Take That

The premiere U.K. teen pop sensations of the early 1990s, Take That have evolved into a band with enduring, cross-generational appeal. Conceived as the British answer to New Kids on the Block, Take That initially worked the same territory as their American counterparts, merging new jack R&B influences, urban soul, and mainstream pop on albums like their first chart-topper, 1993′s Everything Changes. Selling more records at the time than any English act since the Beatles, they eventually worked their way toward Hi-NRG dance music, while also pursuing an adult contemporary following through Gary Barlow’s sensitive melodic ballads. After disbanding in 1996 at a time when music tastes in Britain were shifting toward the classic guitar pop sounds of Brit-pop bands like Blur and Oasis, they ultimately returned to the top of the U.K. charts as thirtysomethings with a comeback led by 2006′s Beautiful World. In 2014, they had their sixth straight number one studio album with III, so named because it found the original quintet reduced to a trio. Take That entered their fourth decade of stardom with 2023′s This Life, their ninth studio LP. Gary Barlow (born January 20, 1971) was always the central figure of Take That, serving as both lead vocalist and chief songwriter. Barlow had spent his childhood focused on music, and by the age of 14, he was playing organ in Ken Dodd’s supporting band. One of Barlow’s first songs, “Let’s Pray for Christmas,” was a finalist in an original Christmas song competition on the BBC TV show Pebble Mill. In his late teens, he came in contact with Mark Owen (born January 27, 1974) and Robbie Williams (born February 13, 1974), two other young musicians who came from middle-class backgrounds. Williams’ father was a comedian and his mother was a singer; before the formation of Take That, he had briefly appeared in the British soap opera Brookside. Meanwhile, Owen had previously tried out for the football team Manchester United but didn’t make the cut. The trio formed the Cutest Rush, which had a short-lived career. Record producer/manager Nigel Martin Smith had the intention of putting together a British pop group in the vein of New Kids on the Block, and approached the members of the Cutest Rush. Barlow, Owen, and Williams agreed, and along with Jason Orange (born July 10, 1970) and Howard Donald (born April 28, 1968) — two former members of a breakdancing troupe called Street Beat — they became Take That in 1990. After a few brief tours through gay English nightclubs, Take That released their debut single, “Do What U Like,” on their independent Dance U.K. label in July of 1991. “Do What U Like” became a minor sensation, primarily because the video was quite suggestive and featured the band’s bare behinds. The single caused enough of an uproar that RCA Records noticed and signed the group in the second half of 1991, and their first single for the label, “Promises,” scraped the Top 40 by the end of the year. In early 1992, Take That underwent a Safe Sex club tour to support their third single, “Once You’ve Tasted Love,” but the record stalled at number 47. The band didn’t break into the big time until mid-year, when their cover of Tavares’ “It Only Takes a Minute” reached number seven. Following the single’s success, Take That became a British media sensation, thus setting the stage for the group’s debut, Take That & Party, to land a chart position at number five upon its release in August. Within a month, the single “A Million Love Songs” reached the Top Ten. At the end of the year, the group took home no less than seven awards at the Smash Hits Awards, and the debut continued to climb the charts, peaking at number two. Early in 1993, the group’s number three cover of Barry Manilow’s “Could It Be Magic” won a Brit Award for Best British single; shortly afterward, “Why Can’t I Wake Up with You” reached number two. Despite their massive success in Britain, the American release of Take That’s debut in early 1993 went virtually unnoticed, even though it was supported with a marketing campaign that placed the band on cereal boxes. Their lack of American success went unnoticed, however, when “Pray,” the first single from their forthcoming second album, entered the charts at number one. Later that year, “Relight My Fire,” which featured a cameo from Lulu, reached number one. Everything Changes, the band’s second album, entered the charts at number one upon its October release. Throughout the end of 1993 and into 1994, Everything Changes yielded hit singles, with the majority of the tracks making their way to number one. Though it was a huge success in the U.K., Canada, and Europe, the album was never released in the United States. As Take That were preparing their third album, Britain’s musical tastes were beginning to change, shifting away from the group’s trademarked lightweight dance-pop and toward classic British guitar pop. Blur, Oasis, and Pulp became serious contenders for the popularity of Take That, who didn’t ignore the threat — they just responded to it in different ways. Gary Barlow plowed ahead with Take That, and the first single from the forthcoming third album, “Back for Good,” was more substantive than any of their previous singles and earned them good reviews from all quarters of the press. However, the single suggested that Barlow was beginning to distance himself from the band — and he wasn’t the only member to act in such a manner. In particular, Robbie Williams was becoming known as the “wild” member, and was alienating himself from the rest of the group. Nobody Else, the band’s third album, was a number one hit upon its spring release, yet Williams was noticeably quiet on the record. Williams began tagging along after Oasis, who were notorious for their drug and alcohol intake. He became the target of a number