Gary Barlow, O2 Arena - music review

There may be edgier acts, but Barlow is 43 and still raising the roof
MUST CREDIT
10 April 2014

If Take That’s second wind was British pop’s most spectacular comeback in British pop history, then Gary Barlow’s solo rehabilitation runs it close.

Having failed to become the new George Michael in the late-Nineties, he stopped singing for several years before re-emerging as an act capable of selling out the O2 twice over the weekend. Last night’s marriage of Take That hits and solo material was an overwhelming triumph before an audience that included James Corden and fellow Take Thatter Howard Donald.

Barlow effortlessly carried off his three-piece-suit-and-tie outfit (even as a young man he was something of an old fogey), but there were missteps, most notably an unfortunate swing segment and a dreary acoustic section. But the droll patter honed during teenage stints in working men’s clubs still serves him well, not least when the 43-year-old quizzed a Malaysian fan before crooning A Million Love Songs to her: “You haven’t bought a Robbie Williams CD, but you did buy my second solo album? You’re a real fan.”

Wisely, he avoided any Take That-style choreography — and when he did fall to his knees during Pray, it wasn’t entirely certain he could get up again. Instead, he offered boundless cheer, urgency and, when he snuggled into Forever Love, genuine emotion.

There may be edgier acts, but to berate Barlow for being middle of the road is like berating Bob Marley for playing reggae. And the hit-laden final 30 minutes, which finished with the mass arm-waving singalong that was Never Forget, was a downhill slalom of roof-raising high-quality pop from a master craftsman. And he promised Take That would relight their collective fire at the O2 in 2015.

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