Take That tour met with 'huge demand'

Take That's UK tour has had twice as much demand for tickets as Michael Jackson's 'This Is It' shows, it has been claimed.

Tickets for the concerts, the band's first set of live shows as a five-piece in 16 years, have been under huge demand since going on sale at 9am this morning.

A statement on Ticketmaster said that the online retailer was struggling to meet the demand for tickets online and via telephone.

It said: "The knock-on effect is also creating problems for the UK telephone network - it's been confirmed that it's also straining to cope and that call volume is at least twice that of the Michael Jackson sales last March".

It is said that tickets for some shows are still available, but that fans are unable to complete their transactions due to the website crashing.

Stacey Lowe wrote on the site's Facebook page: "dnt get it....I WANT 2 BUY THESE TICKETS!!!!!!!!!!! I DNT CARE IF ITS OVER £300!!!!! dnt let me down las min..n crash whe payments being processeed....wana scream that stressed."

Shane Knight added: "errr 4hours now, got website and booked four tickets then website crashed."

Pairs of tickets have since appeared on eBay, with starting prices between £200 and £1000.

Take That recently announced a further three dates for the mammoth tour, in Sunderland on May 31, Glasgow on June 24 and Birmingham on June 28.