Gary Barlow has revealed that he has been particularly struggling since Take That's The Circus Live tour drew to a close earlier this month. The 55-year-old singer-songwriter admitted that the end of the tour, which was a stadium-level reprisal of the band's original The Circus tour from 2009, had left him feeling like he'd 'fallen off a cliff'.
Emotional Instagram check-in
The musician took to Instagram on Monday night to check in with fans, also explaining that he had found it quite difficult to come on camera and talk about it. 'Hey everybody, GB here. I've been trying to make this video for a few weeks, and it's not been easy. I must say that this tour has thrown me slightly,' he began, talking to his followers.
He then revealed: 'Whenever we come off tour, it always feels a little bit of an anticlimax, the whole thing. But for some reason, I don't know whether it was just because it just felt so celebratory doing the circus again and it seems to have gone down so well, that it just feels like I've completely fallen off a cliff since the end of the shows.'
Post-tour blues explained
'So I've been meaning to make this video for a few weeks, but I finally have got round to it today. I forced myself to do it because I just want to check in on everyone and make sure everyone's okay with the post-tour blues,' Gary added. He then ruminated on the reasons why it might feel different this time.
'It's a really funny one. I don't know whether it's because as the years go by and the tours become more and more important to us – or to me anyway,' he said. 'I'm always sad at the end of a tour, and particularly this one. I just thought it was absolutely joyous, the whole thing, and I'm fully aware of how much everybody enjoyed it, and we did have our questions.'
Tour success and physical challenges
'However, we didn't need to worry about a thing because it all went great. Everybody survived. A great time was had, and we are able to move onwards with smiles on our faces and our hearts full of happiness. It was just brilliant,' Barlow stated. He had previously admitted he was 'pretty sure this tour won't return' right after it wrapped up at the start of the month, given it had 'been a whole other challenge doing it as a 55-year-old' and he 'just can't see a way I could physically do this show again'.
Despite the emotional toll, Gary was also thrilled with everything that had happened for him and Take That – also comprised of Mark Owen and Howard Donald – so far in 2026. 'What a wonderful year this has been so far, with Netflix in January and all the build-up to the first couple of releases from the new record, and then this circus tour,' he reflected.
Looking ahead to new music
'Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. Thank you everybody that joined us and we'll see you for the next instalment, which isn't far away now,' he said. He revealed that Take That has been busy 'getting our heads around finishing this album up' and look forward to playing new music for fans at the end of the year.
'From the best tour ever to not quite knowing what to say – sounds about right – however I'm starting to get my head around the rest of the year and can't wait for you all to hear what's coming next,' he captioned his post on social media.
