Going Gaga for Gazza

Gary Barlow smiling with short blonde/brown hair, wearing a blue and white jacket. He is stood waving as he is about to get into his blue car. 

My mum loves Gary Barlow, so when we heard he was doing a show at the Lowry Theatre Manchester, I got her tickets for Christmas and we booked a hotel for the night.

Premier Inn Salford Quays was perhaps the best hotel I've been to this year. As the trains were on strike, my mum drove us there, only taking one wrong turn (Manchester roundabouts need better signage).

At the hotel, the automatic doors open into the reception, where a helpful member of staff held the push door for us. This opens into reception, which was quite small and had a tall sign placed in the middle of the area. We checked in and headed to the ground floor room. I don't know if they have a lift. Once again, the staff members held the heavy doors. At every Premier Inn that I’ve been to, I have to watch out for the sharp, black shelf that is hard to see in the dim lighting. It’s at wheelchair user shoulder height and is just outside the bathroom. Other than the shelf and lighting, the room was great! It had lots of space to move and turn. The bed was a good height and so comfy!

The bathroom was good too. It had a wide sliding door that opened into a large space. On the right wall, as you go in, was a big sink with easy to flip tap handles and an easy to reach soap dispenser. The only thing was, it was white on a white wall/sink area, making it hard to see, but, to be honest, I was just glad to be able to reach it independently. On the wall next to the toilet, were a few bars to aid balance. I think they were dark, but can't be sure. The toilet also had a bar to grab on the other side, which was ideal. The other side of the bathroom was given to an open plan shower.

After checking out the room, we headed to dinner. We walked Along the canals to the Alchemist restaurant, having pre-booked a table, knowing it'd likely be busy. The restaurant had a ramp to get in. Inside, the tables were well spaced out. The staff were friendly too and the food was delicious! I had duck spring rolls and a vegetarian curry. We were too full for dessert, so with just over an hour to go, we headed to The Lowry Theatre.

It’s also a museum and art gallery dedicated to the artist. I once did a touch tour there with an old friend. Despite us being early, it was packed! Our first stop was to the toilet. Although it had a bar to hold onto, it wasn’t great. The decor, floor and facilities were all white, making things hard to distinguish.

Going from the bathroom, around the foyer, to the theatre shop wasn't great for anyone who's unsteady on their feet as it was full of bumps and mini hills. At the shop, there was an hidden step that I didn't see and my mum nearly tripped down.

The shop itself was small with twisty aisles, but nice things. We had a quick glance at Gary’s merchandise, but after hearing a t-shirt cost £30 and the programme £20, we quickly moved on. The woman trying to sell them peeked over the tower of books and looked apologetic as she told people the prices.

Gary Barlow ought to realise that there is a cost of living crisis on and people are choosing between whether to eat or heat. He would've sold a lot more for a lot less.

The Lowry Theatre is a very small and intimate theatre. The only thing I wasn’t keen on was the entire auditorium was on a slope, which made me feel like I was going to fall out of my chair. I think we were on the end of row F, so we were quite close to the stage.

Gary Barlow's stage was very organised: whenever he used a prop, he put it back, presumably ready for the next night. The props weren't fancy, so made you focus on Gary.

Stage showing boxes stacked around with microphones, a white light from above, the carpet where the audience are sat is purple as well as the seats. 

 I wasn't to sure what to expect from the show, Gary Barlow: a different stage, so was pleasantly surprised.

Gary Barlow spoke about his life, literally from day 1 in 1971, when his mum had wanted a girl, but out popped Gary, and all of the ups and downs since.

He told his story with good humour, graceful humility that showed off his down to earth manner. It got emotional when Gary spoke about how different life events influenced many of his songs, particularly when he and his wife, Dawn, lost their baby daughter, Poppy. The trauma inspired him to write the song, 'Let me go'. As a writer, I too find poetry writing helps.

As my mum just loves Gary, I persuaded her to see if we could get a glimpse of him at the stage door. There was a crowd, so we headed over. Everyone was behind metal barriers, but as the wheelchair wouldn't fit, myself and another wheelchair user were permitted to wait on the road.

The whoops and cheers rose as Gary Barlow emerged! He talked to some fans, waved at us. I, of course, couldn't see him, so, was just sat there, shouting, 'Gary! Gary!' not knowing if my words had any impact. But, they did. My mum later described to me the photos she took of Gary waving and smiling right at us.

The only thing that did annoy me, was, when my mum took the photos, she unknowingly stood in front of the other wheelchair user, who asked asked my mum to please move as her two friends watched. If that had been me, I’d have been furious.

Overall, it was a great night.

On the way back to the hotel, my mum said, about going to the stage door, ‘thank you for making me do that, Faye.'

This both made me laugh and feel happy. I am so so glad she enjoyed it, my mum does so much for others, me especially, she deserved something nice.

Faye with red/brown hair wearing glasses and a mask with her head next to her mums. Mandy is smiling with glasses and blonde/brown hair. In the background are the theatre seats and other audience members. 

A week later, the GP sent me up to A & E. After waiting about 5 or 6 hours to be seen by a doctor, I was bored and the creepy, action packed psychological thriller I’d been listening to wasn’t helping my anxiety (nor did the hospital setting). I said to my mum, 'this time last week we were watching Gary Barlow.' Remembering a song he played, I asked her to find the songs, 'patient’ to play to the patients.

A few people laughed as we warbled along. When I was called in for an ECG, my mum put on "Rule the World" and it did calm me down. At the 7th hour, we left singing, ‘Let me go', proving that there really is a song for every occasion!