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Telegraph
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Gary Barlow, Songbook Tour: An enjoyable if slightly slender evening of Gary-oke
Here's a dilemma: You're the main songwriter in one of Britain's most beloved bands, but your group is having a year off having toured the country's arenas and stadiums eight times since 2006 (with a vast gig in London's Hyde Park and a Coronation Concert thrown in for good measure). What do you do? You Gary on regardless, if the band in question happens to be Take That. The former boyband's singer Gary Barlow has embarked on a 42-date solo Songbook Tour, playing Take That songs and solo works in venues from the Isle of Man and Scarborough to London's Royal Albert Hall, where he's performing twice. The term 'songbook' carries an implied greatness, such is our reverence for the Great British or the Great American Songbook. Paul McCartney or Elton John? They've written songbooks. Barlow though? I was sceptical. But of the 25 songs he played, I counted 10 Barlow-penned number one singles. The 54-year-old has written chart-toppers spanning three decades, including the sublime balladry of 1995's Back for Good, the grown-up pop of 2006's Patience and the kitchen disco dance throb of 2014's These Days. Chuck in A Million Love Songs, Rule the World and The Flood – all of which should have been number one but weren't – and he has certainly earned the right to self-songbook, to coin a phrase. And look at the venue. The Royal Albert Hall, no less. Twice! Sporting a glittery black jacket on the lavishly draped stage, Barlow rattled through the hits, backed by an 11-piece band (essentially Take That's backing band). By the second song, Greatest Day, we'd already had confetti. By the fourth song, Let Me Go, we had a Mumford & Sons-style hoedown, complete with synchronised dancing by the brass section. The evening felt like a slick Saturday night variety show, down to Barlow's introduction of his two backing singers as 'our gorgeous girl singers'. You can take the man out of the Northern club circuit… But the entire band were phenomenally polished, with the aforementioned backing singers, Jemma Donovan and Sofie Clayton, coming from musical families – the former is Jason Donovan's daughter while the latter is Beverley Knight's niece. Barlow danced during Pray ('that gets harder every year') and belted out the aforementioned A Million Love Songs to outrageously athletic saxophone, courtesy of musical director Mike Stevens. Barlow's clever vocal trick is his seamless flit between his lower range and his falsetto register. It provides the emotional and melodic fulcrum for all his best songs, from Back for Good to Rule the World. And yet there was a niggling sense that something was missing. Two things, actually: Howard Donald and Mark Owen. This was Barlow singing Take That songs with Take That's band, but without Take That. Gary-oke, if you will. If industry whispers are to be believed, Take That are planning some massive shows next year. What this tour and that rumour show, all things considered, is that Britain's love affair with all-things Take That shows no sign of abating. In 1995, Barlow sang that 'someday soon this will all be someone else's dream' on Never Forget – the song that closed this enjoyable concert. Three decades on, that dream is still his, even if at times this felt a bit more Fake That than Take That.
Daily Mail
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
90s popstar looks unrecognisable 34 years after number one hit catapulted singer to chart topping fame
A 90s popstar looks completely unrecognisable 34 years after they topped the charts with smash hit. The singer, now 53, made up one half of iconic dance group 2 Unlimited who were catapulted to fame and sold a whopping 18million records worldwide. The Belgian-Dutch duo's debut single Get Ready For This cemented them in music history after becoming one of the most frequently played songs at sporting events around the world, according to Pitchfork. The group released forty five songs, four albums and split in 1996 before eventually launching a comeback in 2009. Back at the peak of her career the star wasn't afraid to experiment with her style, sporting a range of hairstyles including braids and dreadlocks. However now she she has made a big departure from her edgy style, but can you guess who it is? That's right! It's Anita Doth. The singer songwriter made up one half of 2 Unlimited alongside rapper Ray Slijngaard with the pair scoring sixteen international chart hits and two UK number one albums. Their 1993 hit single No Limit soared in the charts while Get Ready For This reached number two in the UK charts and led to the pair performing on Top Of The Pops in 1991. They have sold eighteen million records worldwide and their tracks even became popular themes in American NBA and NHL. Now Anita has bid goodbye to her braids and bold style choices for a more understated style. Meanwhile she is styling her hair in their natural curls and her skimpy crop tops and leather corsets are also a thing of the past. 2 Unlimited split in 1996 before launching a comeback in 2009. However the pair were forced to perform under the name name of Ray & Anita after it was believed that producer Jean-Paul de Coster denied them permission to perform as 2 Unlimited due to him owning the band's copyright. They then split again in 2016 for Anita to concentrate on her solo career, she was replaced by Kim Vergouwen and later Michele Karamat who continues to tour with rapper Ray. Their 1993 hit single No Limit soared in the charts while Get Ready For This reached number two in the UK charts and led to the pair performing on Top Of The Pops in 1991 The star continued performing with Ray during her treatment while receiving chemotherapy and in 2011 she announced she was cancer free (pictured in 2014) As a solo artist she has released numerous singles as well as a 2000 album Reality. Anita has also faced her own personal battles after it was revealed in 2010 that she was being treated for breast cancer. The star continued performing with Ray during her treatment while receiving chemotherapy and in 2011 she announced she was cancer free. She keeps her private life out the spotlight but welcomed a daughter in February 2014 after revealing her pregnancy on Twitter in November 2013.
