Take That kicked-off their Progress Live 2011 tour
last night at Sunderland's Stadium of Light in spectacular fashion.
The awesome live show celebrated their biggest hits from the last
two decades, saw Robbie take to the stage to perform songs from his
incredible chart-topping solo career and revealed an amazing set
which includes a fully operational 20 metre tall man the band have
nicknamed 'OM'.
Gary, Howard, Jason and Mark Owen took to the stage at 8.30pm to
start the show with their biggest hit to date 'Rule The
World'. They then delivered four more of their biggest songs
as a four piece including: 'Greatest Day' (including a
huge yellow confetti canon blast), 'Hold Up A Light',
'Patience' and 'Shine' (which saw the
band joined onstage by an Alice in Wonderland style dancing cast of
dancing trees, roller-skating bees and huge caterpillar).
Next four became five, as Take That briefly united onstage
'virtually' through a huge video screen to sing their own version
of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band; creating the bridge
between the first two parts of the show.
Robbie then kicked off his solo set with a stadium thumping
'Let Me Entertain You' which had the crowd jumping off
their feet. His set proceeded through his own classics: 'Rock
DJ' (where he climbed into a glass chariot to be pulled
around the stage by dancers in roller-skates), 'Come
Undone', 'Feel' (which saw him winched out to
the audience) and of course finishing with the amazing
'Angels'.
Before the five are reunited properly onstage a group of ominous
looking Shaolin monks adorned in red cloaks swinging lanterns walk
from the B-stage to the main stage to introduce their arrival. Take
That then sing the song that marked their historic return;
'The Flood'. For this the dancers performed an amazing
routine taking place on a wall of water while the band sang from
the highest part of the stage.
Robbie threw himself off the top for the finale of 'The Flood'
to the floor via suspension cables before the band break into an
explosive version of 'SOS' from their record breaking
album 'Progress'. This is the point where the audience
are first introduced to a huge mechanical man who is revealed from
behind the stage and slides out in a sitting position for the guys
to sing 'Underground Machine' (again from 'Progress')
to rapturous cheers from the audience.
The band then move to the B stage to perform 'Kidz'
where they start an old skool dance-off involving Jason and Howard,
flanked by human chess pieces dressed in black and white.
'Pretty Things' is performed back on the main stage
with Gary and Robbie being lifted up by OM's hands as a beautiful
ballet dancer flits between the two stages.
Next the band share a few laughs with each other and the
audience about old times before gathering around a piano for a
medley of 'Million Love Songs', 'Babe',
'Everything Changes', 'Back For Good' and
'Pray' the final song for which they get up and do the
original dance routine while the crowd go crazy.
Gary, Howard, Jason, Mark and Robbie then begin what has to be
one of the high points of the show: new XMen single 'Love,
Love' featuring twenty dancers in gas masks flanking the
band on either side of the main stage, while the mechanical man
moves out into the middle of the stadium (carrying the band), with
an awesome futuristic landscape on the VT behind which takes up the
entire back wall.
As the show draws near to its finale the band break into
'Never Forget' as OM reveals his full height (20
metres) and the band then finish with 'No Regrets', a
fiery performance of 'Relight My Fire' (with Robbie
singing Lulu's part) closing the show with Gary leading on the
beautiful 'Eight Letters' (also the final track on
'Progress').
full set list for Progress Live Tour 2011:
Rule The World
Greatest Day
Hold Up A Light
Patience
Shine
Sgt. Pepper's VT
Let Me Entertain You
Rock DJ
Come Undone (Take A Walk On The Wild Side)
Feel
Angels
The Flood
SOS
Underground Machine
Kidz
Pretty Things
Million Love Songs/Babe/Everything Changes/Back For Good (piano
medley)
Pray
Love Love
Never Forget
No Regrets
Relight My Fire
Eight Letters
