Progress Live
Progress Live was a major 2011 concert tour by the English pop band Take That, serving as their eighth overall tour and the first to feature all five original members—Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Mark Owen, Jason Orange, and Robbie Williams—since their 1995 split. Sponsored by Samsung, the tour supported the band's sixth studio album, Progress (2010), and ran from 27 May to 29 July 2011, comprising 35 dates across Europe with 29 shows in the UK stadiums. It set multiple records, including selling 1.34 million tickets in under 24 hours upon announcement and attracting a total attendance exceeding 1.8 million fans in the UK alone, making it the highest-grossing tour in UK history at the time with earnings over £114 million for the UK leg. The production featured innovative staging, including a 20-meter mechanical robot named "OM" as a centerpiece, elaborate video screens, pyrotechnics, and a setlist blending hits from Take That's catalog, Williams' solo career, and tracks from Progress. A live album, Progress Live, was released on 21 November 2011 as a double-disc set recorded at Wembley Stadium in London and the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, peaking at number one on the UK Albums Chart and earning the band Virgin Media's Best Live Act award for 2012. The tour's success underscored Take That's enduring popularity, grossing £38.5 million from eight Wembley performances alone and drawing 623,737 attendees there, surpassing previous UK stadium records.[1][2]Background and Development
Reunion Announcement
Robbie Williams left Take That on July 17, 1995, citing personal issues including addiction and conflicts with band management and member Gary Barlow, which ultimately led to him paying over £1 million to exit his contract. The departure marked the end of the original five-member lineup, after which Take That continued briefly as a quartet before disbanding in 1996. Williams then embarked on a prolific solo career, releasing debut album Life thru a Lens in 1997 and achieving multiple UK number-one singles, establishing himself as one of the country's best-selling artists with 13 chart-topping albums by 2019.[3] By late 2009, reconciliation efforts between Williams and Barlow sparked rumors of a reunion, culminating in confirmation on July 15, 2010, that Williams would rejoin the band for their sixth studio album, Progress, the first full project featuring all five original members since 1995. This development directly paved the way for the Progress Live tour, publicly announced on October 26, 2010, as a 20-date stadium outing supporting the album's November 15 release and marking the group's first live performances together in 15 years.[4] The reformation of the five-piece lineup drew widespread media attention, with outlets such as BBC News and The Guardian highlighting the emotional significance of the reunion and Williams' return after years of solo success.[5] Public response was ecstatic, reflected in the rapid sell-out of initial tour dates; over one million tickets were sold in under 24 hours, setting a UK record and underscoring the enduring fanbase loyalty.[6] Concurrently with the tour reveal, Samsung Electronics was announced as the presenting partner and official sponsor for the UK portion of Progress Live, providing branding opportunities including exclusive video content and fan experiences.[7]Planning and Preparation
Following the tour announcement in October 2010, planning for the Progress Live tour focused on logistical coordination and creative conceptualization to accommodate the five-member lineup for the first time since 1995. Rehearsals began in early 2011, building toward an intensive six-week period in the spring to refine performances ahead of the tour's May 27 opening in Sunderland.[8] These sessions took place in studios across Manchester and London, allowing the band to integrate Robbie Williams' return while aligning with the Progress album's release in November 2010.[9] Creative decisions emphasized a tour theme drawn from the Progress album's electronic and futuristic aesthetic, incorporating theatrical elements such as elaborate scenic designs envisioning "the future" through high-tech visuals and narrative staging.[10] Director and choreographer Kim Gavin was hired to oversee the production, collaborating with set designer Es Devlin to craft a spectacle featuring moving stages and symbolic props that reflected the album's themes of evolution and reunion.[11] The scale required 238 trucks for transport, underscoring the tour's ambition as the band's largest to date.[8] Budget estimates for the production ranged from £15 million to nearly £50 million, covering the hiring of specialized teams and advanced technical elements to support stadium-scale shows across the UK and Europe.[8][12] Challenges arose in synchronizing the members' schedules, given their individual commitments—particularly Robbie Williams, whose solo career demanded adjustments—and he contributed significantly to song selections by advocating for inclusions like his hits "Rock DJ" and "Angels" to balance the setlist with Progress tracks and classic Take That material.[8] Williams also faced personal nerves leading into rehearsals, adding emotional complexity to the preparation process.[13]Production Elements
