Take That fans crash ticket sites

Take That and Robbie WilliamsThe group announced an initial run of 13 UK dates

Ticket websites have crashed as fans rush to buy tickets to see Take That and Robbie Williams perform together for the first time in 16 years.

Tickets for the reformed group’s UK stadium dates went on sale at 0900 BST.

But sites including Ticketmaster, See Tickets, Ticketline and The Ticket Factory all buckled under the strain.

Police have warned fans not to buy from unofficial agencies, whom they said may not fulfil orders and may use personal details in identity theft.

Hundreds of fans have also been queuing at venue box offices and trying to get through to phone hotlines.

A Take That spokesperson urged fans to keep trying.

“Due to totally unprecedented demand this morning, all ticket agents have struggled to cope with the number of people logging on to try and buy Take That tickets,” a statement said.

“The technology available has not been able to keep up with demand. However all ticket agents are confident they will be able to process all enquiries so are asking fans to keep trying.”

“Why do sites not prepare for mornings like this?”

Ailbhe Maher Take That fan, via Twitter

The group have announced initial dates in Sunderland, Manchester, Cardiff, Dublin, Glasgow, Birmingham and London in May, June and July. They will also take the show across Europe.

The Ticket Factory website returned an error message saying there were “too many concurrent users”, while Ticketmaster.co.uk said: “Service Unavailable.”

Meanwhile, hundreds of tickets appeared on eBay and other secondary websites at inflated prices.

Fans took to Twitter to vent their anger at the difficulties getting onto official ticket sites.

“Why do sites not prepare for mornings like this?” wrote Ailbhe Maher. “So annoying! Still no tickets. How long do you keep trying?”

Another fan, Ellen Hawksworth, wrote: “Two computers, a phone and still no luck.

“Annoys me that people are selling them on eBay when people who want to go can’t get them.”

The official agencies are Gigs and Tours, The Ticket Factory, Ticketline and Ticketmaster. Gigs In Scotland is selling tickets for Hampden Park in Glasgow, Event Travel is offering hotal packages and Mark Butler is selling VIP tickets.

The band’s last UK tour – without Williams – was seen by a record-breaking one million people in 2009.

Williams rejoined the group this summer. Their new album, Progress, will be released next month.

Robbie Williams and Gary BarlowRobbie Williams and Gary Barlow recently sang together at the Help For Heroes concert

Earlier this week, Williams said the gigs would include a mixture of his solo material and the band’s hits.

“There’s going to be a bit for everybody,” he told a press conference in London.

“I’m going to be doing a bit, the lads are going to be doing a bit, then we’re all going to be doing a bit.”

Gary Barlow added: “Some fans might be coming just to see Rob, some fans might be coming to see the four of us, some fans will be coming to see the five of us.

“On this night, they’ll get to see us all doing our individual bits.”

Last summer Barlow, Mark Owen, Jason Orange and Howard Donald performed 20 stadium concerts.

Their Circus tour was named the biggest ever staged in the UK and Ireland, beating tours by U2 and Michael Jackson.

Williams has also been one of the country’s most popular live acts since leaving the group in 1995.

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