Gary Barlow enjoys a ‘Night At The Museum’

When the nation is in the mood to celebrate or needs a lift, Gary Barlow OBE appears to be the go-to man.

Back in 2010, it was announced that the Queen had asked the Frodsham-born singer-songwriter to organise her Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 2012.

Of course, Barlow agreed and went on to perform the official jubilee single Sing, alongside Andrew Lloyd Webber and his Commonwealth Band outside Buckingham Palace.

As well as having written 14 No.1 singles (10 with Take That, three solo, and Candy with Robbie Williams) Barlow has also appeared as a judge on The X Factor and fronted BBC One talent show Let It Shine. More recently, he’s worked on Calendar Girls The Musical and a big screen version of Take That musical The Band.

Earlier this year, Gary received global recognition for his The Crooner Sessions series which featured the singer performing online alongside other artists.

During the project, he said: “We can’t go on stages or into theatres. Maybe this is our new stage.”

Now, with the nation gearing up for Christmas, and with some optimism in the air that vaccines could bring about a level of normality in the near future, ITV has commissioned this one-off music special.

Held in the splendid setting of London’s iconic Natural History Museum, Gary Barlow’s Night At The Museum promises to be a truly spectacular event.

It will see the award-winning singer songwriter, accompanied by an orchestra, performing new music from his latest LP Music Played By Humans, as well as some of his greatest hits from his Take That and solo back catalogues.

Gary will be joined through the night by a host of special guests including global superstar and friend Michael Bublé, who sang on the recent single, Elita.

The Canadian superstar was meant to be on an extended tour of the UK in 2020, but the pandemic led to all his dates being postponed until July 2021.

Among the other guests on Music Played By Humans were Sebastián Yatra, Alesha Dixon and Beverley Knight, and they will all be cropping up in this concert, as will Jack Whitehall, Alfie Boe, Rick Astley, Jason Donovan and Ronan Keating.

Although there is unlikely to be much of a live crowd, ITV viewers will have a front-row seat at this exclusive music event.

And Barlow ‘Sure’ can’t wait to do his bit lifting the nation’s spirits in what has been a difficult year for everyone.

“I am so excited to host this music special,” he says. “During a tumultuous time for the whole country, it feels amazing to be able to put on a proper night of entertainment at one of the most exciting locations in London and featuring some amazing guests and musicians.

“It’s going to be a very special evening and even though we are staying inside at the moment, let’s get our glad rags on and make believe we’re heading out for the night.”

With the release of his album last month, Gary is back ‘Rule the World’ again and it will surely only be a matter of time before one of the nation’s most successful singer-songwriters is knighted for his services to the entertainment industry and charity.

The singer turns 50 next month, and surely it is only right that Her Majesty ‘Never Forgets’ to repay the man who helped organise her jubilee celebrations and makes him a Sir.

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