Take That - PROGRESS LIVE, 2011

I will be the first to admit that I'm a sceptic when it comes to the subject of Take That. I remember when I was a child, I loved their song 'Relight My Fire' and I guess it was the boy band version of 'Wannabe' by the Spice Girls. Yet when they reformed and hordes of female fans rejoiced and cheered, I wasn't fazed by the hysteria surrounding them and their reunion. However, six years down the line I finally swallowed my pride and went along to their 'PROGRESS LIVE' tour. And, boy, was I surprised.

Their concert was amazing. The theatrics of the show are probably some of the best I've ever seen at a concert. Although I didn't know many of the new songs they performed, they also performed an extensive collection of past songs which got me cheering, singing and dancing along with the rest of the 49,000 strong crowd.

Sadly, I missed their last tour, which I was informed was an absolute spectacle, so I couldn't compare the two tours. But for saying it was the first time I'd ever seen Take That live, I was astounded by the sheer level of performance quality. Vocally, the band were perfect, sounding exactly the same as they did when they disbanded fifteen years previous. The dancing was a bit cringe worthy and there seemed to be some 'Dad' dancing present at times, but this portrays the man band accurately; they are no longer teenagers or young men, they are the same age as many Dad's around the country. I'd be completely mortified, I think, if they were articulately perfect dancers like JLS or Diversity, for example. That said, Howard and Jason, the two strongest dancers of the group, could still kick it with the best dancers around; their break-dancing segment was fantastic. But the overall performance aspect of the show was incredible; never, ever have I been to a concert where a 60ft robot has ascended from the centre of the stadium or where dancers have scaled a wall of water whilst performing intricate acrobatics. Fantastic.


One criticism that I do have is relevant to one person in particular: Robbie Williams. When it was announced last year that Robbie Williams intended to reunite with Take That for an album and stadium tour I was cautious of this decision. Obviously, Robbie has a history with the group and from what I can gather, there has been animosity between Robbie and the group for many years. Also, Robbie is an established solo-act and Take That are an established 'man band' and their career has gone from strength-to-strength since their reunion; neither needs the other, so why reform as a complete five-piece? Their new album, Progress, is heavily influenced by Robbie's song writing skills, but there was nothing wrong with their songs before; Gary Barlow writes amazing songs and has had a successful song writing career alongside Take That.


One concern I had for this tour, with Robbie on board, was that it would become very Robbie Williams focused. And my concerns were proven true. Robbie performed a blistering five song set and, admittedly, it was good. However, when he joined the other four on stage he seemed out of place, and it was then a constant struggle for attention on Robbie's part. He 'rapped' in the break dancing segment and the songs that were performed from Progress were the songs which featured Robbie on lead vocals. But people had paid to see Take That, so why did it feel that at times the audience were only getting Robbie Williams?

However, criticism aside, the show was fantastic. When Take That performed the anthemic 'Never Forget', the stadium erupted in cheers and claps for the man band. I left the stadium feeling very satisfied and I'm now not as much as a sceptic in regards to Take That. No other band in the music industry can touch Take That in terms of music and live performances.


One piece of advice I'd give Gary, Mark, Jason and Howard, if I could, would be to drop Robbie. They don't need him. They're a force to be reckoned with without him.

9/10

The Wait is Over! Again.

How ironic is it that thirty three days ago I was reporting the breaking news of the US X Factor judging panel being revealed, yet thirty three days later I'm reflecting on the drama that has followed regarding Cheryl-gate?

For those of you that have been living with your head under a rock for the last month, Cheryl Cole was sensationally dropped from the US judging panel after only judging two sets of auditions in America. Speculation was rife as to why this occurred, with many journalists and media outlets suspecting it was to do with Cheryl's strong northern accent and her lack of profile in the US. With Syco, Fox and Simon Cowell himself remaining tight-lipped, the public were left to make and draw their own conclusions.

However, two weeks after the sensational news was revealed, it was finally confirmed that Cheryl HAD left the X Factor US and that then co-host, Nicole Scherzinger, would be replacing her as a judge and would join Simon, Paula and LA Reid at the next set of auditions as a full-time judge.

In the space of two weeks, The X Factor US gained tons of press coverage on both sides of the Atlantic, boosting it's profile even further. In the space of two weeks, Nicole Scherzinger was promoted from co-host to full-time judge. In the space of two weeks, Cheryl had her US dream crushed by her mentor, friend and colleague.

When it was announced that Cheryl was going to be a judge on the X Factor US, everyone was sceptical. Although the UK public adored her, the US market is tough to crack and the odds were stacked against her. But she was born a fighter and would do everything in her power to make this situation work. But it just wasn't meant to be. Not only was Cheryl fired from the US version, she was offered her role back on the UK X Factor but turned it down, and when she was offered her judging role back on the US X Factor, she turned that down, too. And rightly so.

Cheryl had been humiliated by one person she trusted unconditionally, and she wasn't a ragdoll that could be dragged back and forth. However, I do feel that her pride has been damaged by the whole experience. If she ever tries to break America in the near future, she will be remembered as the girl with the funny accent who was sacked by Simon Cowell. And I think this has a lot to do with the reason why she turned down his offer of returning to the US. I feel that she had got to the point where she felt that if she WAS going to try to conquer the US any time soon, she would do it on her own. On her own terms. I also feel that the reason she turned down the offer to return to the UK X Factor was because she felt it was a consolation prize; she'd been sacked from the US version but could have her job back in the UK. The truth of the matter is Cheryl doesn't need her job on the UK X Factor; she has conquered the UK and doesn't need the exposure, platform or money. As for her second offer to return to the US version, I feel Cheryl felt she had been humiliated too much in a short space of time and that if she returned to the US, the public would be sniping constantly and she would have to work even harder to prove herself.

The only question remaining is what Cheryl will do now. With no Simon and no X Factor, will her solo music career stand the test of time and continue to be as successful? Only time will tell. But as they say, "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger".