I really couldn't get into III, although there are one or two great songs on the album. I don't think their fall in popularity links to Howard/Mark - I really think it was the GB/tax link, Rob coming and going and changing the focus of the music and the group dynamic, Jay and their musical direction.

 

Whilst I don't think the high sales were sustainable long term I never thought their sales would go into free fall. I'm quite surprised the press haven't cotton on to the drop in their popularity. That said they still have incredible tour sales - which I find rather strange. At the last two concerts I've attended there's been a noticeable change in atmosphere because a lot of the crowd weren't familiar with the new songs.

 

 

Take That have been a UK (almost) only act since especially after Progress. Boy or Manbands do not sell well in the rest of Europe. It is not down to them only. The music taste is different. Robbie maintained his solo fanbase in Europe different to the UK more than TT. He sells out stadiums still. Progress was the unification all time height.

Gary never sold well in Europe. And in the UK in the comments on FB, Newspapers etc (aside of the usual hate comments every public figure gets) you see that his political direction and the tax issue hurt his image.

Robbie coming and going makes some people happy, some unhappy as you also realize in the comments even in this thread. But what really took mojo away is Jason leaving. And the miss of huge ballads. However, as long as they sell tours, even if it is for the live moment rather than TT - it is good for them as it pays millions in their wallets. In 10 years there might be a full reunion and then the Progress effect will set in again

At the concert I attended this year, the crowd went nuts for Gary - I don't know if this is the same for a TT concert or not. Guess I'll find out in May :)

 

This is the thing the annoys me the most. Although the whole band was linked to the tax scandal, in the end, only Gary took the heat for it. nobody is pissed at Mark or Howard, nobody mentions the several schemes Robbie is involved in and so on.

 

And one last thing. I know it's good to be diplomatic and don't look out for arguments and bury the head in the sand and pretend you're dumb and so on and so forth.....BUT....Elisabeth, your constant "subtle" comparisons between Robbie and TT/Gary are really really annoying...There, I can't be more direct than that. We get it, trust us, we get it: Robbie is God, he's selling out stadiums everywhere, people love him everywhere, he's the best thing since sliced bread, TT are an UK act, Gary's "political" views (whatever those may be, cause he's never ever did anything political) and tax scandal are the reason for TT's downfall....You've said it a million times already, aren't you getting tired of it?

I've really tried my best not to say anything bad about Robbie lately, although God knows it's hard, but it seems it's impossible to expect the same consideration from others.

I do think you're right on many things Elizabeth. There's no denying Rob's popularity and I think no one on this forum has suggested otherwise. Jay leaving undoubtedly had an impact far greater than anyone anticipated. I think this is partly because with Rob back on board they seemed to go from a 5 piece to 3 piece out of nowhere and that makes a big change in dynamics. Also agree re the lack of the typical TT ballad post The Flood- meaning a loss of their signature sound etc.

 

Where I don't agree is the political aspect. I see Gary as quite neutral politically. He hasn't aligned himself with a political cause/party to my knowledge (aside from a throw away comment when he was on a school visit with David Cameron, if I recall correctly) I don't know his political affiliations, although he's probably conservative with a small c, but he's constantly lambasted and called out for his political stance and hypocrisy. There are many musicians with strong public political views; Gary certainly isn't one of them.

 

I see the TT lads as a decent bunch, all in all. Not perfect, but generally nice guys. Milly - I agree with you. Gary's reception at all the tours I've attended has been incredible and I've found his performances exceptionally. As for TT, I don't think their vocals have been strong on the last two tours aside from their Hyde Park show when they were brilliant.

 

Which show are you going to in May by the way?

I've bought tickets for the O2 - 3 May, but I think I'll try to buy some more - for the 4th as well and maybe for Rome too :)

I have to make sure I take enough of my Gary dose before he goes in "semi-retirement" :P

I agree about the impact of Jason leaving. He may have been quiet on records but from what I could see he was --Robbie and Gary aside-- the next most popular member since they reformed.

 

Though even in the 90's he was majorly underrated on a musical level --vocals aside-- as he was second to Gary, supporting his songs playing guitar and contributing to the musical side of things in that way.