Set Design and Staging
The set design for Progress Live, crafted by renowned designer Es Devlin, centered around a monumental "Big Man" structure—a 65.5-foot-tall mechanical robot named OM—that dominated the stage and extended into the audience space, framing performances with its articulated arms, head, and torso illuminated by embedded LED panels.[14][15] This bespoke framework, engineered by Stageco with 300 tons of steel per setup, incorporated a 28-meter central tower for the head, side towers for the hands supporting PA and video systems, and a 20-ton convex bridge with curved rear towers for elbows and water effects, allowing dynamic movement via a 35-ton mobile base and hydraulic scissor lifts for band pods.[15][14] Key visual spectacles included a large water wall used for choreographed abseiling sequences during "The Flood," where dancers descended amid cascading effects, and whimsical Alice in Wonderland-inspired props such as roller-skating bees, a giant purple caterpillar that walked across the stage, and a troupe of Shaolin monks in red cloaks swinging lanterns to herald the band's entrance.[16][17][18] Additional elements featured dancing chess pieces on a stylized board for the "Kidz" segment and gas-masked performers against futuristic video backdrops during "Love Love."[16][18] Lighting and video projections were intricately tied to the Progress album's themes of reunion and evolution, utilizing multiple LED screens on the towers and bridge for immersive visuals, including a reimagined Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band interlude and thematic transitions with flames and explosions.[18][14] Pyrotechnics were deployed extensively throughout, enhancing high-energy moments with bursts of fire and confetti, while Neg Earth-supplied LED clusters in OM's eyes, heart, and hands synchronized with the performance for dramatic glow effects.[18][14] The technical crew, led by creative director Kim Gavin and production manager Chris Vaughan, oversaw innovations like automated stage lifts and a linking walkway of 20 collapsible sections for fluid transitions, with mechanical engineering by Andy Edwards ensuring precise operation by dedicated traction operators and safety spotters.[14] Costume designs complemented the surreal elements, featuring elaborate outfits for dancers as butterflies, trees, and chess figures, integrated seamlessly with the staging to amplify the theatrical narrative.[19][20] Across the tour's UK and European legs, the core staging remained consistent to maintain spectacle, with minor adjustments to the bridge and tower configurations for varying stadium sizes, such as the eight-night runs at Manchester's City of Manchester Stadium and London's Wembley Stadium.[15][14]Setlist
The standard setlist for the Progress Live tour consisted of 23 songs, blending tracks from the 2010 reunion album Progress with classic Take That hits and Robbie Williams' solo material to highlight the group's reformed lineup.[16] The performance opened with anthemic group numbers from the Beautiful World era, transitioned into Williams' solo segment, and incorporated Progress songs to underscore themes of reconciliation and forward momentum. This structure emphasized the reunion narrative by juxtaposing Williams' high-energy solo hits—symbolizing his independent career—with collaborative Take That staples, culminating in a grand finale that reinforced unity.[21] The opening night setlist at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland on May 27, 2011, established the tour's core sequence, which remained largely consistent across performances:- Rule the World
- Greatest Day
- Hold Up a Light
- Patience
- Shine
- Sgt. Pepper’s (virtual tape performance)
- Let Me Entertain You
- Rock DJ
- Come Undone (incorporating elements of "Walk on the Wild Side")
- Feel
- Angels
- The Flood
- SOS
- Underground Machine
- Kidz
- Pretty Things
- Piano medley: A Million Love Songs / Babe / Everything Changes / Back for Good
- Pray
- Love Love
- Never Forget
- No Regrets
- Relight My Fire
- Eight Letters[16]