Take That's Official Top 40 biggest songs revealed

24 March 2017 | By Justin Myers

 

To celebrate Take That's new album and anniversary tour, OfficialCharts.com exclusively presents their 40 big ones.

 

2017 is a huge year for Take That, as they return with Wonderland, their second album as a trio. They're also limbering up for a huge anniversary tour to mark their 25th year of pop success.

 

With new single Giants gracing the Top 20 of the Official Singles Chart and their eighth collection Wonderland out now, we look back at the hits that put them on top. It's an admirable clutch of classics in their back catalogue, spanning a quarter of a decade and taking in 27 Top 40 hits, including 20 Top 10s – 12 of which went all the way to Number 1.

 

But which song is the biggest Take That track of them all? We delved into the data and totted up physical and download sales, plus streams, to come up with the ultimate Take That all-time chart.

 

Let's look at the highlights. Oh, and keep your eyes peeled on OfficialCharts.com for more Take That goodness throughout the week...

 

Back for Good

On paper, Back for Good doesn't feel so remarkable – a ballad, second single off an album, one of many Number 1s – but it was quite the phenomenon upon its release in 1995. Spending a month at the top, Back for Good sold over 250,000 copies in its first week on sale, and went on to become (spoiler) Take That's first million-selling single. Its sales now stand at 1.12 million and is their biggest seller to date. Since we started counting in 2014, Back for Good has been streamed just shy of 6 million times, cementing its place as THE Take That song.

 

Rule The World

Fast forward over a decade and after a lengthy hiatus, Take That are back at the top of their game. This track, originally taken from the soundtrack of movie Stardust, shockingly didn't get to Number 1 – it was beaten by Leona Lewis's Bleeding Love and spent a month at Number 2 in late 2007 – yet it's their second best-seller. Their second song to break into the million-sellers' club, Rule The World has shifted 1.06 million copies, and its streams tally stands at 8.1 million – not bad to say it was released nearly seven years before streams were eligible for inclusion in the Official Singles Chart.

 

Patience

What a comeback. Robbie's return was still five years away, but this was a confident reinvention of the Take That machine, a decade after they split "for good". Patience spent a month at Number 1 – their third to do so – and has 713,000 sales under its belt to finish as their third best-seller.

 

The Flood

Hard to believe, but Robbie's long-anticipated return to the band in 2010 was NOT a Number 1 single; it was beaten to the top by Rihanna's Only Girl (In The World), and then JLS' Love You More. Nevertheless, it's sold a fair amount, notching up just under 602,000 copies, finishing as their fifth biggest song. Since the streaming era began in summer 2014, it's been played 3.68 million times.

 

Never Forget

An unofficial farewell, this would be the last Take That single to feature Robbie's voice for 15 years. Another '90s Take That Number 1 would follow – a cover of Bee Gees' How Deep Is Your Love – but this felt like the real goodbye. Plus, it features Howard on lead vocals. Iconic. It's sold 524,000 to make it seventh on the sales countdown, and has been streamed 3.42 million times.

 

Pray

With four Top 10s, Take That were already on the verge of hugeness by the time this track was released in 1993, but Pray certainly tipped them over the edge. Their very first Number 1, it stayed at the top for a month and would be followed by three more consecutive chart-toppers. Of the 10 singles that would follow it, only one would not hit Number 1. Imagine! Pray's sold 438,000 copies to finish 10th on their all-time countdown, while for streaming fans, it's been played 1.45 million times across all services.

 

Relight My Fire

What a song. Their first ever collaboration, which brought about something of a revival for '60s singer Lulu, was Number 1 for two weeks. It's sold 360,000 cppies and has notched up 2.1 million plays, to land at 11 on their all-time Top 40.

 

It Only Takes A Minute

For the first year or so of Take That's career, things were looking pretty dodgy tbh. Their first single Do What U Like (which is quite something) missed the Top 40 entirely and follow-ups were modest successes. This cover of the 1976 hit from 100 Ton and a Feather was their first ever Top 10 (19 more would follow) reaching Number 7, and has a sales tally of 146,000, their 21st biggest selling song.

