Wales online 29th Oct. : Why Take That are set to triumph again

Take That make a welcome return to the Millennium Stadium next summer. Karen Price and Gavin Allen look at why Britain’s favourite boy band are top of the pops when it comes to pleasing the crowds...

IT was June 21, 2006, and after what seemed like weeks of anticipation, the lights at the Millennium Stadium finally went down and four men walked onto a raised platform.

Around 60,000 fans let out screams which could no doubt be heard in Swansea as the first chords to the opening song were struck.

More than a decade after Britain’s favourite boy band, Take That, broke millions of hearts by splitting up, they had finally reunited and were staging one of their biggest ever gigs – in our back yard.

And while it once wasn’t particularly cool if you were above the age of 12 to admit to liking the music of Gary Barlow, Mark Owen, Howard Donald and Jason Orange, suddenly even grown men who had been “dragged” to the Cardiff gig by their wives and girlfriends were whispering the words: “They’re good, aren’t they?”

For Take That had done what any group putting on a top quality stadium show should do – entertain, entertain and entertain.

They belted out hit after hit and they didn’t just stand there – they put on a lavish spectacular.

For weeks – or months – after they had stepped off stage, everyone – young, old, gay, straight, male, female – was talking about what a fantastic night it had been.

And they hadn’t needed any help from former bandmate Robbie Williams either – even though he briefly appeared in the form of a hologram.

Now the whole experience is set to be repeated. Yesterday Take That announced they will embark on a British stadium tour next summer and the second date – June 16, 2009 – will be at the Millennium Stadium.

The band said the Circus Live tour, which also takes in Old Trafford in Manchester and London’s Wembley Stadium, will be “packed with more drama and excitement than ever” – but a tour spokeswoman said there are currently no plans for Robbie Williams to make any appearances.

A statement from Take That, who release their new album The Circus on December 1, said: “All of us are really looking forward to getting back on the road again next summer.

“We can think of no better way to thank everyone for their support and loyalty over the past three years. This will be the biggest tour we’ve ever done so we’ll be working especially hard over the next few months to make it the best and most exciting Take That tour yet.”

So what makes a stadium tour so different to a show down at your local arena or upstairs room at the pub? There are four main factors that go into making a great stadium gig.

Firstly, it needs to be a real event. That means you have to be a big enough band to hold that huge stage. An event gig at the Millennium Stadium – such as Take That’s appearance – transforms the whole city, jolts it with electricity and gets the whole place talking.

When Madonna arrived in town in 2006 just two months after Take That, it was a massive event because it was her Welsh debut. Everyone was talking about it – before and after.

When Bruce Springsteen performed at the Millennium Stadium this summer, The City Arms, opposite the venue, was packed with frayed denim sleeves as fans punched the air to his tunes before and after the concert and when Take That came the streets of the Welsh capital became a river of pink cowboy hats.

When a gig is not a genuine event, it stands out. Earlier this year REM were due to play the Millennium Stadium for the second time in three years. But there was little excitement and it was eventually downgraded and moved to the Cardiff International Arena due to poor tickets sales.

By the same rationale it will be interesting to see how Oasis fare next June – less than a year after playing two dates at CIA. So far, Cardiff is the only city in which Oasis have not sold out their stadium shows for next summer.

Too many stadium gigs are not events these days. Fans don’t just want to see the main act – they want to see a great build up.

For example, the bill for Oasis’ Noise and Confusion date in 2005 had a long list of top bands – The Coral, Razorlight, Foo Fighters – it was effectively a mini-festival and fantastic value for money.

Secondly, the size and fervour of the crowd has a direct bearing on the atmosphere of the gig. A swirling sea of punters wresting for space is a sight to behold – the incredible group-shriek of the Take That crowd was the single loudest thing probably ever heard at that the stadium, barring the time when Wales beat Italy at football.

On the other hand, watching Neil Diamond navigate the Millennium Stadium stage earlier this year in what can only be described as an ostentatious Stannah stairlift with the sound curtain – used when acts can’t fill the stadium – positioned on the halfway line, entirely detracted from the experience.

While die-hard fans will always swear a gig was great, the neutral are swayed by such things

Thirdly, when it comes to the music itself, you need to blow people’s socks off.

Stadium gigs have a certain truth about them. If you aren’t big enough to fill a stadium, you won’t. And if you don’t have enough songs to inspire prolonged singalongs from 70,000 people, then forget it.

Circumstances dictated that the Stereophonics’ first date at the Millennium Stadium in 2001 came too early for them. Just three albums in, they didn’t have enough great songs to cope at that time.

The foot-and-mouth outbreak meant their scheduled gig, which was meant to have taken place at Chepstow Racecourse, was upgraded to the much bigger venue and Kelly Jones had previously stated that he didn’t like stadium gigs, saying: “I do not like looking out at football seats, they are meant for watching football.” He seemed disinterested on the night and the gig was simply a dud.

Finally, when it comes to stadium gigs, performance is key. A great band is still capable of an off-night, or of misjudging the set list, or of not putting their hearts into it.

It helps if the artist engages with the crowd. Madonna didn’t. Springsteen personalised his gig as much as possible and gave an experience to remember. Take That didn’t particularly banter with the punters but they performed with a charming self-deprecating humour when some artists take themselves far too seriously.

In a nutshell, when it comes to music, performance, showmanship and personality, Take That have already proved that they have more than what it takes to put on a hugely successful stadium tour, and we know they will nail it once again next summer.

All we have to do now is get our hands on those tickets, which are bound to be like gold dust...

Take That will be at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, on June 16, 2009. Tickets go on sale at 9am on Friday priced at £45 and £55. The tour credit card hotline numbers are 0871 2200 260, 0844 277 9000 and 0871 424 4444.

For an exclusive interview with Howard Donald on the new tour, don’t miss Friday’s Box Office supplement in the Western Mail