13 of Gary Barlow's greatest Crooner Sessions
Gary's performances brightened our days in lockdown
Last updated 29th Jul 2021
Back when we were in the depths of lockdown Gary Barlow found new ways to entertain us with The Crooner Sessions. For a whole year the Take That singer virtually teamed up with all sorts of other artists to brighten up our days.
From Brian May to JLS, Lulu to Howard Donald, which Crooner Sessions are actually the best? Here's some of our favourites.
Ronan Keating
We couldn't not include Gary's session with our very own Magic Breakfast presenter Ronan Keating. With a friendship going back decades, the two boyband heroes shared the screen to perform a special rendition of 'Baby Can I Hold You' and showcase to the world just how strong their bromance is!
Brian May
If we didn't know it already, Gary is one of the most connected and loved men in the music world meaning he can rope in just a fair few legends to take part in The Crooner Sessions; Good Friday saw the turn of Queen legend Brian May.
With Brian on guitar (obviously), the pair sang The Beatles song 'Get Back'. Even Howard Donald took to Instagram to comment: "It just gets better and better!"
JLS
After recently announcing a comeback, JLS were a perfect pairing with Gary. Ortise, Marvin, JB and Aston logged in from their respective homes and created some sort of pop supergroup. Gary said: "I've always loved these guys and no-one is happier than me that they're all back together"
Shane Filan
Gary Barlow and Shane Filan made millions of dreams come true when the Take That and Westlife stars finally got together for The Crooner sessions. Sat in his gorgeous home, Shane sang 'Right Here Waiting' with Gary.
Posting on his Instagram, Shane wrote: "Hope this makes ye all smile guys... Thank you to all the front line staff all around the world for looking after us all... Here's our WestTake on an absolute classic tune!"
Rick Astley
Two of Magic's favourite singers together at last, Gary and Rick Astley made for a fantastic Crooner Session. Having toured together, the pair formed an amazing bond and it shone through their digital duet.
While some of Gary's other Crooner Sessions have been covers for both the stars taking part, Gary Barlow performed Rick's 1987 hit 'Together Forever' alongside the man himself and it's a performance made in pop heaven!
Robbie Williams
Of course, the Take That members' duet had to make the list. Gary and Robbie Williams delighted fans as they streamed themselves from their homes and into the hearts of so many.
Gary and Robbie performed 'Shame', the first song they worked on together after Robbie left Take That in 1995. Commenting on the song, Gary said: "How is this song 10 years old?!".
Jason Manford
Over the past few years Jason Manford has proved himself to not only to be a great comedian but also an impressive singer with his appearances in musicals such as The Producers as well as him being a runner-up in the first series of The Masked Singer.
In this session the Magic at the Musicals 2021 co-host joined Gary for a rendition of Neil Diamond's 'Sweet Caroline' with some updated lyrics more appropriate for a song sung in 2020.
Claire Richards
This session had Steps' Claire Richards join Gary for their rendition of 'Shallow' from the most recent version of 'A Star is Born' which starred Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. Claire blew fans away with her brilliant vocals in this performance.
Fans on YouTube commented: 'Claire is INCREDIBLE - what a voice!' with another asking Gary to 'please do more duets with Claire!'
Leona Lewis
Leona Lewis joined Gary for a gorgeous mellowed rendition of Take That's 'Could it be Magic'. Fans were clearly impressed, one YouTube user commented: 'I can't believe how absolutely beautiful their voices sound together, they complement each other perfectly. Totally stunning', with another calling their harmonies 'buttery silky sweet ear candy'.
Beverley Knight
Gary was joined by the queen of Soul herself Beverley Knight for a rendition of 'Enough is Enough'. As well as being such a feel-good upbeat song Beverley performs a vocal masterclass as she even adlibs lines perfectly into the song "oh Mr. Barlow that was an adlib!"
Elaine Paige
Gary was joined by musical theatre royalty when Elaine Paige popped by for a duet. While we did expect the pair to belt out an Andrew Lloyd Webber classic we actually got something else - a bit of Fleetwood Mac in fact!
As well as sounding brilliant in their rendition of 'Don't Sop' the video is a joy to watch as you can see them having so much fun. Elaine even sets her eyes on social media stardom as she jokes 'I could be on TikTok!' - well Elaine, if Judi Dench can do it so can you!
Take That
For the penultimate session Gary was joined by his own bandmates Howard and Mark for a performance of a Take That classic which is of course, 'Never Forget'. When posting the video Gary said that it was 'always a good day when we get the band back together'.
