Take That have admitted to having reservations about announcing their first tour in four years.
Gary Barlow, 52, Mark Owen, 51, and Howard Donald, 55, will return to the road in 2024, performing across the United Kingdom.
The arena tour is their first since the Greatest Hits tour in 2019, and Olly Murs will be joining them as a support act.
Despite their devoted fan base, the members of the 1990s boyband weren’t sure people would notice when they announced their comeback to music.
The trio launched their new track, Windows, on The One Show, with Gary explaining the meaning behind the lyrics.
‘A lot has happened since, we were last together and on tour in 2019, a lot has happened since then,’ he began.
‘I think, for us, our message is, each time we come back, we always wonder, is this it? Is this the time when there’s nobody waiting?’
As host Alex Jones chimed in with a ‘never!’, Gary insisted: ‘We do, though!’
‘I think it’s just human to think like that,’ he added.
‘So, this song is about opening the doors again and getting back out in the world and being brave, and looking upwards, and being your best, and that’s what it is.
‘It’s us all giving each other the strength to open up our windows and fly.’
Take That will also release an album called This Life in November, which they recorded in Nashville.
In terms of what fans may anticipate from their future gigs, Howard suggested that the tour is now “in the works.”
Of course, the Shine hitmakers are notorious for going all out with their production, having previously performed on top of enormous elephants and cycled in the air over stadiums.
So, expect a high budget and a lot of special effects again next year.
‘We’re just super excited,’ he said.
‘I mean, that’s the icing on the cake, you do your album, you do your promo, and then, at the end of it all, you do the tour and what we really love more than anything is really investing in our tours and we just love it when people come and they leave and they have happy faces.’
Mark then joked that they’re attempting to come up with another animal to ride out on this time, hinting to the potential of ‘robots’ joining them on stage.
Anything is possible with a Take That tour…
When they’re not on stage, the band likes to unwind, with Gary noting that the home comforts he brings with him on the road are rather modest.
The former X Factor judge enjoys a good read, but nothing beats not having to make the school run.
‘When we go on tour we have to say, because we obviously have private lives, families, when we go on tour it’s the best ever,’ he smirked.
‘No school run, none of that horrible teatime business! We have the best time and we always say it’s work, “It’s work, babe! Gotta go to work!”… it is fantastic.’
During the first part of the tour, Gary, Mark, and Howard will perform at venues in London, Glasgow, Manchester, and Birmingham, among other UK cities, between April and June 2024.
The One Show airs weeknights at 7pm on BBC One and iPlayer.