{"id":678015,"date":"2026-07-07T06:46:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T06:46:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/678015\/"},"modified":"2026-07-07T06:46:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T06:46:16","slug":"gary-barlow-admitting-his-age-related-challenges-on-tour-is-refreshingly-honest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/678015\/","title":{"rendered":"Gary Barlow admitting his age-related challenges on tour is refreshingly honest"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Gary Barlow<\/a>, 55, has admitted that he really struggled with Take That<\/a>\u2019s stadium tour, The Circus Live, which ended at the weekend after 17 shows in the UK and Ireland \u2013 so much so that he can\u2019t repeat it physically for a third time<\/a> due to \u201cage-related challenges\u201d.<\/p>\n

In an emotional statement on X, after the final show in Dublin on Saturday, the singer bravely wrote: \u201cI was 38 when we originally did this show, and I have to say it\u2019s been a whole other challenge doing it as a 55-year-old.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI just can\u2019t see a way I could physically do this show again,\u201d he continued honestly, while also mentioning it being the \u201cbest tour<\/a> ever\u201d, which is quite a feat 35 years into their career.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, it\u2019s with an extremely heavy heart that I leave The Circus in my past. I got to run away with The Circus twice.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"BarlowBarlow had worked incredibly hard to get in shape for the tour \u2013 as evidenced by Instagram posts showing his workout routines (Getty)<\/p>\n

For some, Barlow throwing in the towel is a sad admission of declining stamina \u2013 but for many others, it is extremely refreshing. Phew! Gary Barlow<\/a> is part of the human race like the rest of us \u2013 and isn’t afraid to admit to ageing and fragility.<\/p>\n

It must be excruciating pressure to perform like his former self when he first took the hit show on the road in 2009 \u2013 and for it not to feel like a nostalgia exercise. But he pulled it off \u2013 impressing fans with his dramatic fitness transformation ahead of the tour.<\/p>\n

Before the gruelling tour started in May, he posted photos to his Instagram of himself jogging on treadmills while wearing a VO2 max mask, which restricts the volume of air inhaled, forcing the diaphragm and intercostal muscles to work harder.<\/p>\n

\"BarlowBarlow announced on X that he is done touring Take That\u2019s Circus Live (@GaryBarlow\/X)<\/p>\n

The grey-bearded star also shared a shirtless photo of himself looking pained and serious during a workout, along with the caption: \u201cBig physical push now for me \u2013 excited to be doing this Circus show \u2013 but I was 38 when we did it last\u201d, along with the weary face emoji.<\/p>\n

Other posts show him measuring the strength of his leg muscles on a Biodex leg-extension machine. While getting the results of his spine lab assessment, he jokingly wrote: \u201cStill in one piece\u201d alongside several crying and laughing emojis. In another showing him getting his bloods taken, he wrote: \u201cNo pain, no gain.\u201d<\/p>\n

Can you imagine Madonna<\/a>, 67, doing this? Of course not \u2013 and that\u2019s the problem. Barlow is going against the grain, unlike Madonna<\/a>, who with new album Confessions II is straining to stay relevant, recently collaborating with younger star Sabrina Carpenter on the song \u201cBring Your Love\u201d. <\/p>\n

But apart from Madonna complaining<\/a> about a \u201cbad knee\u201d last week<\/a> to Interview magazine, Madonna strives to look and act as if ageing simply doesn\u2019t exist.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the same for so many ageing rockers. Mick Jagger, 82, said The Rolling Stones, who release a new album this week, are planning to head out on a stadium tour next year. Jagger was forced to undergo heart valve replacement surgery during the No Filter tour of 2019, but was soon back on stage as if nothing had happened to complete the tour. <\/p>\n

Paul McCartney, 84, completed his epic Got Back Tour in 2025. Earlier this year, Bruce Springsteen, 76, and his E Street Band completed the 20-date Land of Hope and Dreams American Tour. Elton John\u2019s record-breaking Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour, spanning five years and 330 shows, officially ended in 2023 when he was 76. <\/p>\n

\"ForeverForever young? Madonna gives a surprise performance in Times Square, New York, last month (Reuters)<\/p>\n

Barry Manilow played his last London concert at the O2 Arena last month as part of a farewell tour \u2013 the performance coincided with his 83rd birthday. There are rumours Cher might tour again \u2013 her last one ended in 2020, when she was 74.<\/p>\n

As a society, we understand that celebrities pretend that they don\u2019t age \u2013 and pretend to breeze through stadium tours \u2013 setting an impossible bar for the rest of us, when ageing is a natural process.<\/p>\n

From 50 onwards, we lose 1 per cent of our muscle mass annually, and our strength deteriorates at nearly double that rate. Bones lose density \u2013 raising the risk of osteoporosis. Although resistance training with weights and a high protein intake are the most effective ways to slow or reverse this loss, it can\u2019t give you back that youthful get up and go.<\/p>\n

Your heart rate variability drops as you age, indicating that your nervous system is struggling to recover from stress. Likewise, your vascular health takes a nosedive: blood vessels and arteries stiffen, so that it takes far longer for your blood pressure to stabilise and for your heart rate to recover after physical exertion. <\/p>\n

While it\u2019s wonderful not to see many of these ageing musicians marching on the spot or doing seated knee extensions like some others in their age bracket \u2013 and who wouldn\u2019t prefer to be on a world tour than in a care home \u2013 it\u2019s the lack of transparency about how hard it is that is the issue. <\/p>\n

\"MickMick Jagger, 82, is planning another tour with The Rolling Stones (Getty)<\/p>\n

This incessant narrative that celebrities are eternally young \u2013 just like actors Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt present themselves \u2013 is damaging. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s why Gary Barlow has done us a huge favour. Considering he battled with an eating disorder in the 1990s \u2013 driven by his solo career bombing and his jealousy at former bandmate Robbie Williams\u2019 success \u2013 it makes his candid honesty about bowing out of future Take That<\/a> tours even more admirable because he is showing self-acceptance \u2013 something he clearly struggled with in his past with bulimia.<\/p>\n

Yes, we can appreciate the years he gave us \u2013 but sometimes, we do want our heroes to be a little bit more like us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":678016,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[96,128,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-678015","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-entertainment","tag-music","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/678015","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=678015"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/678015\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/678016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=678015"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=678015"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=678015"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}