 

I think Jason represented 'the good guy' and humble aspects more naturally than the others and this gained him droves of fans. He is very intelligent, including emotionally intelligent which made him relatable with everyday members of the public. The other four are nice though in my opinion you could tell Jason was truly sincere.

 

Of course he is also the only member not involved in any tax issue and possibly took moral issue on this. I once read he still banks with his local co-op.

 

Possibly seeing the others as having lost touch and perspective and that the true commercial aspect of the band was done after Robbie returned, the natural conclusion. He stayed for Progress. He's not daft and has always carefully thought about things more thoroughly than the others, aside from perhaps Gary.

Edited December 16, 20186 yr by nirvanamusic

It is not my opinion about Gary's political opinion. I am Dutch and I can only judge it from the distance. But as I am a fan of Rob in particular and TT in general if they are at least 4 and best 5 I read a lot of British articles about them and the comments about the guys. Most are neutral to Mark and Howard these days, Robbie is polarizing since decades, Gary is appreciated as his voice is great. But as a person a lot of people dislike his tax issue more than with other people. This influences the opinion of the General Public, not of TT fans I guess. Once again I speak about the sales in the UK as in Europe no one knows or cares who is not a real fan.

Musicwise I think indeed that Jason is missed a lot, far more than Robbie. TT4 worked. I loved the Circus. But I miss the Rule the World, the Said it all the Flood style.

And Milly, there is no subtle dislike of someone. I like Robbie and Gary together these days. I am not a huge fan of Gary solo. But this is simply one taste of many we have here. I think though it is nice to have a good discussion aside the FB pages where you would not like to enter some TT sites with the hate of some against Rob, while the group made their piece.

Number 6 today in the latest midweeks.

In general sales are not by any means impressive for the time of year unless we see a great increase for the remainder of the week.

30,000 or near, is likely the best outcome for this week.

I cant find an option to purchase the cassette, i would buy this for its uniqueness to have in my collection.

I cant find much information on its release date and availability.

 

Odyssey will sell more in week 1 than Michael Buble and Little Mix managed in the first 2 weeks of their chart life.

It is a wonderful result for Take That, and this, is not to take away from Michael Buble and Little Mix who are also doing very well.

 

Pippa, you can now buy the cassette on the website for a limited time:

 

http://store.universalmusic.com/takethat/*...tte/5ZDS0000000

Number 6 today in the latest midweeks.

In general sales are not by any means impressive for the time of year unless we see a great increase for the remainder of the week.

30,000 or near, is likely the best outcome for this week.

 

Looks like we’re looking at 200k before Xmas - ideally platinum leading up to the tour

It will be a struggle for platinum unless it has 2 good strong weeks now.

I am in love with, there are so many amazing version of their classic hits!

Never forget was great on the royal variety show but out of my head wasnt great.

Never forget was great on the royal variety show but out of my head wasnt great.

For me, it was the opposite :)

 

The audience didn't seem very "responsive" to either of the performances, but, at the end of OOOH, they seemed more pleased than at the end of NF - at least that's the impression I got.

But then again, the audience has been pretty much dead each time I watched Royal Varieties.

The audience is usually lifeless at the Royal Variety, and it seemed asleep for out of my head.

Yaaay, Take That has managed to stay top 5 again! :)

Top 5 is a positive result 4 weeks after release.

Three and Wonderland were not in that position at this point.

Good sales too. Almost 39 k. That means the album is over the 200k limit. Hopefully, we'll see it certified platinum soon. Maybe not next month necessarily, but at least till the tour starts.

It'd be nice for them to have another platinum album, since Wonderland didn't get there.

Agree - decent sales and the album is holding up better than I thought it would. Hopefully the TV show scheduled for next week will mean that sales will stay strong for a little longer.

 

Hope you enjoy the gig at the 02 Milly. We've tickets for a stadium gig in June, but finances permitting I may also look for an arena date in April. I think I may enjoy this tour more than the previous three as the set list should be more to my liking, although I'm sad that I'll not get to hear songs such as WYBTFM live.

Fantastic result today! Hoping for strong sales over the weekend and Xmas Eve now!

 

On slightly separate news...looks like the world tour is off due to an illness in Gary’s family: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/artic...ly-illness.html