Review: 'What I thought of Take That's concert at Sunderland's Stadium of Light'

More than 30 years later, I am a 43-year-old mother, while the band are middle aged by anyone's standards - indeed, Howard Donald and Mark Owen are proud grandfathers.

With the glasses I now need, but didn't back then, I can see the trio hold themselves differently.

Their hair has greyed, and their faces, while still handsome, have developed a rugged maturity. But they burst into life with a stirring and energetic rendition of Greatest Day and it's obvious that three decades on they haven't lost any of their charm.

The thing that stands out the most is the pure joy they clearly feel at performing to a colossal audience of 60,000 fans at Sunderland's Stadium of Light.

They are barely able to contain their excitement as they belt out hits such as Could It Be Magic, Pray, A Million Love Songs and Back For Good while accompanied by a highly talented cast of circus performers, including a trampolinist, acrobats and a tightrope walker.

The band are a second man down since I last saw them in 1995.

Jason Orange quit in September 2014, almost a decade after Robbie Williams walked out amid a falling out with Gary Barlow.

It came at a bad time for me, happening in July 1995, just weeks before I saw Take That live at the Manchester NYNEX Arena. I was gutted.

But the band have never lost their ability to play to sell-out crowds at mega venues despite their reduction by two fifths.

Last night the group returned to the Stadium of Light for the first time since they performed in 2011.

This year's show - The Circus Live - Summer 2026 - is a revival of their original 2009 9show, but with one crucial difference.

Back then Take That, who spilt in 1996 before regrouping 10 years later, still had something to prove and were in the middle of negotiating an ambitious comeback with songs which have now become anthems.

Today they are basking in their longevity and the endurance of hits such as Greatest Day and Rule the World, which have established themselves as some of the best loved classics of a generation.

The fans, many of whom are women in their 40s, have aged alongside their idols, but it is an eclectic crowd that packs into the Stadium of Light on an evening of heavy summer rainfall.

It is mainly an older audience but one which takes in a wide range of ages from teenagers to those in their 70's.

It is testament to the length and success of their career that the band have such diverse admirers - from men in their 60's sporting ponchos, to women in their 20's wearing tank tops.

The Take That t-shirt I first donned in 1995 for the Nobody Else tour, which is soaking wet by the time I arrive, has grown older slightly more gracefully than I have - but it still fits, at least.

I can't help but laugh out loud as Mark rides a unicycle along the runway followed by Gary on a tiny bike with stabilisers, to a medley of upbeat hits including It Only Takes a Minute Girl and Take That and Party.

The scene reminds me that in the 90's they energetically breakdanced to these tunes, slamming their bare and muscular bodies onto the stage with all their mite.

Today, dressed as clowns, the lads are still entertainers, but ones of a different kind.

The band performing The Garden on top of a gigantic elephant as it sashays along the runway is a definite highlight of the show.

Shout out to the dancer who hangs from the animal's rear, swinging from side to side in his role as its tail.

Epic production stunts were a staple of the concert, as balls of flames were propelled into the air during a performance of Relight My Fire.

The fireworks continued as the final song of the night - Rule the World - rang out.

But the tune that will stay with me the most is Never Forget and its lyrics: "Someday soon this will all be someone else's dream."

For it's clear to me that 36 years after they first burst onto the pop scene, Take That and their fans are still very much living the dream.