Take That: The Ultimate Tour (Video 2006)

Take That: The Ultimate Tour: Directed by Dick Carruthers. With Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Beverley Knight, Lulu. The Take That comeback performance at Manchester in 2006, featuring all the big hits including ‘Pray’, ‘Everything Changes’ and ‘Back for Good’.

“In 2006 we saw the tours of the newly formed Take That and one of those concerts was captured for this DVD. The four members of the original group that hadnu0026#39;t managed to make solo careers take off reformed to a wave of nostalgia ready to be mined for a quick final shot of income and fame. This may sound a bit cruel but I donu0026#39;t think Iu0026#39;m far off the mark as many bands are currently touring on the back of this same feeling of nostalgia and a quick scan of the audience as the camera moves around shows that this audience doesnu0026#39;t have many teenagers in it – in fact the age range seems to start with those who would have been teenage back in the day and upwards. In fact if I was being cruel I would say that the audience did remind me of a thousand Blackpool hen nights all happening at the same place at the same time.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAnyway, back to this show which I thought I would try since I am of the age when these guys were big in my teenage years. The show starts out all very obviously with the big hits bashed out to an audience all singing along. Of course this is the majority of the gig and it was OK I suppose. The guys themselves didnu0026#39;t really engage with the audience that well though and I got the impression that that part of the group was perhaps absent from the stage. When they do try to talk to the audience they do come across as overly scripted. It probably didnu0026#39;t help that they opened the show with basic costumes – Gary in particular looking daft in trousers that seemed too small and a shirt/tie that gave him a David Brent air.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIt gets a bit better with some big costume numbers that arenu0026#39;t great but mostly do the business in regards big stadium gigs. Iu0026#39;m probably not really qualified to comment on this type of thing because the last few gigs I have been to have been hip hop, with the most recent and best being The Roots with only a crowd of about 1500. However the u0026quot;big showu0026quot; aspect is well done. The u0026quot;making a boy bandu0026quot; bit was a nice try at something smart but it didnu0026#39;t really work for me. The rest is a big light show with lots of extras, a few star guests and the obligatory fireworks display. If youu0026#39;re not really into the band specifically then it might still do the job as a big expensive show but I must confess finding it a little bit anonymous and generic.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOverall then, this is for fans and the fans will love it. As a casual viewer (one of very few I imagine) I did find it slick and professional but not really the sort of thing I personally would not really like to see myself. A slick DVD though and the target audience will enjoy it.”