Take That are back in Scotland and I'm ready to join the circus all over again

I grew up with Take That. I loved them but my sister was OBSESSED.

We went to the shows together and had Smash Hits posters of their faces across our walls (not to mention the bedding) along with Take That adorned mood jewellery (it was the 90s) and dolls of the band.

Fast forward to 2025 and you can imagine how exciting it was for me (and my sister living vicariously through me via Whatsapp) to be in the same room as Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen as they announced the return of one of their most successful tours ever: The Circus. Be still my beating teenage heart.

If you didn’t see this show back in 2009, think a Cirque De Soleil-esque spectacular, complete with clowns, acrobats and the band in the most brilliant costumes, belting out their biggest hits.

It was incredible and it’s not hard to see why they’re bringing it back.

“It’s been around our ether for a few years and we’ve talked about ‘could we do it? why would we do it?’”, Gary told What’s On Scotland.

“This tour, it keeps coming up. Fans talk about it a lot. We see it on social media and when we say ‘what’s your favourite tour?’ – this always comes out way above everything else and actually when we gave it some thought, it was probably our favourite moment as well in our band. The idea of joining the circus and going again with this? It’s brilliant!”

And the band promise it will be just as brilliant, if not better, than the original.

The elephant in the room was whether the giant mechanical elephant that the guys rode on in the original show would return and thankfully, it will indeed, along with the acrobats and all the stunning performances and songs we love, as well as the odd new one on occasion.

The Circus will come to town/Glasgow on June 13 next year, returning to Hampden Park. That’s a Friday, which just makes things even better.

The band unanimously gushed about coming back north, saying: “We love Glasgow, we love Scotland.”

And for Howard, it’s a particularly happy place as he comes numerous times throughout the year to play golf.

“I think Scotland as a country – it’s just beautiful. When we play there I make sure the hotels are by the side of golf courses.”

Gary interjected: “We would go ‘why are we driving an hour and a half for a hotel?’ Then realise it was because of Howard! We’re literally driving around to fund his golf!”

And why not. We do have some of the best courses in the world.

Scotland is also home to some of the best fans in the world and the band are truly appreciative of their fanbase, young and old.

“The gigs are the place where you really get a measure of the audience,” Gary noted.

“You see the grandparents, the parents, the kids – it’s absolutely brilliant. And this is the one where even if you’re not a concert-goer, you want to be part of the circus.”

Take That may have gone through some changes in their time, with Robbie Williams and Jason Orange no longer gracing the stage beside them, but for Mark, Gary and Howard, their bond and desire to perform together is just as strong as ever.