Take That, Villa Park, Birmingham

Concert review by Lisa Wright

The deafening screams of the 48,000-strong crowd said it all as the first night of Take That’s Progress Live tour hit Villa Park.

Fans have been waiting 15 years to see Robbie back with the lads – and it was well worth the wait for those who turned out for the first of the two-night run.

Die-hard fans had baked in Sunday’s scorching heat to bag the first places in the queue for the unreserved standing section.

Click here to see pictures from the show.

Click here to see pictures of fans.

And by late yesterday afternoon, thousands lined the stadium and surrounding streets to be the first in line to see the monumental gig, charting the biggest comeback in pop history.

They weren’t disappointed.

Following an opening set from the Pet Shop Boys, the anticipation was palpable as the stadiumfilled up for the sell-out show – a big screen confirming a capacity audience of 48,584 had turned out.

The magnificent set dominated the ground with its futuristic design, with huge gold and glass robot sitting atop the stage with its arms outstretched. But if fans thought this looked amazing, they hadn’t seen anything yet.

Black and gold Take That signs were at either side, while a runway split through the crowd, leading to a smaller stage in the centre of the stadium.

As the crowds waited for the main event, Mexican waves broke out across the stadium, with laughs turning to screams when a countdown clock flashed two minutes until showtime. And there they were.

Roars broke out as Gary, Mark, Jason and Howard took to the stage – with no music – while camera flashes from thousands of fans taking pictures lit up the stadium.

The four stood there in silence – taking in the sight before them and soaking up the euphoria.

They’d obviously chosen their first two songs carefully – Rule the World and Greatest Day summing up the feelings of the ecstatic audience.

Almost immediately they danced down the runway to the centre stage, giving thousands of fans the opportunity to get close to their heroes.

After Hold Up A Light, during which dancers threw round flame torches shooting smoke into the air, they bent down to shake the hands of frenzied fans.

“I can tell we’ve got a rowdy old crowd tonight,” said Gary, while Howard thanked fans for “keeping the dream alive”.

The extravaganza continued with a giant purple caterpillar carrying Mark around the stage during Shine, joined by dancers dressed as bees and a white rabbit, creating an Alice in Wonderland-type vision.

Finally, the big moment arrived – as the four piece left the set, on came the video for Let Me Entertain You before Robbie Williams descended from the top of the stage and the stadium erupted. “Come on Birmingham, remember me?”, he teased.

And if he wanted to prove any of his doubters wrong, he pulled out all the stops with an amazing solo performance.

As puffs of fire and lights exploded from the stage, Williams rocked out with the arrogance and assurance that only he has and even laid on the charm adding: “Best crowd we’ve had in England so far, definitely.” He sang Rock DJ with his typical gusto and swagger – and his sensitive side came out with Angels, as a sea of arms waved along throughout.

There were laughs from the audience when he picked out an apparently disapproving fan .

“Are you one of those fundamentalists? Is Take That a four piece to you? If Gary Barlow can forgive me you can,” he told the bespectacled woman, as the camera zoomed in on her stern face, mouthing “I don’t care”.

Finally it was time for Robbie to join his band mates for The Flood, with a spectacular wall of water navigated by choreographed acrobatic artists on wires.

The group balanced right at the top of the spectacular set, before Robbie descended on a zip wire as his bandmates came down in separate cages.

A knockout performance of Kidz followed, featuring chess board inspired dance routine and a dance-off between Howard and Jason while Robbie rapped, while memories were bought back with snippets of A Million Love Songs, Babe, Everything Changes and a storming rendition of Back For Good.

It was the simple pleasure of seeing the lads side by side on stage and so happy to be back together that really made this show special.

Classics such as Pray complete with the original dance moves and a red hot version of Relight My Fire, which saw a return of the flame torches were highlights.

While seeing the lads all sing Robbie’s No Regrets was quite an emotional moment.

However, it was undoubtedly Never Forget that was the biggest song of the night and the whole stadium sang their heart out in word perfect harmony along with the fab five.

During the show the back wall of the stage opened up to reveal another robot which the band have named Om – and it proved to be the surprise star of the show.

In unbelievable scenes, the mechanical robot, which had lights throughout its body and flashing eyes, lifted its arms up and turned its hands into mini stages for the boys.

It then went from a seated position to lying back, acting as a incredible stage for the group as it moved down the runway where it would be seen in all its glory as it towered over the crowd.

Finally it stood up to its full 60ft height, with its arms outstretched as the concert came to a spectacular close, a red light flashing in its “heart” – perhaps signalling that the band will live on.

It was an incredible show – just take Take That’s word for it. As they finally left the stage, Robbie shouted: “Birmingham – absolutely magnificent!” We couldn’t agree more.

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