 

Could It Be Magic

This one was also a cover – both Barry Manilow and Donna Summer had had hits with it before – but it's mainly remarkable in the Take That oeuvre for being their first single with Robbie singing lead vocals. To date, its sales stand at 345,000, placing 12th on the all-time sales list, while it's been streamed 870,000 times since 2014.

 

These Days

Another red-letter day for Take That, and their most recent Number 1, These Days was the first ever single not to feature Jason Orange, who'd just quit the band. It was also the first Take That single released after streaming figures were introduced to the Official Singles Chart. It's racked up 18.9 million plays to become their xx most streamed song of all time. It's done pretty well on the sales side too tbh – 341,500 copies.

 

Take That's Official Top 40 biggest songs of all time:

 

1 BACK FOR GOOD TAKE THAT 1 1995 1,120,000 (1,180,000)

2 RULE THE WORLD TAKE THAT 2 2007 1,060,000 (1,141,000)

3 PATIENCE TAKE THAT 1 2006 713,000 (~750,000+)

4 HOW DEEP IS YOUR LOVE TAKE THAT 1 1996

5 THE FLOOD TAKE THAT 2 2010 602,000 (638,800)

6 GREATEST DAY TAKE THAT 1 2008

7 NEVER FORGET TAKE THAT 1 1995 524,000 (558,200)

8 SHINE TAKE THAT 1 2007

9 BABE TAKE THAT 1 1993

10 PRAY TAKE THAT 1 1993 438,000 (452,500)

11 RELIGHT MY FIRE TAKE THAT 1 1993 360,000 (381,000)

12 COULD IT BE MAGIC TAKE THAT 3 1992 345,000 (353,700)

13 THESE DAYS TAKE THAT 1 2014 341,500 (530,500)

14 EVERYTHING CHANGES TAKE THAT 1 1994

15 A MILLION LOVE SONGS TAKE THAT 7 1992

16 SURE TAKE THAT 1 1994

17 WHY CAN'T I WAKE UP WITH YOU TAKE THAT 2 1993

18 LOVE AIN'T HERE ANYMORE TAKE THAT 3 1994

19 UP ALL NIGHT TAKE THAT 14 2009

20 SAID IT ALL TAKE THAT 9 2009

21 IT ONLY TAKES A MINUTE TAKE THAT 7 1992 146,000

22 LOVE LOVE TAKE THAT 15 2011

23 KIDZ TAKE THAT 28 2011

24 I FOUND HEAVEN TAKE THAT 15 1992

25 CRY SIGMA FT TAKE THAT 21 2016

26 HAPPY NOW TAKE THAT 52 2011

27 HOLD UP A LIGHT TAKE THAT N/A 2008

28 I'D WAIT FOR LIFE TAKE THAT 17 2007

29 PROMISES TAKE THAT 38 1991

30 SOS TAKE THAT 91 2011

31 THE GARDEN TAKE THAT 97 2008

32 ONCE YOUVE TASTED LOVE TAKE THAT 47 1992

33 GIANTS TAKE THAT 13 2017

34 HEY BOY TAKE THAT 56 2015

35 WHEN WE WERE YOUNG TAKE THAT 88 2011

36 BEAUTIFUL WORLD TAKE THAT N/A 2006

37 EIGHT LETTERS TAKE THAT N/A 2010

38 LET IN THE SUN TAKE THAT N/A 2014

39 REACH OUT TAKE THAT N/A 2006

40 JULIE TAKE THAT N/A 2008

 

©2017 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.

 

And these are Take That's 40 most streamed songs:

 

