Take That

When a number of months ago I managed to obtain 4 tickets for Juliet to see Take That at Wembley Stadium I had envisaged that she would go along with Hannah and a couple of other females. As the months passed, however, Juliet kept asking me "are you sure you don't want to go?", and I eventually found myself thinking "you know what, I think I do. Take That are not really my thing but they're known for putting on a spectacular show, the Robbie Williams angle should be interesting, and it really is about time I experienced the new Wembley."

And so, last night for the first time in 13 years I found myself making the famous walk from Wembley Park station along Wembley Way.

The new Wembley Stadium

My last visit, on 25th May 1998 (more of which later), was to the crumbling old stadium. Although a visit here was always special and infused with a sense of history, the facilities were outdated and gloomy and the view often poor. The new version couldn't be more different. The surrounding area is much smarter and cleaner and the arch that replaced the iconic 'twin towers' is a magnificent architectural structure that's visible for miles around. Our seats were in the top tier which is reached via a series of long escalators.

The magnificent arch of the new stadium

I'd told Hannah that Wembley was like the Valley, but not quite as good. From the outset I don't think she believed me, and the view on entering the arena itself immediately confirmed that I had been very economical with the truth on this occasion. The panorama was breathtaking; a scan around took in the precipitously banked seats that must ensure a great view from any part of the stadium. Our position, directly in front of the stage would be a superb vantage point for watching a game of football, although was too distant to be able to make out the performers on stage in any detail although of course this is overcome to some extent by their projection onto the big screen

Still filling up during the Pet Shop Boys' supporting set

The warm up set by the Pet Shop Boys was enjoyable and evocative of the distinctive music scene of the 1980s. I particularly enjoyed "West End Girls" and "You were always on my mind", although largely for the music, which rather drowned out Neil Tennant's vocals. However with the lyrics being so familiar it was easy enough to sing along.

When I started teaching in 1994, many of the 7 year old girls in my class were avid Take That fans. They'll be in their mid-twenties now, and some may well have been in the audience tonight. How time flies! I have a feeling, though, that our section of the stadium may have been sponsored by Saga or one of those Stairlift companies. Whilst there were some youngish fans around, plenty fell into the more mature category, with a generous sprinkling of Thora Hird's among them. Whatever age, however, most of them seemed to be overcome with hysteria as soon as the Take That boys arrived on stage. And it seemed they all knew every single word of every song.

A typical fan in the Saga enclosure

The large lady to my left urged me more than once to join in with the mass arm waving that continued for most of the concert. "Come on, you know you want to!" she told me. I didn't, actually, although I was quite happy to stand, tap my foot and sing along to the bits where I knew the words. It's probably diplomatic to add at this point that Juliet was sitting to my right.

Gary, Mark, Jason and Howard surrounded by hysterical women

The first part of the show consisted of the four group members left after Robbie's departure in 1995 singing songs from the period after they reformed in 2006 (Greatest Day, Rule the World and Shine being perhaps the most enthusiastically received). My perception was that this selection of songs was the most wildly enjoyed of the whole show, and hats off to Gary Barlow, they are great pop songs ideal for singing along to.

Let me entertain you! Robbie on the big screen

Phase two of the show was a solo section by Robbie. He started with "Let me entertain you!", which has never failed to send shivers down my spine since it was played to accompany the teams, surrounded by dense smoke from celebratory fireworks, out of the old Wembley tunnel at the 1st Division Play Off Final in 1998. This was the amazing game (4-4 after extra time, 7-6 in the penalty shoot out) which saw Charlton promoted to the Premier League for the first time, and featured a hat trick by Clive Mendonca that was as close to a work of art as it's possible to see on a football pitch. It's a day and a game I will never forget (I'll highlight the clever Take That link there in case you don't notice it); I left the stadium physically and emotionally drained and drenched in sweat purely from being a spectator.

Other Robbie classics, including "Angels" and "Rock DJ" followed, along with some banter consistent with Robbie's bad boy image. To be expected, I suppose, although unfortunate given that there were quite a lot of young children in the audience. As with the Gary Barlow compositions, hearing these numbers together highlights just what great pop songs they are, although there is greater edge and character to a lot of Robbie's stuff, making it more to my liking.

Building up to a grande finale

The rest of the band rejoined Robbie for a selection of songs from their reunion album, Progress, starting with "The Flood" which was very enthusiastically received. However I sensed a growing restlessness among the faithful as further tracks from the album were churned out. They seemed to be neither typical Take That numbers or particularly tuneful. More familiar songs were wheeled out for the finale and encore, which reignited the hysteria, adding to the impression that all most of the audience wanted to do was sing along and wallow in nostalgia. And why not? I found myself doing the same, although off at a bit of a tangent. I recalled sitting in a similar position in the old stadium watching England's magnificent demolition of Holland in Euro 96, and being pressed up against the stage, like many of the arm waving women last night, at Hammersmith Palais in December 1979 as the Clash belted out numbers from the greatest album of all time, London Calling. Memories, eh! The Clash gig was raw, rough at the edges excitement - no need for the kind of extravagant set and supporting cast surrounding Take That 2011 style. It's not that the giant robot, dancers, acrobats and other paraphernalia adorning Wembley weren't spectacular. They were, I just didn't really understand the thinking behind them.

There's no doubt about it, though, Take That are very, very good at what they do. On a lot of different levels it was a fantastic evening. I'm so glad I was persuaded to go.