgotten.

So today, when I state that Take That are as close as this generation may get to having its own Beatles, my tongue is only partially in my cheek. And my second assertion, that Take That are the live band The Beatles could have been, will no doubt be ridiculed.

When Mrs Wife's friend had to pull out of attending the last of Take That's three Glasgow concerts on Sunday, I was drafted in as a last minute substitute. I had no qualms about attending, but said all along that I would rather see a genuine fan take the ticket. But when no such fan could be found at such short notice, I made the trip to Hampden, little more than a week before I'm due to go there to see AC/DC.

We made the mistake of entering the stadium when the gates opened at 4pm, unaware that opening act Gary Go wasn't due onstage until around 7pm. As a result, we spent far too long standing in the heat and in the midst of a crowd that wasn't so much moshpit as menopause pit.

But enough of the preamble - why am I making ridiculous claims that Take That are this generation's Beatles?

Firstly, the show itself. Based around a Circus theme, in tribute to the band's latest album of the same name, I have never seen such a vast and complex set up for a gig. I've seen stadium gigs by The Rolling Stones, The Eagles, Bon Jovi, Oasis and U2, but the shows put on by all of those members of the stadium rock elite pale into near insignificance when compared with the sheer scale of Take That's Circus. A troupe of dancers, jugglers, trapeze artists, acrobats, tightrope walkers and other assorted circus performers formed an intricate part of the show. As did a full-size mechanical elephant that rose from the second stage.

The opening sequence saw these circus performers take a long walk from the main stage to the second stage, evoking a psychedelic take on a Victorian circus that brought to mind The Beatles' work around 1967 - think Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite turned into a Yellow Submarine-style live action movie and you're getting close.

Amongst all this hoo-ha, a vast cloud of balloons made its way to the second stage, and at the crescendo of this introduction, the balloons rose to reveal the four members of Take That dressed in black militaristic uniforms that fell somewhere between those worn by The Beatles on the cover of Sgt Pepper and those sported by My Chemical Romance in their Black Parade phase.

And it's that showmanship that leads me to my claim that Take That are the live band The Beatles could have been.

If, instead of splitting, The Beatles had gone the way of the Rolling Stones and become a massive globe-touring stadium band, I can imagine that their show, or sections of it at least, would be similar to what Take That put on for Circus - pageantary, the idea of making a show a real event, a huge psychedelic video screen as a backdrop and a lot of matey, self-deprecating banter.

So perhaps you'll forgive the comparison - is it so difficult to imagine The Beatles, had history played out differently, playing to a million people in the space of a month on a UK stadium tour, backed by one of the most lavish stages ever built?

But that still leaves my second claim unanswered - that Take That, musically, could be as close as this generation will get to a Beatles of its own.

First off, I don't mean for a second that Take That have anything like the genius of The Beatles.

But few bands ever rise to a stage where they can play to packed stadia night after night. And while there were definitely considerably more women in Hampden last night, there was also a substantial number of men - all of whom, I'd imagine, could probably name 10 or more Take That songs (and, dare I say it, sing along).

The only other British band of a similar age group to Take That with the ability to effortlessly fill stadia and have all 55,000 people sing along with their songs is Oasis. But Oasis perhaps don't have the same across the board appeal - you can't imagine two parents taking their primary school age son and daughter to see Oasis, can you?

And so it comes to pass that I, a massive Beatles fan who should definitely know better, have just spent a rather lengthy blog post discussing Take That without actually mentioning any of their music - including the rather special Back For Good and Shine, both of which could probably slot fairly comfortably into The Beatles' back catalogue - and reaching the conclusion that they're the post-Millenial Beatles.

I'm blaming the Scottish summer sunshine....

http://groaninjock.blogspot.com/2009...at-circus.html

[Princess]

There's going to a Time Out London 4 cover special,now I'm hoping they're on sale still next week as I'll be in London or else someone is going to have to get them for me,I don't wanna imagine P&P,lol!






A wonderful Scotland review

HAMPDEN PARK, GLASGOW

By Fiona Shepherd

THE circus has come to town. A 21st-century circus with Ł10 million of technology and stagecraft, but a circus nonetheless. The Circus Tour is a show with thrills to make awestruck kids of all ages. Did Take That think ahead to this spectacular when they named their album? Most likely.

Their entire comeback has been a shrewdly conceived blueprint for band reunions, particularly boy bands hoping to make the transition to man bands by taking their teen audiences with them and tapping into a hitherto unexploited demographic of 20-and 30-something men who always liked Back For Good but could never admit it in the playground.

Their recent albums, Beautiful World and The Circus itself, have been pitched at the adult contemporary market – both are slick, inoffensive efforts, but not lacking in insidiously hummable tunes.

The circus theme did not so much pervade the show as dictate it. Archive footage of circus performers played on the big screens in the run-up to show time, while clowns circulated with balloons.

As the quartet soaked up the ecstatic reaction, Gary Barlow's line, "Tonight this could be the greatest night of our lives", sounded a distinct possibility.

The pure pop of Could It Be Magic, Pray, and A Million Love Songs required no further embellishment than an audience banner proclaiming "The Hampden Phwoar".

In the most impressive piece of stagecraft to grace a pop arena of any year, the hydraulic elephant carried them to the main stage, which was flooded with dancing girls, trapeze artists and trampolinists.

This was indeed a contender for the Greatest Show on Earth.

http://living.scotsman.com/gig-revie...hat.5386937.jp

I think that's all the lastest stuff,never did put any Sunderland or Cov stuff up but all the reviews are the same-BEST CONCERT EVER etc :P

OOOOH THE VIDEOS!

*comes back*

[Princess]

The iTunes Circus Live Pass videos. I couldn't get the pass as it's only avalible in UK but it is avalibe from iTunes for 4.99!!

Youtube video

Youtube video

Youtube video

Youtube video

Youtube video

Highlights include ice baths,a lot of unicycle practice and pretty much the entire Dublin video,lol

[Nicky.]

Oh wicked!!
Sucks you couldn't get them - good ol' iTunes!

When's your next gig?

[Princess]

I hate iTunes,lol. Even more for not letting me get that pass!

FRIDAY!!! And then again on Saturday,lol. Both in Manc,very excited as Manc is hometown so it will be AMAZE!

[Nicky.]

I don't use iTunes!! xD

and I don't need to say it, but have fun! Xx

[Princess]

MEN review,KOL were in the MEN last night,I think they got overshadowed slighty,lol!

Take That wow crowds
June 24, 2009

REVIEW: TAKE THAT

Lancashire County Cricket Club

BOUNCING on to the stage like the clouds of helium-filled balloons that circle the air above them, homecoming heroes Take That are back in town.

And this time they’ve brought the whole circus with them for this, their first of five sold-out nights at Old Trafford.

With huge cheers echoing around Lancashire County Cricket ground, our fab four of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Mark Owen and Jason Orange, are lovingly embraced by the hometown crowd as the opening strains of Greatest Day ring out.

It couldn’t be a more apt show opener, for the 50,000 adoring fans packing into Old Trafford.

Even the sun decided to come out for the occasion after a rain-soaked day. “Manchester, your boys are home,” screams Mark Owen before launching into

Could It Be Magic. The fans lapped it up and everyone was in the mood for a party.

For their part, the lads have thrown everything bar the kitchen sink into making this Circus Live tour their most incredible to date. They’ve got quite a reputation to live up to – every tour yet has managed to outdo the one before.

Incredible

Here, they top it all with, well, a Big Top. The lads have wrung every last element out of their circus theme, taken, of course, from the title of their latest album, the second studio recording since their comeback in 2005.

We’re treated to everything from trapeze artists, contortionists, high-wire walkers and clowns streaming on to the stage. In the most spectacular part of the show, the lads step into a magician’s cabinet which rises high into the air – then you realise they’re actually astride a huge mechanical elephant.

