Gary Barlow has made a sad admission following the final show of Take That’s latest tour.
The 55-year-old songwriting legend has just wrapped up touring the UK and Ireland with his bandmates Mark Owen, 54, and Howard Donald, 58, having performed 17 shows from May to July.
Filling out stadiums up and down the country, the trio’s Circus Live shows were a revival of their hugely popular 2009 concerts of the same name, which followed the release of their fifth album, The Circus.
The original tour broke records, with over 600,000 tickets sold within five hours of release and over one million fans attending the sell-out gigs. In total, it made over £40m in profit.
This time, it was bigger yet again, bringing back all the classic circus elements fans loved, from a 30-foot-tall mechanical elephant to an ascending hot air balloon, from flamethrowers to tightrope walkers.
However, delivering the jam-packed visual spectacle each night took its toll on performer Gary, who, along with Mark and Howard, went all out with choreography, costume changes, instrument playing, and props.
As a result, the Patience hitmaker has said he ‘can’t see a way’ that he could undertake the Circus shows for a third time.
Getting reflective on social media after the last show in Dublin over the weekend, Gary began: ‘And another tour comes to a close.
‘Somehow, this one feels a little different.
‘With the other tours, it’s always comforting to know there will almost definitely be a next time.
‘But I’m pretty sure this tour won’t return.’
He continued on Instagram: ‘I was 38 when we originally did this show, and I have to say it’s been a whole other challenge doing it as a 55-year-old. I just can’t see a way I could physically do this show again.
‘So, it’s with an extremely heavy heart that I leave The Circus in my past.’
But there are still plenty of reasons for fans of the boyband to be hopeful, as Gary signed off by teasing a different type of live performance in the future.
‘I got to run away with The Circus twice,’ he said.
‘Now I’m running towards our next exciting, brand new show.’
Followers were full of praise in the comments, with @debs.macleod writing: ‘Absolutely loved it the first time round, and to then get to relive that a second time round was amazing ❤️Thank you all for letting us take a second trip to the circus 🎪’
‘You are in such good shape. Thank you for doing it all again. 🙏’, said @katjaschwemmers.
@mrs_muir_1605 added that ‘this tour will stay with us forever’, while @jameshowardvoices declared it ‘magnificent’.
‘This show was unbelievable! I’m still talking about it 🎪’, praised musical theatre actress Marisha Wallace.
Frontman Gary’s post comes after Howard thanked fans in London last week for attending the tour amid the heatwave, writing: ‘Played to 200 thousand people over three dates at the London Stadium @westham in the blistering heat which was a challenge in itself! Undies were soaked and had to wrung out. Thank you for giving us the much needed energy and love to get us energised for the show.
‘You are amazing London and we are amazed at the sheer scale of support after all these years! We will always do our best. The Circus will always be difficult to top and will be missed! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!’
As for what’s next, as the group leaves behind their face paint, stiltwalkers, clowns, acrobats, and tap dancers, Gary previously revealed that new music was already in motion.
These days, though, he’s increasingly drawn to releasing songs as they’re finished, rather than waiting for a full album cycle, as proven with the release of their new single last week, Sweet July.
Speaking to The Sun’s Bizarre column in 2025, he said the trio were back in the studio as soon as their tour wrapped and were keen to keep momentum going, adding that fans ‘want stuff now’ rather than waiting years between records.
It’s been a busy year for Take That, who also released a three-part Netflix documentary, charting their band’s rise, fall, and reinvention, revisiting both the highs and the more difficult chapters of their career, accompanied by a new track, You’re A Superstar.
Still to come is their 10th studio album, dropping later in 2026.
Following their formation in 1990 and with the original line-up including Robbie Williams and Jason Orange, Take That now performs as a three.
Jason, who took part in the original 2009 Circus shows, was not present on this tour after he left the band in 2014, opting for a quieter life away from the flashing lights.
Angels hitmaker Robbie, meanwhile, continues his successful solo career, having scored his 16th number one album in January with Britpop, surpassing The Beatles’ UK chart record.
Still, while relationships were once famously strained, he hasn’t ruled out another Take That reunion later down the line, saying at the start of the year: ‘I’m sure we will ride again.’