Sir Elton John
After a year of videos, Gary ended the Crooner Sessions in March 2021 with a duet with the one and only Sir Elton John. At the start of the video Elton said: "I must have sang this song thousands and thousands of times - but I haven't done it many times as a duet - so thank you for asking me to fo this".
The pair's voices blend beautifully in this rendition of 'Your Song' which made a fitting ending to what has been a wonderful spark of joy in what has been quite a difficult time for many of us.
Scroll through Take That's greatest moments through the years
1989
Starting with a line-up of five young men, Take That consisted of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Mark Owen, Jason Orange and Robbie Williams, with the original (short lived) name of Kick It.
1991
Take That's original line-up of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Mark Owen, Jason Orange and Robbie Williams. Thankfully they changed their name and after a few unsuccessful songs in the early 90s Take That's breakthrough hit 'It Only Takes A Minute' was released. The song was a cover of a 1975 song by Taveres and reached number 7 in the charts.
1992
In 1992 Take That had hits with 'A Million Love Songs' and 'Could It Be Magic'. The boys' follow-up single 'Could It Be Magic' quickly propelled them to super-stardom with a string of number 1s not far away.
1993
Take That had huge success in 1993 with 'Pray', 'Relight My Fire' (featuring Lulu) and 'Babe'.
1994
The band's success continued in 1994 with 'Everything Changes' and 'Sure'. Here they are performing at The BRITs 1994.
1995
However, in July 1995 after countless hits, fans heard the devastating news; Robbie Williams would be leaving the band following friction with other band members. Robbie later admitted in a TV documentary in 2005, that he did some "stupid stuff" after parting ways with the band over 20 years ago, but said he didn't regret it because he was young.
1995
The remaining members of Take That continued to perform as a quartet.
1996
Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Mark Owen and Jason Orange performed at The BRITs in 1996. The remaining group of four continued to tour and release songs for another year, releasing 'Never Forget' and the Bee Gees cover 'How Deep Is Your Love', finally announcing they would be disbanding in February 1996. 'How Deep Is Your Love' became the band's final number 1 before they reformed 10 years later.
Late 90's
During the late 90s three of the band members, Gary Barlow, Mark Owen and Robbie Williams, enjoyed solo singing careers with varying degrees of success. Jason Orange went into acting and Howard Donald, despite being the lead singer on a number of Take That songs, made a name for himself as a club DJ across Europe.
2005
Skip nearly a decade and ITV reunited the group for a documentary called Take That: For the Record in which the former members of the boyband were interviewed, discussing how they were discovered and looking back at their experiences in the band.
2005
Following the successful reception of the documentary by fans and the press, the decision was made to reunite with the 'post Robbie' line-up and a 2006 tour titled the 'The Ultimate Tour' was announced. After a break of nearly 10 years, Take That members Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Mark Owen and Jason Orange reformed in 2005.
2006
Take That performed on The X Factor in 2006. In 2006 they had a Number 1 single with 'Patience'. Gone were the cheesy pop tunes of the 90s, Take That had grown up with their fans and the men, now in their 30s revealed a much more mature sound, with their 2006 comeback single 'Patience'. The song quickly hit the top spot in the UK and around Europe becoming the eighth best-selling single of 2006 spending a massive 11 weeks in the top 10.
2007
In 2007 Take That embarked on their 'Beautiful World' tour. Since their reunion as a four-piece, it was clear that they hadn't lost the momentum they had in the 90s with another string of hits including 'Shine', 'Rule the World' and 'Greatest Day'.
2009
After the release of fifth album 'The Circus' in December 2008, the boys headed out on their 'Take That Present: The Circus Live' tour to promote it - and what a spectacle it was! Tickets to the entire tour sold it in less than five hours, making it the fastest-selling tour in UK history.
2010
Robbie Williams made an unexpected return to the group in 2010, joining forces with Gary Barlow - the first time since 1995 - writing a song that would feature on both Take That and Robbie's albums. Then, later that year, the news that all Take That fans had been waiting for was confirmed, the original line-up would be reforming for the wildly successful album, 'Progress' and its live tour. Their lead single 'The Flood' was released and peaked at number 2 featuring both Gary and Robbie as lead vocals.
2011
Following the band's 'Progress Live' tour in 2011 they then decided to take a break.
