Gary Barlow has called on musicians to return to the road.
The Take That star has been playing arenas across the UK in support of his recent solo LPs ‘Music Played by Humans’ and ‘The Dream of Christmas’, with Leona Lewis joining the star on stage.
Despite losing several band members to Covid during the run, the Greatest Day singer insisted performers shouldn’t “wait indefinitely” to resume gigging.
I’m sure for a lot of performers it’s tempting to just think this is too much stress and wait in definitely. But don’t. Despite all the news and scare mongering we’ve watched audiences sing, dance and have and enjoy themselves night after night.
— Gary Barlow (@GaryBarlow) December 14, 2021
Speaking on Jay Rayner’s ‘Out To Lunch’ podcast, he said: “I’m sure for a lot of performers it’s tempting to just think this is too much stress and wait indefinitely.
“But don’t. Despite all the news and scaremongering we’ve watched audiences sing, dance and enjoy themselves night after night.”
Gary recently opened up on the struggles of touring, explaining in a string of Twitter posts: “We sadly lost 2 brass and a dancer at the start of the tour – then another brass player last week.
“The good news is most of our band are back with us tomorrow and we’ll be fully re United for the last show.
“Thankfully everyone is healthy and no one has had any serious symptoms. As it’s my tour it’s been a worry for me. Hoping everyone in every venue is safe has been a massive pressure.
“We’ve all had a massive challenge to stay away from any risk. Well done guys.”
He added: “I’m sure for a lot of performers it’s tempting to just think this is too much stress and wait in definitely. But don’t.
“Despite all the news and scare mongering we’ve watched audiences sing, dance and have and enjoy themselves night after night.
“For those who’ve been with us – thank you. Your support means the World – especially right now. Me, My band, cast and crew love what we do – and we Love doing it for you.”
Meanwhile, Gary recently confirmed that – after two solo albums – he’ll reunite with Take That bandmates Mark Owen and Howard Donald to work on new tracks in 2022.
“We haven’t started anything yet, but we will in the next year,” he shared. “It will be fresh, it will be new and it will be special – it has to be.”
“It’s a different head I put on to be in Take That. It’s my No1 thing. It’s the thing that I value the most, so whenever we do anything it should be really well thought through.
“I’d love to just sit in New York for two months and write with Mark and Howard. We write good songs together and that is always fun.
“This next one big move for us. We love to push forward and this is a big opportunity to do that.”