7 Never Forget

 

 

Another Take That classic came in quick succession after the monster success of Back for Good. Never Forget was the third and final single from Nobody Else, and the final single until The Flood to feature Robbie's vocals, as he left during the song's promotion. Nevertheless, it was another #1 hit, and has become one of their most well known tracks. It's also notable for being the only single Howard takes the lead on, and fair play to him, he's got a really great track for his big moment, which he sells brilliantly. It's a song that I feel like I associate with year 11s leaving, having worked at a secondary school for a while now where it seems to get played at every leavers assembly but that's a testament to the song's lyrics, and how they can be relatable to many different situations. It's very worthy of being a Take That classic and it's hard not to love this one, especially if you get the chance to hear it live!

 

Never Forget would be my No 1 every time, such a great song .

Never Forget is my favourite alongside Pray and Back For Good. Though one man deserves all the plaudits for this one: Jim Steinman, Meat Loaf's collaborator. His influence is all over this song and made it stratospheric, iconic and epic. He gave it the drama, idiosyncratic nature, multitude of musical styles and quirks to make it last long in the memory.

 

I love the fanfare which starts the track -- pop royalty! I'm unaware of any other song which starts as such -- explosion sound, choir, hand claps, sounding like it's finishing only to rewind for another final chorus and so many other elements of the song.

 

The album version was dire, in my opinion.

 

Every member of Take That got a line in this one, though as stated Howard really shone delivering lead vocals on this one. His deeper voice really suits the boombastic nature of the song. Gary had a knack for pairing the right song with the right member and writing/creating to their strengths. If only Jason could have had a lead vocal number one hit also and completed the entire set.

 

This should have been thier initial swansong. It simply couldn't be topped. Eerie to think it was written prior to Robbie leaving and then released as he did. It is almost prophetic.

 

As mentioned in main review, years ago I was surprised to see so many comments from school leavers about the song in the music video comments. However, this is fantastic and such a great message to take away and through life.

 

The King's Coronation performance of this was also a highlight.

Edited September 25, 2024Sep 25 by nirvanamusic

Totally agree that the single version of Never Forget elevates it HUGELY, the album version feels much less essential somehow! A little emptier, the single mix gives it a bit of life.

I’d never heard Never Forget until now, it’s quite good.

 

Joseph this has got me wanting to take a dive into Take That’s singles discography!

6 Happy Now

 

 

The third single from Progress was promoted in conjunction with Comic Relief, where the band performed the song and filmed a sketch music video starring comedians Catherine Tate, Alan Carr, David Walliams, James Corden and John Bishop as "Fake That". Despite this, the song didn't get a physical release like the singles surrounding it, and "only" peaked at #52, criminally low! The song is a futuristic electro-pop song, with lyrics that feel refreshingly futuristic in their discography, and a chorus that's irresistible. Whilst it may not be one of their biggest hits, I find it to be one of their most underrated tracks, a hidden gem for sure, and one that I've found myself revisiting a lot since I first heard it just a couple of months ago! Happy Now also ends up as the highest track to feature Robbie, as the top 5 is made up of songs entirely by Take That as a four piece.

 

I’d never heard Never Forget until now, it’s quite good.

 

Joseph this has got me wanting to take a dive into Take That’s singles discography!

Glad to hear!! So many gems that I've discovered and spent more time with recently!

As a big Progress fan, I'm pleased that some underrated moments in their catalogue like 'Happy Now' and 'Kidz' have made the top 10 *.*

Glad to hear!! So many gems that I've discovered and spent more time with recently!

 

Thanks. I’ll certainly be making an effort to do so in the future. :)

I like the comical music video for Happy Now. However, enjoyable as it is, I felt it was a weaker track on Progress. Though I agree the chorus is great, I just preferred other album tracks from Progress more. Eight Letters, SOS, Pretty Things, Underground Machine and Flowerbed namely.

I like the comical music video for Happy Now. However, enjoyable as it is, I felt it was a weaker track on Progress. Though I agree the chorus is great, I just preferred other album tracks from Progress more. Eight Letters, SOS, Pretty Things, Underground Machine and Flowerbed namely.

 

I think I posted it earlier, but I always thought SOS was a single.

Happy Now isnt a bad song but i do forget about it sometimes and it was far from one of the stronger songs on the album.

