10 Most Overblown Stage Productions In Music Today

9. Take That

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfdw5iHJ4lw There aren't many worlds in which a segue from Rammstein to Take That is acceptable, but for the purposes of this list, we'll go with it. Known for ages as just a bunch of squeaky-clean, leotard-wearing Northern lads with little going for them outside of Gary Barlow's songwriting abilities, the band eventually endured a tumultuous breakup and reunion, and the 'fat dancer' Robbie Williams went on to make millions off of his solo career. In the mid '00s, just as Robbie's career was going pear-shaped, the other four Take That members got back together without him, and promptly began selling out stadiums nationwide with their more mature, classic pop songs. Their first tour saw them sell out an incredible 11 nights at the Manchester Arena, and 9 at London's O2, while the following tour, 'Take That Presents: The Circus Live', encompassed four nights at Wembley Stadium and 5 at Old Trafford Cricket Ground. For this tour, the band employed jugglers, trapeze artists, ringmasters, and even a mechanical elephant. Jason Orange, Mark Owen, and Howard Donald even learned how to ride unicycles, all in the name of the circus-themed show. Over a million people saw the show, generating £40 million in profit as the original eight dates sold out in under five hours. How do you go about bettering that? You rehire Robbie Williams, construct a massive 100ft robot named Om as your centrepiece, throw in a huge 60ft waterfall, and sell nearly two million tickets, earning over $180 million in the process - that's how. Indeed, the Progress tour included elements of Take That's four-piece career and Robbie's solo successes, before a final interlude saw the band catapulted through their combined back catalogue, as Om gradually stands up and looms over the whole show. Ticket demand was an amazing 30 times higher than the next-biggest UK tour (Michael Jackson's ill-fated This Is It tour), and the production made it's way all around Europe, with a huge eight nights in both Wembley Stadium and the Etihad Stadium.