‘No One Can Touch Them In Their Field’: A Look At Take That’s Greatest Hits Live 2019 Tour

Take That is in the finishing stages of its Greatest Hits Live tour, which has cemented the band’s status as one of the greatest hit machines the UK has ever produced. 

In the UK alone, Take That sold 642,000 tickets across 29 arena dates and nine stadiums during the tour. 

The band is currently wrapping things up with a couple of intimate gigs at small to medium-sized venues in mainland Europe, where the remaining shows include AFAS Live in Amsterdam, Netherlands (June 17), Kursaal in Ostend, Belgium (June 18), the Tempodrom in Berlin, Germany (June 20), two nights at Denmark’s KB Hall in Copenhagen (June 21-22), Stadtpark Hamburg, Germany (June 24), Frankfurt’s Jahrhunderthalle (June 25), Hall F of Vienna’s Stadthalle in Austria (June 26), Piazza Napoleone in Lucca, Italy (June 28), the Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome (June 29), and, finally, the Hallenstadion in Zurich, Switzerland, June 30.

Pollstar caught up with the band’s agent Sol Parker, after the band’s first show in France ever, at the 2,800 capacity Grand Rex in Paris.

“The huge production shows they put on in the uk are now nearing fully immersive experiences. Watching them do a theatre show with just a few lights makes you realise how many hits they actually have,” he said. 

“It would take someone today probably ten years of constant releasing to get anywhere close to their number. The guys genuinely looked like they had a blast and that certainly travelled through to the crowd. They have their craft nailed and I truly believe no one can touch them in their field.”

Parker remembered the beginnings: “I started the journey over 20 years ago with Mark when he first went on his own and then developed a relationship with the rest of the guys when they reformed. 

“They couldn’t be nicer people to work for or be around and the fact that they still absolutely enjoy every minute makes it certainly not feel like work for everyone involved on this side.”

He added: “It has always and always will be an absolute pleasure and a privilege to work for them.”

The UK dates of Take That’s Greatest Hits Live 2019 tour included three shows at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland, April 18-20, where the band sold out 32,549 tickets in total, grossing $4,003,061, according to Pollstar’s box office reports.

Debbie McWilliams, director of live entertainment at the Scottish Event Campus, which the Hydro is part of, revealed in an interview with Pollstar that Take That was her favourite live band of all times.

Speaking about the dates in April, she said: “I have been lucky to have seen Take That every time they have played Glasgow over the last 25 years and loved their recent Greatest Hits tour.

“The fans know exactly what to expect when they come to a Take That show and the band never fail to deliver, staging another brilliant production, which yet again, wowed the audience.

“It was fantastic to see the band more at the forefront of the production, almost giving a stripped back performance for a few numbers. 

“Yet again, the guys produced another masterclass!”

According to the band’s UK promoter SJM, Take That sold 5,323,521 tickets in the UK and Ireland between 2006 and 2019, across a total of 65 stadium and 153 arena dates.

Those numbers include a record 34 shows at The O2 in London, a record 12 shows at London’s Wembley Stadium, a record 46 shows at Manchester Arena, including 12 back-to-back concerts in 1995, as well as a record 11 shows at Manchesters Etihad Stadium.