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'I have followed Take That for more than 30 years'
Image source, Melanie ParkerImage caption,
Take That fan Melanie Parker, right, is back in Southampton for the start of the band's tour after travelling from New York
ByClaire Vera, BBC Radio Solent and Stuart Rust, South of England
Published
29 May 2026
A woman who first saw Take That play a school gym in 1992 will be in the crowd when the band kick off their new Circus tour.
Melanie Parker was 12 when she watched the band at Bay House School in Gosport for just £7.
More than 30 years on, she is back on the south coast after moving to New York and will be among thousands at St Mary's Stadium in Southampton this weekend.
Meanwhile, a Gosport couple who got engaged at a Gary Barlow concert are planning to catch the tour later in the summer - despite missing opening night because of the bride-to-be's hen do.
Image source, Melanie ParkerImage caption,
Melanie, pictured here with Mark Owen, has been watching Take That since she saw them play a school gym in Gosport in 1992
Melanie was 12 years old when she saw the band perform an intimate gig at Bay House School.
The show was small enough that fans got to meet the band afterwards.
"That night cemented my obsession," she said. "I sort of heard of them and liked their songs, but yeah, that night did it."
Image source, Melanie ParkerImage caption,
Melanie still has her £7 ticket from the 1992 Bay House School gig
Melanie, who moved to New York in 2024, flew back to the south coast for a family wedding and is staying on for Friday's show.
She saw the original Circus tour at Wembley Stadium
"It's very special," she said. "There's a lot going on. There's always something to see - it really is not to be missed."
Image source, Zoey HallImage caption,
Zoey Hall and Matthew White got engaged at a Gary Barlow concert in Bournemouth in 2018
Also excited about the band's return are Zoey Hall and Matthew White from Gosport.
Matthew proposed to Zoey at a Gary Barlow concert at the BIC in Bournemouth in 2018.
He hid a ring in his sock for most of the evening before getting down on one knee as her favourite song played.
"It was my dream proposal," said Zoey. "But I didn't think he was ever going to do it like that."
The pair met while working at a McDonald's in Fareham around 12 years ago and are getting married on 27 June - with a wedding to match their devotion to the band.
Zoey will walk down the aisle to Rule the World, the first dance will be to a Gary Barlow song and every table is named after a Take That track.
Matthew said: "I haven't had much say in the table names, let's just put it at that."
Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption,
Take That's original Circus Live tour in 2009 was seen by more than a million fans across the UK and Ireland
The reason they are missing opening night is that Zoey's hen do is in Cardiff this weekend.
The couple will instead catch the tour in Coventry and Cardiff later in the summer
For Zoey, the concert will feel like a full circle moment, as her very first Take That show was the original Circus tour back in 2009.
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