Never Forget would be in my top 2 its such a great song and that chorus there is just no getting away from, its also a fantastic song live and they really bring it alive in all the live performances, a complete Take That classic.

5 Rule the World

 

 

Recorded for the soundtrack of the film Stardust, Rule the World headed up the re-issue of Beautiful World. Despite two massive #1s to kick the era off, I'd Wait for Life limped in at #17 afterwards, proving Take That weren't immune to a poor performance with the wrong single. Thankfully, Rule the World was the perfect course correction. Though it didn't quite manage #1 (Leona Lewis' monster hit Bleeding Love blocked it!), Rule the World spent four weeks at #2, ended 2007 as the fifth biggest song of the year, and became their biggest selling single overall, certified 3x platinum earlier this year for combined sales of over 1.8m! Very much deserved in my view, because it's a killer track - it sounds huge, builds well, the vocal is sold perfectly by Gary, and the production is suitably grand to match. Melodically it's one of their best tracks too, which is always a big win for me as a pop music fan.

 

Rule The World is fantastic and a firm favourite of mine.

 

The main review is spot on and alongside The Flood missing out it was a shame this didn't hit number one. Interestingly I looked at Bleeding Love's UK sales and both songs are on the same certification and similiar sales. I also like the fact this is their highest selling song as it confirms the fact they have had two standout careers. Their legacy isn't just confirmed to a time and a place like so many other pop acts.

 

The main thing is that Rule The World sold well and is still remembered. Their performance of the song at the extinguising of the Olympic Flame in London, 2012, was also fantastic and marked the last performance with Jason.

 

Shown all around the world and an apt and fitting song to close a successful Olympics. It did make me laugh though when people on social media said they should run back out again singing Relight My Fire as an encore!

 

The song was submitted for consideration at the 80th Academy Awards for Best Original Song, but was not nominated. I wish they had a team that knew how to push for Academy nominations as I believe it deserved to have been nominated that year. Enchanted didn't need 3/5 nominations, and none won!

 

I hope Robbie's team are ready to push for his original song (provided it's of quality) from Better Man.

 

If I ranked Take That's soundtrack efforts I would say:

 

1.Rule The World.

2.Get Ready For It.

3.Love Love.

4.Greatest Day (2023 rework).

5.When We Were Young.

Edited September 26, 2024Sep 26 by nirvanamusic

'Never Forget' and 'Rule The World' both rightfully up with their best tracks!

Never Forget missing Top 5 :o

I absolutely adore rule the world, massive shame it missed going number 1 but its gone on to be their best uk selling single which is great.

I'd love if they could come up with another rule the world style single.

4 The Garden

 

 

While we got Up All Night as a single, parts of Europe were instead getting The Garden, but curiously, this was the song I recognised upon hearing both of them...! I'm not sure how, but I assume it's been used in the background of a TV show at some point. Nevertheless, the song made the UK top 100 at #97, whilst also being a top 10 hit in Denmark. It's a rare song in that all four members present in the band at the time have a solo throughout the track, and it's notable for being the only single Jason has an actual verse in. In my view, it should have been a single in the UK too - it's a really gorgeous track, I love the range of vocals from all four of them having a moment in the track, from Gary pitching the chorus just right, to Mark's softer tone on his parts, and Howard bringing the dramatics for his pre-chorus! The way it builds as the song goes on is just perfect too, it's definitely a shining example of their ballads and I think it could've been a really big hit for them if it had a proper push over here.

 

I really like The Garden. However, only the full album version, not the terribly butchered single version and dreadful pointless music video.

 

The song is so grand I feel the music video was a wasted opportunity, it could have had a fantastic wide scope lush video to match.

 

I really like the tone of this one, the vocals from all of them here are fantastic, alongside the build of the track. My favourite alongside Said It All from this album.

 

It is interesting which songs they believe work better for overseas markets instead of the UK. As far as Beautiful World and The Circus singles are concerned I much preferred the European releases.

 

The opening piano refrain and instrumentals from throughout the song were often used as background music on the X Factor and they performed the song on Comic Relief night which caused it to chart --lowly-- on downloads alone.

Edited September 28, 2024Sep 28 by nirvanamusic

Oh yes, totally agree that the album version of The Garden is vastly superior!