of tabloid reports about his bad behavior, and began revealing to the weekly music press that he was working on solo material, so it didn’t really come as a surprise when he left the Take That in July of 1995, announcing that he was working on a solo album. Following his departure, Take That immediately removed his name and likeness from all promotional and commercial material; his face didn’t even appear on the cover of the American release of Nobody Else. Williams wasn’t the only member of the group feeling the pinch of the Brit-pop revolution. Since all the members of Take That were young men in their mid-twenties, searching for their own identities and wanting to retain credibility, they were beginning to feel uncomfortable with the shiny, polished pop that their group had trademarked — all of the members, that is, except Gary Barlow, who had decided that he was the heir to the throne Elton John and George Michael once held. As the group was unraveling, “Back for Good” was taking off on American radio, getting heavy airplay on adult contemporary and Top 40 radio stations, as well as MTV, which helped set the stage for the solo career that Barlow was clearly planning. It didn’t come as a surprise to many when Take That announced they had broken up on February 13, 1996. Following the press release, the group delivered a greatest-hits collection, with their final single, a cover of the Bee Gees’ “How Deep Is Your Love?,” entering the charts at number one. Barlow began working with a batch of professional songwriters, including Diane Warren, and released a single in July that showcased a more mature side of the singer. It initially stalled at number two, being kept out of the pole position by Spice Girls, a dance-pop group that was touted as the female Take That. Mark Owen, for his part, began working on a solo album that was heavily influenced by Paul Weller and Radiohead. Orange and Donald declined to start solo careers. As for Williams, he released his first solo single in July of 1996, and despite his initial remarks, it didn’t sound a thing like Oasis. Rather, it was a cover of George Michael’s “Freedom 90” that quickly fell off the charts. Williams soon recovered, though, and his accompanying 1997 solo album, Life Thru a Lens, became a chart-topping hit in Britain. A year later, he released the equally successful I've Been Expecting You. Despite his superstar status in the U.K., numerous efforts to break his career in the States (beginning with the 1999 U.S.-only compilation The Ego Has Landed) failed to grab American audiences. Nonetheless, Williams remained a hugely popular performer in Europe, releasing chart-topping album after chart-topping album. In 2005, the Take That compilation Never Forget: The Ultimate Collection, which also featured the previously unrecorded Barlow composition “Today I’ve Lost You,” was released to fairly respectable chart success. A television documentary and reunion tour (minus Williams) followed and helped whet audience appetites for future Take That projects. In 2006, Take That released Beautiful World, their fourth studio effort and first full-length album of new material since disbanding in 1996. With the band newly signed to Polydor, the album showcased an updated, mature approach but retained enough of Take That’s signature sound to appeal to longtime fans. Beautiful World sold extremely well, moving millions of copies worldwide and eventually going nine times platinum in the U.K. The band also garnered a Brit Award for Best British Single for the song “Patience,” and Take That’s career resurgence continued with the release of The Circus two years later. That album’s leadoff track, “The Greatest Day,” quickly shot to number one on the U.K. singles chart, and the album sold over 133,000 copies in Britain during its first day of release. The Circus also generated a successful live spin-off in the December 2009 set The Greatest Day - Take That Present: The Circus Live. Robbie Williams unexpectedly returned to the Take That fold in 2010, his presence dominating the acclaimed and successful reunion album Progress. Take That supported the record — which sold 235,000 copies on the first day of its U.K. release — with a major tour. On the completion of the European leg of the album tour in 2011, Take That went on hiatus, with Barlow returning to judge on the U.K. X-Factor and Williams returning to his solo material. The following year, the band accepted the Ivor Novello award for their Outstanding Contribution to British Music, while also taking the stage for the closing ceremony of the London Olympics. Work began on their seventh studio album in 2013, and it was later announced in 2014 that Williams would not be rejoining them; months later, Jason Orange had also decided to leave the band. The remaining three members entered the studio together and recorded III, which appeared in November of 2014 and became their sixth straight studio LP to top the U.K. album chart. In 2017 Take That — still operating with three members — celebrated their 25th anniversary, marked by the release of their fifth official greatest-hits and their eighth studio album, Wonderland. Wonderland went as high as number two, and Take That continued their nostalgia trip in 2018 with the chart-topping Odyssey, a compilation that re-imagined their greatest hits. They toured those hits in 2019, resulting in Odyssey: Greatest Hits Live, a Top Five album and the best-selling concert DVD of the year in the U.K. The group re-emerged from the pandemic shutdowns of the early 2020s with a new studio album, This Life, in November 2023. Recorded in Savannah, Georgia; Nashville, Tennessee; and New York City in the U.S., it marked Take That’s EMI debut, after nearly two decades on Polydor. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine & Marcy Donelson