Take That

Band manager Nigel Martin-Smith in 1989 had a vision to create a youthful and highly appealing male singing group based on New Kids on the Block. Introduced to young singer Gary Barlow, Martin-Smith decided to design the group around Barlow’s talents, subsequently inviting Howard Donald, Jason Orange, Mark Owen and 16-year-old Robbie Williams. Originally performing under the moniker Kick It, Take That’s breakthrough came with a cover of the Tavares hit “It Only Takes a Minute”, followed by “I Found Heaven” and “A Million Love Songs”. Take That later released the album “Take That & Party” in 1992 which featured all of the hit singles theretofore released.

In 1993 the band released their second full-length album “Everything Changes” garnering generous amounts of popular appeal. The album peaked at No.1 and spawned six singles including “Pray”, “Relight My Fire” and “Babe”. Nominated for the Mercury prize the band saw some international esteem however wasn’t enough to break into the U.S. market.

On the wake of Take That’s third studio album “Nobody Else”, Robbie Williams came under some criticism from other band members for his drug use and was offered an ultimatum: sort himself out or hit the road. Williams chose the latter and Take That embarked on their first worldwide tour and released the album “Nobody Else” in America with Williams removed.

Sensing an opportunity to continue his solo careers in the shadow of artists like Elton John an George Michael, Gary Barlow and the group disbanded in 1996. Barlow’s debut solo single reached the No. 2 spot in the UK chart and Mark Owen began working on a solo album influenced by Paul Weller and Radiohead. In 1997 Robbie issued his solo album “Life Thru a Lens” which topped the charts as did his sophomore release “I’ve Been Expecting You” a year later.

In 2005 a new compilation of Take That hits “Never Forget - The Ultimate Collection” arrived which led to an ITV documentary where the band discussed things past. In late 2005 the post-Williams line-up announced they would tour around the UK in 2006 and released the album “Beautiful World”. The album shot straight to the No. 1 spot, sold over 2.8 million copies and is the UK’s 25th best selling album in chart history. The album was led by the single “Patience” which hit the No. 1 spot, the group’s ninth single to do so.

In 2008 Take That released their new single “Greatest Day” ahead of their fifth studio album “The Circus”. Like its predecessors the album broke many records and earned many awards, afterwards the band embarked on their Take That Present - The Circus Tour Live”.

Robbie Williams returned in 2010 with the single written by both Barlow and Williams entitled “Shame”. Subsequently the band released the single “The Flood” ahead of the group’s 2010 album “Progress”. In 2014 the group released the album “III” led by the No. 1 single “These Days".