GB40

GB40
Concert by Gary Barlow
Date(s) 20 January 2011

GB40 was the first concert played by British singer-songwriter Gary Barlow as a solo artist in over 11 years and was held at the Shepherd's Bush Empire.[1] The concert was organised by Barlow to celebrate his 40th birthday and his 20 years in the music industry with all money going to The Prince's Trust charity.[2]

Set list

  1. "Greatest Day"
  2. "Reach Out"
  3. "Open Road"
  4. "A Million Love Songs"
  5. "Like I Never Loved You At All" with. Ellie Goulding
  6. "The Flood"
  7. "Eight Letters"/"Vienna" with. Midge Ure
  8. "Medley (incl. I'd Wait for Life, The Circus, Love Ain't Here Anymore, Why Can't I Wake Up With You)"
  9. "Forever Love"
  10. "Sunday to Saturday"
  11. "Wondering"
  12. "This Time"
  13. "Nobody Else"
  14. "Back for Good" with. Chris Martin
  15. "Pray"
  16. "Said It All" with, Take That
  17. "Shine" with, Take That
  18. "Patience"
  19. "Never Forget"
  20. "Rule the World"

Encore tracks didn't make it to the BBC Radio 2 broadcast

  1. "Cuddly Toy"

Background

In attendance were Barlow's family and friends such as James Corden, Kimberly Walsh, Alesha Dixon, Alex Jones, Chris Evans, Gwyneth Paltrow, Fearne Cotton, David Walliams, Peter Kay and Lulu along with 1700 fans who obtained their tickets through a lottery system or an auction with all the money going to charity. Throughout the evening Barlow received recorded birthday messages from a number people such as Chris Moyles, Peter Kay, Elton John, Howard Donald, Jason Orange, Mark Owen and Robbie Williams all wishing him the best.

Reception

The performance was received extremely well, with Gordon Smart of The Sun commenting that "the star belted out hits old and new and, although he didn't need the help [from the guest appearances who joined him] on stage [they helped] to make his night – staged for charity – even more special." Smart concluded stating Barlow "ended with a brilliant encore, singing Patience, Never Forget and Rule The World. [Barlow] said: Earlier on I was wondering how I could slow the evening down because I was enjoying it so much. Gary might not have wanted it to end – and neither did anyone else."[3]

References

  1. ↑ "GB40 - Take That Official Site". Takethat.com. Retrieved 2014-06-07.
  2. ↑ "Take That's Gary Barlow Celebrates 40th Birthday In Style". Gigwise. 2011-01-21. Retrieved 2014-06-07.
  3. ↑ "Caught live: Gary Barlow @ Shepherd’s Bush Empire | The Sun |Showbiz|Music". The Sun. 2011-01-21. Retrieved 2014-06-07.