1 THESE DAYS TAKE THAT 18,900,000

2 RULE THE WORLD TAKE THAT 8,100,000

3 CRY SIGMA FT TAKE THAT

4 BACK FOR GOOD TAKE THAT 6,000,000

5 SHINE TAKE THAT

6 PATIENCE TAKE THAT

7 GREATEST DAY TAKE THAT

8 THE FLOOD TAKE THAT 3,680,000

9 NEVER FORGET TAKE THAT 3,420,000

10 A MILLION LOVE SONGS TAKE THAT

11 RELIGHT MY FIRE TAKE THAT 2,100,000

12 LET IN THE SUN TAKE THAT

13 PRAY TAKE THAT 1,450,000

14 HEY BOY TAKE THAT

15 GIANTS TAKE THAT

16 HOW DEEP IS YOUR LOVE TAKE THAT

17 GET READY FOR IT TAKE THAT

18 SAID IT ALL TAKE THAT

19 EVERYTHING CHANGES BUT YOU TAKE THAT

20 COULD IT BE MAGIC TAKE THAT 870,000

21 KIDZ TAKE THAT

22 HOLD UP A LIGHT TAKE THAT

23 LOVE LOVE TAKE THAT

24 HIGHER THAN HIGHER TAKE THAT

25 THE GARDEN TAKE THAT

26 UP ALL NIGHT TAKE THAT

27 IT ONLY TAKES A MINUTE TAKE THAT

28 IF YOU WANT IT TAKE THAT

29 SOS TAKE THAT

30 I LIKE IT TAKE THAT

31 LOVELIFE TAKE THAT

32 LOVE AIN'T HERE ANYMORE TAKE THAT

33 BABE TAKE THAT

34 PORTRAIT TAKE THAT

35 FLAWS TAKE THAT

36 GIVE YOU MY LOVE TAKE THAT

37 INTO THE WILD TAKE THAT

38 FREEZE TAKE THAT

39 SURE TAKE THAT

40 EIGHT LETTERS TAKE THAT

 

©2017 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.

Eight Letters <3 Glad to see that in their top 40.

 

Beautiful World or Reach Out should have been the follow up to Shine, I'd Wait For Life was such a huge misfire.

 

I've no idea why Julie is in here!

Take That's Official Top 40 biggest songs revealed

24 March 2017 | By Justin Myers

 

To celebrate Take That's new album and anniversary tour, OfficialCharts.com exclusively presents their 40 big ones.

 

 

It Only Takes A Minute

For the first year or so of Take That's career, things were looking pretty dodgy tbh. Their first single Do What U Like (which is quite something) missed the Top 40 entirely and follow-ups were modest successes. This cover of the 1976 hit from 100 Ton and a Feather was their first ever Top 10 (19 more would follow) reaching Number 7, and has a sales tally of 146,000, their 21st biggest selling song.

 

Well, it's a cover of a Tavares song, though it's true that they didn't have the UK hit. Note to younger readers: 100 Ton And A Feather was a pseudonym for Jonathan King.

Babe :wub: I still haven't forgiven Mr Blobby for denying them that Christmas Number One.

 

I'm surprised at how low Relight My Fire's sales are tbh.

Great to get these sales information on them. I always remain surprised Never Forget is not higher, its one of those songs that done very well but feels it was a much much bigger hit than what it was, by that it feels like a million selling song.

 

These Days is on much higher than i had thought,i had believed it was under 500,000 so these news is welcomed. Its a testament to them, that their biggest hits are a mixture of the older hits and new hits, that shows what a lengthy and successful career they have had.

Greatest Day i would believe is over 600,000 sales too.

Edited March 24, 20178 yr by pippa

Greatest Day i would believe is over 600,000 sales too.

Not yet. It was on 520k pure sales as of November 2014 and, judging by the trickle sales of 'Patience' and 'The Flood', 'Greatest Day' could be on about 545k pure sales. If we say it has been streamed 4m times, that would put its combined total on ~585k.

Based on that, Greatest Day would likely crawl over the 600,000 total later this year (hopefully).

Back For Good is easily my fave TT track.

Five of their all-time top ten are from their comeback and reinvention! Talk about a success story...

Are streaming totals UK only? I don't have Spotify, but If I did and I see that "Back For Good" has been streamed 6 million times, is that UK or globally??

No 'Do What You Like' thankfully.

Are streaming totals UK only? I don't have Spotify, but If I did and I see that "Back For Good" has been streamed 6 million times, is that UK or globally??

 

Only in the UK. And surely Apple Music, Tidal, Deezer et al are included.

Are streaming totals UK only? I don't have Spotify, but If I did and I see that "Back For Good" has been streamed 6 million times, is that UK or globally??

Streaming data posted in the article is just UK, but on the Spotify program the plays shown are global plays!

 

For instance 23,867,815 plays is the current total of These Days on Spotify, and OCC has revealed that a total of 18.9m streams for it in the UK.

 

Back For Good has 26,279,987 plays globally. ^_^