Chloe Reynolds
Take That is back on the road with This Life on Tour, five years after their Odyssey stadium tour. Here’s a review of what went down.
The trio of Gary Barlow, Mark Owen, and Howard Donald is playing 49 concerts across 15 countries, finishing in November 2024. Robbie Williams and Jason Orange, the band’s former fourth and fifth members, are notably still missing from the lineup. This review is from a UK stadium show.
STARTING OFF STRONG
Olly Murs was the opener for this show, and he still has the cheeky schoolboy charm that we know and love him for. He was flirting with the audience, dancing, and selling everything he did with that captivating smile.
“Murs was the perfect opener for This Life on Tour”
The audience adored him – and it’s not hard to see why. He performed all his classic hits and even had a recording of Demi Lovato on the screen when performing their hit song Up. Murs was the perfect opener for This Life on Tour, and I look forward to his solo tour when that finally happens.
THE MAIN EVENT
The staging for this tour is much simpler than previously, but it is just as magnificent, with two huge staircases, a TV screen and a piano. There were also no dancers like in previous tours – instead, the band entered the stage to darkness, just showing the band’s silhouettes. The opening number, Keep Your Head Up, was almost hymn-like as the band slowly emerged from the TV screen.
The show also boasts the slogan “Welcome to this life, because this life is yours” throughout.
The harmonies from Giants and the synth-rock of Days I Hate Myself got the crowd on their feet and rocking out with the group.
By the time we get to Sure, it’s almost a Cabaret version of the song, with Barlow, Owen and Donald doing an almost comedic routine when coming up and down the stairs (and making jokes about how coming down them is much easier).
SHINING INDIVIDUALLY
The stairs then split, revealing a room-like set and a minor costume change. Owen stunned fans as he stood on top of the piano to perform his song Shine, and Gary had over twenty thousand backing singers helping him with the chorus of A Million Love Songs.
“It gave each member time to shine and have the stage to themselves”
For the first time, Barlow, Owen and Donald each performed one of their solo songs. Barlow performed a piano cover of Forever Love, Owen brought the vibes with Clementine (where he really came alive), and Donald performed a stripped-back version of Speak without Words, a song that hasn’t been released. This section was thoroughly enjoyable, giving each member time to shine and have the stage to themselves.
TAKE THAT’S CLASSIC ANTHEMS
Next on the setlist was the song that brought them back after all these years (as Barlow always likes to introduce it)—Patience from their album Beautiful World (2006).
The performance of ‘The Flood’ was a spine-tingling moment. This song should have been played in full rather than just the first chorus, as it is loved by many—especially with Donald’s added harmonies.
“Even Barlow joined in with the iconic choreography!”
The tour and album’s titular song, This Life, saw the band, crew and musicians sitting around a couch. This was almost like a 70’s Saturday morning show, with the members adding in commentary and telling the story of Take That, with lines directly to the camera. This moment was also when Pray was added in, and yes – even Barlow joined in with the iconic choreography! Donald looked to be in his element with this; as we all know, he and former band member Jason Orange were the dancers of the band.
‘Get Ready for It’ is always a highlight of a Take That show, purely because of the passion in Donald’s split jump when it gets to the chorus and he hits the drum.
THE B STAGE
“The smile on Owens’s face while performing this number lights up the entire room and is a definite crowd-pleaser”
The band then moved to the B stage during Greatest Day, with what looked like a lighting rig but was a walkway coming downstage. The trio moved to the small circular stage, where they danced to These Days and did a contemporary number to Time and Time Again, which was all filmed from above. The return to the main stage was to Relight My Fire, where Donald and Owen busted out all the disco moves.
Hold Up a Light is a favourite of the bunch, and this song didn’t disappoint. Owen comes up to the stage in all white and wearing a crown, signifying that this song is for the crowd. The smile on Owens’s face while performing this number lights up the entire room and is a definite crowd-pleaser.
Their Back For Good performance had a strong visual link to the video, with the 3D rainfalls around the stage. Never Forget is the song that all Take That fans know, with its hand gestures that everyone in the arena can be seen doing. It talks of community, belonging, and never forgetting your roots.
The night’s final song was Rule the World – a song that has a similar message to This Life but about unsaid words. It was the perfect way to end the evening.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Take That has proved that they’ve still got it, performing tracks we all love and the new ones from the This Life album. The staging and graphics were brilliant, and the message that it all comes down to the things that we do—and having a sense of belonging—gave me hope.
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Featured image courtesy of Chloe Reynolds. No changes were made to this image.
