^^ Definitely a marked difference in their sound and direction since Jason left

 

I don’t think it’s because Jay had a big influence on the sound though, I think they’re both symptoms of the same thing.

 

Much of the comeback was driven creatively by having a point to prove and ghosts to lay to rest. For Jay that point was about the band as a 5-piece, and the part he had played in Robbie leaving, for Gary (though also a lot for Mark, who had been dropped twice as a solo artist) it was about the quality and nature of their songwriting.

 

Post-Progress, post Robbie-reunion, there were no more real demons to slay and the driving creative force evaporated.

They retreated to safe blandness with only occasionally flashes of inspiration.

 

There is no doubt that Gary is still the driving creative force in the band, despite them officially writing as a unit.

And he was always a bit inconsistent and very reliant on excellent producers to keep him current. Those 90s Take That albums

have a handful of brilliant songs and a LOT of filler. Some of the classic hits aren’t that impressive on the albums and owe their success to a remix for the single release. And he ran out of inspiration as a solo artist pretty quick.

When he’s hot, he’s brilliant; when he’s not hot he is distinctly middle-aged and bland - and always was.

 

For all that he says he doesn’t want to repeat himself creatively, he needs other people involved to stretch him in truly new directions.

This pattern is consistent across Take That’s output, his solo work, and his musical theatre work.

 

And that’s fine - they’re a legacy act who sell plenty of tickets, new singles are only released for the tour publicity not because anyone is expecting sales.

 

 

 

 

very interesting analysis, Kathryn

That is really interesting and I actually had never thought about the fact they have achieved all their goals. I think they are still driven creatively, hence the new directions as opposed to commercial safety.

 

The trajectory is standard with regard to the singles chart and older artists. Their last couple of singles have gone top ten on the downloads chart, but that is a different era and doesn't even get a low top 100 spot these days. I think the best thing they could do is to push their back catalogue, and to really promote new albums.

 

I think it was interesting that the film didn't do as well as hoped in the UK, maybe a sign.

 

Touring places around the world they have never been to, yet still have some loyal fans (South America/Africa), and a Vegas residency and dates in North America are two new potential horizons for them. Westlife have just announced a sell out North American tour, owing to having never previously performed there, and there is no reason Take That couldn't do the same.

 

Back For Good was a huge #1 hit in Canada, though they also had other top 40 hits/albums there, including Patience in 2007, amongst other songs charting further back in the top 100.

 

BFG was also a big, though not huge, top ten single in the US. It still gets thousands of plays a year on US radio and they even performed on The David Letterman Show, TODAY Show, Regis and Kathie Lee, and had Clive Davis overseeing their single/album in the US etc. They were one hit wonders in the US true. However, plenty of acts sell tours in America off the back of one hit song.

 

To have a top 10 single in America is different due to the logistics of acheiving this is in such a vast country. Their charts are also far slower moving so it is rarer to acheive this, and thus memorable. The song is known in the States to a certain demographic, just not the group.

 

They have toured Asia, Middle East, and Australia/New Zealand in the last ten years. Now might be the time to finally focus on some South America, Africa, and North America dates. Then their bucket list truly would be complete.

Edited October 10, 20231 yr by nirvanamusic

I doubt an American tour would work - too expensive, and frankly too strenuous and time consuming given the distances involved and everyone’s family commitments. .

 

Vegas residency is much more likely - there’s enough international tourism that they don’t just have to rely on Americans of a certain age remembering their one hit there, they and the set don’t have to travel every few days, and the families can come out and stay with them.

 

Frankly I think what happens with Robbie’s projects will have a big impact on their options.

If his documentary and biopic do well enough internationally for the noise to attract attention in North America, then

inevitably it’ll jog memories of Back for Good and Take That there too. A rising tide lifts all boats, and 90s nostalgia is creating a wave right now.

 

Obviously Greatest Days The Film didn’t have the desired impact - it didn’t go wider than existing fanbase.

 

Edit to add: Westlife’s sell out North American tour is of theatres - highest capacity is 6k. The type of show Take That like to do would not be economical at that size of venue; they’d have to be looking to push into much bigger venues eventually to want to do it as an investment. I just don’t think they are bothered enough by the American market at this stage of their lives to want to do it.

Edited October 11, 20231 yr by Kathryn24601

A music video for 'Windows' is coming this Friday.

Cool!

Waiting for the video.

I like the song now more than at the beginning.

 

High Quality photo:

https://static.standard.co.uk/2023/09/22/11...30508_760_R.jpg

Edited October 11, 20231 yr by Better Man

whats the point of releasing the audio weeks before the video?

 

Westlife did it twice, i didnt get it, in both times the song chart very low or not at all, and their video never really had any stream success....

When that happened with Lost last year it turned out to be because the video production house had a backlog and the video got delayed; it wasn’t intentional.

whats the point of releasing the audio weeks before the video?

 

Westlife did it twice, i didnt get it, in both times the song chart very low or not at all, and their video never really had any stream success....

 

I guess it’s in the hopes for most artists to prolong a singles life - I guess if Windows had charted then releasing the video a few weeks later could extend its chart life?

 

I agree though, it’s better to release everything at once for artists that are not strong on streaming - Kylie has released the video and download at the same time for her most recent singles and had her best results for years.

'Windows' is absolutely fantastic. Gary sounds divine.

 

IMO, it is their best single since 'Patience'. I'm glad they've ditched the electronic sound.

I agree. For me, Windows is one of their best songs, much better than These Days. The acoustic version is amazing.

 

Don't like the latest single, though. I hope that the album follows the same direction as Windows and we don't get too many songs with Mark as the lead. They have to accept the fact that Gary has always been the voice of TT.

Graham Norton show NOV 24th

 

 

 

TT are also on BBC2 tonight @ 21.30