Take That have been named as first headliners for next year’s Barclaycard presents British Summer Time series of huge outdoor shows in Hyde Park. They will headline the park on Saturday 9 July, 2016
The group – reduced to a trio of Gary Barlow, Mark Owen and Howard Donald, following the departure of Jason Orange and the short-lived reunion with Robbie Williams – are no strangers to huge shows. Earlier this year, they played 10 nights at the O2 Arena in London, while in 2011 – with Williams onboard – they played eight shows at Wembley Stadium.
They follow recent Hyde Park headliners Taylor Swift, the Who, the Rolling Stones, the Libertines, Neil Young, the Strokes and Blur.
The trio have received unwanted publicity in recent years, after it was revealed in 2013 that they had each invested in a scheme that was ruled by a judge to be an unlawful form of tax avoidance. Neither of the two departed members were believed to have invested in the scheme. Earlier this year, the band announced: “‘I can confirm that Gary Barlow, Mark Owen and Howard Donald have now received confirmation from HMRC that their tax affairs are fully up to date.”
Barlow dismissed the affair as unimportant, telling the Sun: “‘Our fans, they want to buy our records and watch our tours. They’re not interested.”
In September last year, on Twitter, Barlow said: “I want to apologise to anyone who was offended by the tax stories earlier this year.” He did not specifically apologise for not paying tax.
- This story was amended on 9 November to make clear that Take That’s tax affairs are up to date.
