Take That

For other uses, see Take That (disambiguation).

Take That
Take That performing in 2017. From left to right: Howard Donald, Gary Barlow, Mark Owen
Take That performing in 2017. From left to right: Howard Donald, Gary Barlow, Mark Owen
Background information
OriginManchester, England
Genres
Discography
Years active
  • 1990–1996
  • 2005–present
Labels
Members
Past members
Websitetakethat.com
Logo

Take That are an English pop group formed in Manchester in 1990. The group currently consists of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen. The original line-up also featured Jason Orange and Robbie Williams.[2] Barlow is the group's lead singer and primary songwriter, with Owen and Williams initially providing backing vocals, and Donald and Orange serving primarily as dancers.[3][4][5]

The group have had 28 top-40 singles, 20 top-10 and 17 top-5 singles on the UK Singles Chart,[6] 12 of which have reached number one. They have also had nine number-one albums on the UK Albums Chart.[7] Internationally, the band have had 56 number-one singles[8][9] and 42 number-one albums.[10] They have received eight Brit Awards, including Best British Group and Best British Live Act.[11][12] In 2012 they received an Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music.[13] According to the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), Take That has been certified for sales of 14.4 million albums and 13.6 million singles in the UK.[14]

Williams left the band in 1995, while the four remaining members completed their world tour and released a final single before splitting up in 1996. After filming a 2005 Take That: For the Record about the group and releasing a new greatest hits album, a four-piece Take That without Williams officially announced a 2006 reunion tour around the UK, entitled The Ultimate Tour. On 9 May 2006, it was announced that the group were set to record new material together once again. Their fourth studio album, Beautiful World, was released in 2006 and was followed up with The Circus, in 2008. The group achieved new success as a four-piece, scoring a string of chart hits across the UK and Europe while selling over 45 million records worldwide.[15][16][17] Williams rejoined Take That in 2010 for the band's sixth studio album, Progress. Released on 15 November of that year, it was the first album of new material to feature Take That's original line-up since their 1995 album, Nobody Else. It became the fastest-selling album of the 21st century[18] and the second-fastest-selling album in British history.[19]

In 2014, the band recorded a seventh studio album, this time as a trio without Williams and Orange. The album, titled III, was released in November 2014 and became the band's seventh number one. It was preceded by the single "These Days", which became the band's 12th number one single in the UK.[20] In 2011, Take That set the new record for the fastest-selling tour of all time in the UK with Progress Live, beating the previous record set by their Circus Live Tour in 2009.[21] At the 2011 Brit Awards they won Best British Group.[12] In 2012, Forbes named them the fifth-highest-earning music stars in the world.[22] The group performed at the London 2012 Olympic Games closing ceremony, playing "Rule the World" while the Olympic Flame was extinguished. In the same year, the Official Charts Company revealed the biggest-selling singles artists in British music chart history with Take That placed 15th overall, making them the most successful boy band in UK chart history.[23] Four of their albums are listed in the best-selling albums of the millennium, with three of them among the 60 best-selling albums in UK chart history.[24]

  1. ^ "Interscope Records Take That Press release 2007". Previewstock.com. 11 December 2006. Retrieved 30 July 2012.[dead link‍]
  2. ^ "Official Statement". takethat.com. Archived from the original on 26 September 2014. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
  3. ^ "Gary Barlow leads amazing show from Take That – a week after losing daughter". Evening Standard. 13 August 2012. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
  4. ^ "Robbie Williams reunites with 'captain' Gary Barlow for Help the Heroes gig". Metro. UK. 13 September 2010. Archived from the original on 5 December 2012. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  5. ^ "Take That progress: Robbie shines but Gary's in charge". BBC News. 12 November 2010.
  6. ^ "Official Charts Company for the UK Take That Archive database". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
  7. ^ "X Factor Official Stats". Xfactor.itv.com. Retrieved 11 October 2011.
  8. ^ "Arqiva Commercial Radio Awards 2012 winners announced 4 July 2012". RadioCentre Ltd. 4 July 2012. Archived from the original on 2 July 2015. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  9. ^ According to sourced information in Wikipedia articles: 12 in the UK, "Babe" number one in one country, "Back for Good" number one in 13 countries, "Never Forget" number one in three countries, "How Deep Is Your Love" number one in five countries, "Patience" number one in four countries.
  10. ^ Totalled the sourced number ones in Wikipedia articles
  11. ^ "Take That confirm 2015 Brits performance". BBC. 24 July 2015.
  12. ^ a b Topping, Alexandra (15 February 2011). "Brit awards 2011: Take That win best British group 21 years after their debut". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference takethat1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ "Certified Awards". Bpi.co.uk. Archived from the original on 27 June 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  15. ^ Macaulay, Matthew (19 July 2012). "Gary Barlow to receive music industry honour". London: Telegraph.co.uk. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
  16. ^ "Mark Owen swaps Take That for Doing Nothing". BBC. 3 May 2013. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  17. ^ Elias, Linda (10 March 2011). "Birthday mum delighted to win Take That tickets – Aberdare – Local Welsh News – News". WalesOnline. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
  18. ^ "Take That Re-Release Tops U.K. Album Chart; Example Single Remains at No. 1". Billboard.com. 14 September 2009. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
  19. ^ McLean, Craig (29 May 2011). "Take That interview". Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
  20. ^ "Take That achieve number 1 album". Official Charts Company. 7 December 2014.
  21. ^ "Demand for Take That tour tickets 'greater than Michael Jackson' say organisers as websites crash.. and band announce third date at Hampden". Daily Record. 29 October 2010. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
  22. ^ Corner, Lewis (29 November 2012). "Forbes Music Rich List: Take That top Bieber, Rihanna, Jay-Z and GaGa". Digital Spy.
  23. ^ "Official Singles Charts' biggest selling artists of all time revealed". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
  24. ^ Copsey, Rob (13 October 2018). "The UK's biggest studio albums of all time". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 August 2019.