Take That may now be a trio but as long as Gary Barlow and his songs survive, the man band will always have an audience. There will doubtless be a huge stage show when Barlow, Mark Owen and Howard Donald come to the O2 in May. Last night, though, as part of the Teenage Cancer Trust gigs, the focus was squarely on the songs — and, my, do they still sound great.
Backed by a full live band, Take That began with the bouncy pop of Let It Shine, Barlow on piano, Owen on lead vocals and the entirety of the Royal Albert Hall on its feet. It was the stuff of encores, but it was only the beginning. Lulu provided vocal fireworks on the funky Relight My Fire. Pray, Take That’s first number one back in 1993, came complete with all the original dance moves, much to the delight of the audience.
The band are now celebrating their 30th anniversary and many of the songs in last night’s set have become so firmly embedded in the national psyche it’s physically impossible not to sing along. Even when Owen picked up a guitar — normally a cue to make a beeline for the nearest exit — the results were delightful: a breezy Everything Changes followed by It Only Takes A Minute, Take That’s most underrated song.
The departure of Jason Orange has allowed Donald to expand his role. Taking the lead on Love Ain’t Here Anymore and an encore of Never Forget, he proved he’s much more than an “ooh” and “aah” merchant.
A couple of new songs, These Days and Out Of Our Heads, were out of their depth in such exalted company. But another classic was never far away. Back For Good has aged as well as Barlow himself, while Rule The World was so unifying you felt it might be able to solve Brexit.
Take That were never meant to be a trio, but last night they proved that three could still be a magic number.