What other British pop band could dream up a spectacle like that? They even impress with their own circus skills – Jason, Howard and Mark expertly unicycling down the central stage, only for Gary to steal the scene with his tiny comedy bike with stabilisers.

All the theatrics are worked cleverly into different vignettes in this humdinger of a show, with the lads easing effortlessly between their 90s hits like Pray and comeback favourites like Shine and Up All Night.

Interestingly they ditch the Beatles medley that has been a mainstay of recent tours for a romp through their own early hits instead.

Eye-popping finale

Dressed in clown gear, they ham it up with 90s-style dance grooves to the likes of Promises, It Only Takes A Minute and Take That And Party. An eye-popping finale is guaranteed with fan favourite Never Forget played out with a marching band of drummer boys.

The lads conclude proceedings dressed, rather fittingly, as ringmasters of their own special circus to lead the crowds in a mass dance-along to Relight My Fire and Jason paid tribute to all the Manchester fans, saying: “It really means a lot to be back.”

Just when you think they can’t pull anything else out of the bag, out come the fireworks for a spine-tingling singalong to Rule the World.

An estimated Ł10m was lavished on this tour, and it’s not hard to see where the money has gone. One thing’s for sure – you’re never going to feel short- changed at a Take That gig.

Dianne Bourne

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co....hat_wow_crowds

2 DAYS!

[Princess]

A lovely Manc review by a MAN! I never tire of reading good reviews,even though they're all good. Everything who isn't a complete prat would give Take That an amazing review.

Take That knock 'em for six at Lancashire Cricket Club
1:52pm Wednesday 24th June 2009

Comments (0) Have your say »

By Richard Holton »

It's a perfect summers evening, The Take That circus has rolled into Manchester, for the first of five concerts in their home city, fondly referred to as “The greatest city in the world”, Set against the pale blue skyline at Lancashire Cricket Club The giant stage complete with Big Top top is dormant .

250,000 of the tour's one million tickets were snapped up here surprisingly there's a healthy mix of male and female, young and old. Such is the Take That's appeal.

Approaching show time start , the fans watch a perplexing dream-like circus performance by a handful of colourful characters. A mix of In the Night Garden’ meets the Child Catcher. Suddenly; Gary, Jason, Mark and Howard appear by stealth and surprise their followers.

What follows is an evening of entertainment bringing in the traditional big top, circus on stage, set to their music mixed with the magic of open air .

Each song, new and old, accompanied by a separate circus performance with the boys changing costume through the evening The much talked about, mechanical circus elephant, which leads up to the song 'Shine', doesn't disappoint. The stage transforms into a full circus scene with trapeze artist, trampolines, sparkling gymnast and dancing girls, flooding out and over the stage in a frenzy of movement.

There's a strong performance vocally and musically from the four, with quiet moments and monochromatic and darker periods throughout the evening.

With the fading light comes an opportunity to stun the fans again with a fantastic light bonanza. A giant ring master puppet engulfs the stage like a scene from Wizard of Oz. There are swirling spinning shapes and flames erupting to the sound of 'Relight my Fire. Frankly it's jaw-dropping The light show, complicated choreography and well written songs, and respect for their fans is in evidence.

If you are one of the lucky ones with tickets, let me know, I 'd see it again tomorrow.

* Until Sunday. Star rating - *****

http://www.messengernewspapers.co.uk..._Cricket_Club/

Manchester TOMORROW! Sooooooooooooooooooooooo excited!

[Princess]

Some gorg photos from Chris Moyles. I'll be there for the show they record,yayy. And I'll be there for the DVD!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/takethat/

[BigSister]

Yay ^_^
That made me laugh"by a man" hehe

[Princess]

Glasgow and Cardiff vids. Only Manc and London left after that. Still can't believe this tour is over.

Youtube video

Youtube video