2014
A couple of years later Take That reformed as a group to record their seventh studio album, but it was short-lived, in 2014 both Robbie and Jason decided to leave. Robbie had recently become a dad for the second time and saying he would find it difficult "logistically". The band continued as a trio made up of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen.
2017
Take That returned earlier this year with their new album 'Wonderland' and their single 'Giants' which peaked at number 13. 'Giants' was written by the remaining three members of Take That along with some co-writers and the lyric video can be seen below.
2019
After celebrating Take That's 30th anniversary in 2019, the band put out a Greatest Hits album called 'Odyssey', which featured song "re-imagined with new arrangements and production". It debuted at Number 1, and the group embarked on a huge UK tour in 2019.
May 2020
Take That reunited with former member Robbie Williams for a very special performance in May 2020 during the lockdown amid the global pandemic of Coronavirus, performing a 40-minute set.
June 2020
The band's musical film Greatest Day was confirmed in June 2020! Although it had been in the pipeline for a couple of years, things started to get in motion in the summer, which is based on the jukebox musical The Band, containing Take That songs.
November 2020
Gary released his fifth solo studio album on 27th November, 'Music Played By Humans', which debuted at Number 1 in the UK! It features singles 'Elita' featuring Michael Bublé and Sebastián Yatra, 'Incredible' and 'This Is My Time'. Other album tracks feature vocals from the likes of Beverley Knight, Alesha Dixon and James Corden among others.
2021
On 7th October 2021, Gary surprised fans with the announcement that he was launching his own wine company. He shared photos from his new company Gary Barlow Wines on his social media.
2021
In October 2021, Gary announced his first Christmas album 'The Dream Of Christmas' would come out on 26th November. The album includes new songs like 'How Christmas Is Supposed To Be' as well as Gary's take on some classic tunes.
'Sleigh Ride' and 'The Dream Of Christmas' were released on 28th October ahead of the album.
2022
In January 2022, Gary Barlow announced he would be putting on a theatre performance show called 'A Different Stage', with dates being added throughout the year.
2022: Take That attend the Cannes Film Festival
Howard Donald, Gary Barlow and Mark Owen attend the Cannes Film Festival in the south of France in support of Greatest Days, the musical movie inspired by Take That, featuring their songs.
2022: Mark Owen teases future plans
Mark told PA that he, Gary and Howard had been working remotely to make music for their ninth album, adding that a tour could follow suit: "We have been talking. We have got a movie coming out next year. And we have been talking obviously about a new record and when that will be and what kind of thing that will be.
"So those kinds of conversations are open and always a part of the background. It is always there in my head. I am always thinking."
2023: Take That performed at the Coronation Concert
Gary, Howard and Mark performed at Windsor Castle as part of the Coronation Concert on 7th May 2023. According to a press release, former members Robbie Williams and Jason Orange were offered the opportunity to reunite with the band for the occasion, however they did not appear during the concert.
Speaking about the performance, the current line-up of Take That said: "This will be our first live show since the 'Odyssey' Tour, four years ago in 2019, and what a stage to come back on. A huge live band and orchestra, a choir, military drummers, the backdrop of Windsor Castle and the celebration of a new King. We can't wait."
Taking to Twitter to share footage of their performance following the concert, Take That later assured fans that there will be more to come from the group. The band wrote: 'It was incredible to perform live together again for the first time in 4 years and there is so much more to come. We're back for good.'
2023: Take That documentary
On 14th June a Take That documentary called 30 Years in The Making was released on ITVX. The documentary is designed to accompany the musical film Greatest Days, which was in cinemas from 16th June.
2023: Take That announce tour and release ninth album
Take That released their ninth studio album called 'This Life' on 24th November. They have also announced a tour in support of the album for 2024.
2024: Take That release new single 'You and Me'
At the end of March 2024, Take That released a brand new single called 'You and Me' to celebrate their upcoming 'This Life on Tour' shows.
2024: Take That announce 'The Greatest Weekend' festival
Take That have announced a special four-day event called 'The Greatest Weekend', which will take place in Malta in October 2024. The event will include two performances from the band, in addition to appearances from special guests, a pool party and nightclub events.
Fellow artists on the line-up include Sugababes, Ella Henderson, Sam Ryder, Daniel Beddingfield and Heather Small, with more to be announced.
2024: Take That join Lulu on tour in Manchester
Surprising fans, Take That joined Lulu while she was on tour in Manchester, on her 'Champagne For Lulu' tour. They performed their 1993 hit 'Relight My Fire'.
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