Plan B Forum

They arrived in their thousands, leaving their husbands and children at home and ready to relive their teenage past.

But the excitement of seeing their idols in concert proved too much for hordes of Take That fans of a certain age.

More than 100 women were admitted to hospital after marathon drinking sessions and alcohol-fuelled brawls before the one-time boy band took to the stage.

The fans' antics led to them being branded worse than drunken football hooligans.

But they did win praise from Take That singer Robbie Williams, who is now teetotal following a long battle with drink and drugs.

'We used to have the record for the number of girls fainting,' the 37-year-old told the crowd at their concert in Cardiff on Wednesday night.

'Now we have the record for the most middle-aged boozed-up women. I, Robbie Williams, am proud of you.'

Earlier, hospital staff in Manchester had said they had been inundated with drunken women from the Take That concerts at the City of Manchester stadium, which ended on Sunday.

And the middle-aged women carried on with their binge at the group's latest show in Cardiff's Millennium Stadium.

Fans sprawled out in the streets after all-day drinking sessions before the sell-out 64,000 capacity show. Some had to be carried home by patient partners, while others were so drunk they could not even walk home.

One steward said: 'This lot are worse than the rugby fans we get here. They've been boozing for ages and are hammered.'

A spokesman for the Millennium Stadium said a handful of fans were ejected for 'misbehaviour' but that the majority were well-behaved.




Singer Gary Barlow, 40, also joined in the jokes, making reference to the fact that both Williams and bandmate Mark Owen have fought alcohol addiction.

He handed out glasses of red wine on stage for himself, Howard Donald and Jason Orange – but laughed as he said: 'It's milk for Robbie and Mark.'

In Manchester, the level of drinking led to a spike in numbers attending the A&E department at Manchester Royal Infirmary.

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South Wales has received a welcome cash injection from the sell-out Take That concerts at the Millennium Stadium, business leaders have said.

Tens of thousands of pounds were splashed in pubs, shops, hotels and restaurants across the city as fans spoke of one of the “greatest nights” of their lives.

Police said the atmosphere had been “party-like” with plenty of drinking but minimal instances of crime.

Graham Morgan, director of the South Wales Chamber of Commerce, said the area would reap both short and long-term benefits from this week’s concerts, the second of which was last night.

He said: “These events, and this one in particular, have a very positive short-term impact, with lots of people in Cardiff feeling good about the experience and spending money in the shops, restaurants and so on, especially mid-week when things are traditionally quieter.

“But there is also a long-term impact: there will be people visiting Cardiff for the first time who will enjoy the experience so much they will want to come back for longer stays in the future.”

Steven Madeley, director of Cardiff’s St David’s shopping centre, said: “We have certainly enjoyed a marked uplift in the number of visitors enjoying St David’s, with an increase in footfall over the last few days.

“Our retailers are of course benefiting from the huge number of visitors to the city and our restaurants have been full to capacity.”

In Manchester, drink-fuelled fans caused a major headache for police and hospital staff following the concerts, flooding A&E departments across the city.

But South Wales Police Inspector Tony Bishop, who oversees policing in Cardiff city centre, said the atmosphere in the Welsh capital had been fantastic.

He said: “There were no issues for the police whatsoever. The crime figures show there were no issues overnight. Robbie Williams even commented on stage about how great the atmosphere had been. The road closures helped to build a party atmosphere from quite early on and we had a lot of really positive feedback.”

A spokeswoman for Cardiff and Vale University Health Board said they had experienced a “normal” night and had no evidence of a spike in demand because of the concert.

Sarah Lewis, 22, from Caerphilly, said: “The show was amazing. I loved every minute of it.



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Sue U wrote:???

I must have missed this lot entirely. Did they ever chart in the U.S.?

Sean wrote:
*makes up bed on couch*