Take That win all hearts in Croker spectacle

TAKE THAT brought their special brand of stadium spectacle to Croke Park at the weekend.

There was no compliment too great for the collective audience that turned up to see them. Last night a crowd of 78,000 were in attendance to go with the 82,000 sell-out on Saturday night.

Each member took their turn to dish out the flattery.

For Howard Donald the Irish audiences put the English and Welsh "to shame". Mark Owen led the crowd in a rendition of The Fields of Athenry, while Robbie Williams went for U2's Still Haven't Found What I Am Looking For.

“What a crowd, what a weekend,” exclaimed Gary Barlow. These English boys know their way to an Irish woman’s heart. “Ireland you’ve really got me,” said Williams who appeared moist-eyed, or was it sweat?, during his solo interval. He chided one fan who had a face “like a smacked arse” and who seemed to resent his presence. “If Gary Barlow can forgive me, you can,” he said referring to the long feud, now resolved, between the two alpha males in the band.

He reiterated his promise, first made in 2006 after what he believed was a sub-standard show, to come back and play a free concert in Ireland “and I’ll even pay for it myself”.

Despite being surrounded by stadium-fillers in their own right, a slightly croaked Williams was the star of the night abseiling down the big screen in front of the audience to sing Let Me Entertain You.

Take That once again brought a cast of hundreds on stage and it included human centipedes, bees, acrobats, abseilers and roller-bladers all watched over by Om, the robot, which stood as high as the stands at Croke Park.

Despite a tweet that suggested Croke Park “would resemble the chocolate river out of Willy Wonka when that rain hits the fake tan brigade” the rain held off for both concerts, except for a torrential downpour during the Pet Shop Boys set on Saturday night.

As hotels and pubs enjoyed a bumper weekend, Williams told the crowd that their drinking would put the “English to shame” – a reference to the reports of drunk women clogging up accident and emergency departments after the concerts in the UK.

There was no similar reports in Dublin with gardaí reporting that mná na hÉireann were on their best behaviour for the weekend.