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On Friday 19^th June I went to the Manchester Evening News Arena to see Boyzone on their Better 09 Tour. After seeing them on their reunion tour last year I was expecting to see something new from them, instead I got the same as last year but with a different stage set and costumes. They did add in the latest single Better and Ronan sang Time After Time from his current solo album Songs For My Mother.

They opened the show with Love You Anyway and then went straight into Picture Of You, at which point some very scantily clad female dancers made an appearance and even through numerous costume changes the dancers never wore much. They added in a couple of album tracks; And I and Must Have Been High.

Mixed in with all their old hits they did a medley of Queen songs which was possibly one of the better moments as it was something different to last years show. Stephen did a solo of Beyonce’s song Single Ladies, which was; quite frankly cringe worthy to watch. A very strange song choice and he couldn’t have made himself look more camp if he’d tried.

Towards the end of the show they were suspended above the audience and propelled over to a mini stage at the back of the arena. Life Is A Rollercoaster got them there where they then performed Words before being propelled back to Baby Can I Hold You.

They put a different theme to When The Going Gets Tough and A Different Beat when they went all army military complete with dance moves involving air rifles.

Overall the 2 hour show was good, I enjoyed it, but if they want to cement their return to the music industry they need to come back with some amazing new material and tour off the back of that, not off their hits from 10 years ago, good once for the reunion, slightly more boring for the follow up tour when you expect to see new material mixed in with the old.

Take That kicked off their Circus Tour in Sunderland on 5th June. This tour has cost £10 million to put on the road and will see them play to over 1 million fans, in 7 cities across the UK and Ireland, throughout 21 dates at some of the biggest stadiums in the country. Billed as their biggest, best and most extravagant tour in their history I travelled from Manchester to the Ricoh Stadium in Coventry on Monday 8th June to see the tour for my own eyes.

To say I was excited would be an understatement; I had been waiting for this day since tickets went on sale on 31st October 08. Travelling down the M6 with my friend and our tour mascot ‘Gary the Bear’ we passed the time listening to……….what else Take That.

Arriving in Coventry and walking to the stadium the atmosphere was building, street lamps around the stadium had signs on welcoming Take That to town. The merchandise stands outside the ground, housed in tents to look like bigtops were selling merchandise to the thousands of fans happy to pay out for souvenirs of the tour.

We had standing tickets on the pitch and were lucky enough to get a spot within 8ft of the b-stage at the back of the pitch. The main stage was at one end and the b-stage about ¾ of the way back, both linked by a walk way. At 8.30pm mist started to descend slightly over the stages and performers/dancers dressed as cloud people carrying big bunches of brightly coloured balloons made their way from the main stage to the b-stage. The performers gathered in the centre of the b-stage and as the music rose and the first bar of Greatest Day was played the balloons were released into the sky to reveal Take That!

The concert was amazing from start to finish; they did a full 2 hour set of new and old hits. When they sang Back For Good they had rain pouring on them, the effect was spectacular. The main bit for me though was when they sang The Garden and a huge mechanical elephant rose from underneath the b-stage, Take That stood on the top of the elephant and it walked to the main stage, a sight that had to be seen to be believed and an effect never before attempted in a live concert.

Once on the main stage they performed hits including Shine, The Circus and Wooden Boat, before dressing up as clowns and on unicycles making their way back to the b-stage to perform some of the old classics, complete with original dance moves, including dropping their pants! Relight My Fire was another huge production involving circus acts, dancers and fire. The anthem that is Take That – Never Forget was amazing and included 20 plus performers dressed in circus attire and playing drums around their necks, the sight was amazing.

Hold Up A Light was brilliant, the sky and stage being turned into lots of colours and everyone on the main stage dancing onto the b-stage where the elephant once again rose. The final song was Rule The World and lights were aimed into the sky to look like stars and fireworks went off over the stage.

They never stopped for 2 hours and I wondered how they would better the Beautiful World Tour, but they have. They have once again raised the barrier for a pop concert and attempted what others haven’t. Having a cast of over 40 performers on stage with them at various times was brilliant and you got a show rather than just a concert.

This tour is the best by far, pushing the boundaries of live performances and Take That really do Rule The World. Next stop on The Circus tour for me is Manchester on 23rd June and I can’t wait to see it all again.