I went with my brother to one of EIGHT shows that the band had sold out at this 90,000-seater venue. It doesn't have the character of the old Stadium but it does look huge and with the verandah covering almost the entire pitch, only those in the very middle of the venue even noticed it was raining.
So, Pet Shop Boys were the official support act, and they played a set of around 45-minutes that contained as many of their hits as they could fit in. And they've had a lot of them, particularly in the UK.
Then, Take That hit the stage - the four-piece lineup of Barlow, Owen, Orange and Donald, and performed for around 20-25 minutes. Cue screaming.
They left the stage, and the band began playing the introduction to 'Let Me Entertain You.' There was only one performer this could be and it was: Robbie Williams. This guy knows how to work a crowd. The screaming was at a level I have never heard before and probably never will again. It was extraordinary.
Williams played about six hits on his own, more or less half an hour, before an interval, after which TT returned as a five-piece, with Williams temporarily back on board. The opened Part II with 'The Flood,' easily their best single and one of the best pop singles of the decade, in my view. The band played for a further hour or so to the tumultuous screaming of the sold-out 90,000 crowd. They had this huge man-machine, about sixty-feet high, which gradually opened out during the gig.
Unfortunately, their merchandise was aimed squarely at the prepubescent teenage girl, so I bought a t-shirt that turned out to be unwearable. Shame. x
So, Pet Shop Boys were the official support act, and they played a set of around 45-minutes that contained as many of their hits as they could fit in. And they've had a lot of them, particularly in the UK.
Then, Take That hit the stage - the four-piece lineup of Barlow, Owen, Orange and Donald, and performed for around 20-25 minutes. Cue screaming.
They left the stage, and the band began playing the introduction to 'Let Me Entertain You.' There was only one performer this could be and it was: Robbie Williams. This guy knows how to work a crowd. The screaming was at a level I have never heard before and probably never will again. It was extraordinary.
Williams played about six hits on his own, more or less half an hour, before an interval, after which TT returned as a five-piece, with Williams temporarily back on board. The opened Part II with 'The Flood,' easily their best single and one of the best pop singles of the decade, in my view. The band played for a further hour or so to the tumultuous screaming of the sold-out 90,000 crowd. They had this huge man-machine, about sixty-feet high, which gradually opened out during the gig.
Unfortunately, their merchandise was aimed squarely at the prepubescent teenage girl, so I bought a t-shirt that turned out to be unwearable. Shame. x