Bear with us heatworlders, we’re still hyperventilating from what was the most fabulous night out we’ve had in ages. Oh yes, we got very lucky last night. Why? Because we got to spend the evening with none other than Mr Gary Barlow. And Jason Donovan, Olly Murs and Lulu.

Gary was at the Royal Albert Hall for his first big solo gig in over a decade – and it was all in aid of the Princes Trust. And we must say, despite the nerves he must have been feeling about going up on stage without his trusty Take That boys - he absolutely stormed it.

Never one to put on a show half-heartedly, Gary hit the stage at around 8pm to a load of screaming fans – they were very happy to see him in a hot new blazer and waistcoat (and so were we). He looked fit. Of course it also helped that he kicked off his show by singing Greatest Day – and it wasn’t long before we were all punching the air during the chorus, all excited about what other fab tracks he might pull out. And pull them out he did – everything from a wound down version of Could It Be Magic, Everything Changes, A Million Love Songs and Back For Good.

We admit going totally tingly when Gaz kicked off singing his old solo material too. Who remembers Open Road? We certainly did (remember every single word that is) and he closed off a ballad medley containing Love Ain’t Here Anymore and Why Can’t I Wake Up With You with the superb Forever Love. Amazing.

And despite the fact the girls in the audience whooped and cheered at his every move, Gaz Baz remained as humble as always. Looking through all the banners in the crowd, he joked, “What does that one say? 'You k***head get off the stage'. That's not very nice."

Gary also made fun of his “seven years off” because his last solo album “was so successful” and even pulled out some gorgeous Ratpack classics like Under My Skin and Fly Me To The Moon, jokingly announcing, “This is from my new album, Sing When You’re Thinning,” while also stroking his bald patch.

We LOL'd at that but we thought we might cry laughing when Pray began to play and Gary actually did the entire dance routine on his own! His moves were flawless and we loved him even more for poking fun at himself. 

And then came the best bit of the evening - the special guest appearances. Gaz wasted no time in bringing out the incredible Lulu who nailed her Relight My Fire vocal while he got down on bended knee to thank her. And then the loveable Mr Olly Murs showed off his vocals by taking Mark Owen’s lead in Shine.

But our most favourite bit of the night was when Gary introduced the arrival of Jason Donovan and the two proceeded to bash out Too Many Broken Hearts. Our teenage self almost wet our pants – it was that great!

Finally, as Gary ended the evening with everyone singing along to Never Forget, we dashed off backstage to catch the man himself in his dressing room. We found him there enjoying a glass of white wine with Jason Donovan (yes we did want to collapse in a heap at the sight of this). Instead, we had a little natter with the pair of them – Jason was beaming and looked like he’d had the best night ever while Gary actually told us he'd just had the best night ever. “You know what I love? This venue - what a beautiful place to perform. I had such a special night," he grinned.

And of course we had to ask whether Gary would be bringing Take That here for their next set of shows. “You’re the second person to suggest that to me tonight,” he nodded. “A stripped down show here with Take That? I think I might just suggest that to the boys." YAY!

And with that we headed off into the cold night with lots of thoughts of what we’d like to do Gary. Mainly we’d like to give him a big hug and thank him for a fantastic night.

By the way, we've added a little fan video of the man himself doing Never Forget below, but we don't want to spoil it for you if you're going tonight (when there'll be another special guest). So watch it at your own will...

And if you're thinking of nabbing some last minute tickets for this evening's show, a few late production tickets are available here.