They didn't release The Day After Tomorrow as the fourth single as planned in Christmas 1995. In early January they decided to split with the announcement in February which killed the sales for Nobody Else dead in the water.

 

Between Never Forget released in July and February the following year when they announced the split --on Robbie's birthday-- there wasn't the planned single released to fill that void and bump sales. How Deep Is Your Love was announced at the press conference as the next and final single and the Greatest Hits to follow meant attention turned to this.

 

That is what has been said anyway.

 

There are a lot of their 90s songs which should have higher sales certs in today's context but they were succesful for the times and population. Few singles went Platinum and even the top 10 year end best sellers were filled with Gold status singles. The pop/general cd sales boom came after them in the late 90s.

 

Take That & Party had 7 singles released.

Everything Changes, 6.

 

Nobody Else, 3, so even with two huge hits that is still a lot less promotion, visibility, and longevity for the album.

Edited September 3, 2024Sep 3 by nirvanamusic

Ya they suffered as sales were much lower than they are now, songs as successful as back for good for example would probably on 2 milion in todays climate.

I do forget the timeline of nobody else and the split announcement, i sometimes remember the gap been longer than what it was.

The Greatest Hits release did so well for them and how deep is your love was also very successful for them, because of the success of the Greatest Hits i never expected the ultimate collection to do nearly aswell as it did all those years later as there wasn't a huge difference in the tracklisting, thankfully it did aswell as it did as the reunion tour as it all led to them releasing some of the best music of their career, i remember thinking at the time of the ultimate collection release that it might be a flash in the pan top 10 peak with a short chart run, i couldn't have been more wrong.

Was never really a fan of Sure and i never play it now, its crazy to think that the album that had back for good and never forget on it ended up having sure as the lead single although id say the logic behind their thinking was it had to be a lead or not a single at all as im not sure how sure would have performed as a 3rd single if it followed back for good and never forget. Nobody else was a strange enough era as back for good was such a huge hit and never forget was also big at the time ( although i did think it had sold more in its original run than it did) but the album sold way less than the previous 2. I know it had far less singles than the others but as big as back for good was it didnt seem to benefit the album as much as it should have.

Nobody else isnt one of my fave albums from them at all, i never really go back to the album tracks, never forget i adore but in general i find the album on the disappointing side.

 

To be fair, Nobody Else was actually released off the back of 'Back For Good' and it had two weeks at #1 and a steady run in the top 10 - so I think it did its job for the album. Then 'Never Forget' returned the album back into the top 5 in August.

 

I think cutting the campaign dead there and not having another single out in Q4/Christmas is probably what hindered it the most, but we all know why that happened.

There being a 6 month gap between the releases of Sure and Back for Good strikes me as being a curious start to the Nobody Else era!

 

In fact there was a shorter gap between Love Ain't Here Anymore (the last single from Everything Changes) and Sure:

 

27th June 1994 - Love Ain't Here Anymore

3rd October 1994 - Sure (14 weeks after Love Ain't Here Anymore)

27th March 1995 - Back for Good (25 weeks after Sure)

 

Nobody Else came out in May 1995, 7 months after Sure. It just seems a bit odd, but I was too young at the time to pay attention to this, so I don't know how this would have come across to the fans back then. Were they left wondering what was going on with the third album during those months, or were Take That clear during Sure's release that the album was still quite a long way off?

 

I read that Back for Good's release date was brought forward and that it was initially scheduled for 3rd April. The song's first performance was at the Brit Awards on 20th February. Sometimes I forget just how long the build up could be from premiere to becoming available to buy! I'm now so used to songs being instantly accessible, that it seems mad that it used to be the case that you might have to wait as long as 6 weeks or more to be able to buy a song.

 

 

Sorry for the rambling! Still no major losses for me, Joseph! I don't mind Sure and it does stand out as something a bit different during their 90s run, but it's definitely overshadowed by the two singles that followed it. I wasn't all that into Cry when it came out, but having heard it again recently, I enjoyed it more than I probably ever had before!

For groups from their era Take That have done well, sales from others (East 17 - Stay Another Day the exception -, Boyzone etc) have been frozen in time. Back For Good, Never Forget, Everything Changes, and A Million Love Songs have all reached higher sales certifications since the reunion.

 

There are three 90s Take That songs I'm surprised haven't reached Platinum based on their status and longevity:

 

Pray, Relight My Fire and A Million Love Songs. The last two being on Silver (!) though Relight My Fire is closing in on Gold status.

Edited September 4, 2024Sep 4 by nirvanamusic

Pray and Relight my fire as they were number 1 feel like they had much bigger sales but thankfully relight my fire is coming for gold.

 

Again from memory, BFG and NF weren't written at the time "Sure" was released. There were 7 months between "Sure" and "Back For Good" and BFG wasn't actually due for release until May but was brought forward by demand. I think it was felt that a year was too long in the boyband world to go without a single release (given that the average boyband lasted about 4 years) so they needed something out in the latter part of 94 as a placeholder almost until the album was written and recorded.

There are three 90s Take That songs I'm surprised haven't reached Platinum based on their status and longevity: Pray, Relight My Fire and A Million Love Songs. The last two being on Silver (!) though Relight My Fire is closing in on Gold status.

Pray and Relight my fire as they were number 1 feel like they had much bigger sales but thankfully relight my fire is coming for gold.

In terms of the sales database used for certifications, singles released prior to February 1994 had their sales totals return to 0. So for instance Relight My Fire needs to sell 400,000+ since that point in time, to become Gold certified.

 

I'm sure Relight My Fire exceeded 400,000 in total a while ago inclusive of its pre-Feb 94 sales - I estimate that it would have happened by 2020. In fact I could see it being on 450k+. However I don't think Pray will have quite made it to 600k yet, including its pre-Feb 94 sales.

 

Therefore Relight My Fire and Pray will likely remain stuck on Silver and Gold respectively for the foreseeable future!

 

A Million Love Songs on the other hand did manage to sell 200,000+ post-Feb 94, as of January 2019, to get itself silver certified.

 

 

 

Again from memory, BFG and NF weren't written at the time "Sure" was released. There were 7 months between "Sure" and "Back For Good" and BFG wasn't actually due for release until May but was brought forward by demand. I think it was felt that a year was too long in the boyband world to go without a single release (given that the average boyband lasted about 4 years) so they needed something out in the latter part of 94 as a placeholder almost until the album was written and recorded.

Thanks for your insight! :wub: I noticed when looking at their touring history that they were doing a UK arena tour around the time that Sure was promoted/released - from 24th August 94 to 12th October 94. Then it resumed in Europe in March and April 1995! Maybe this suggests that the bulk of the work on their third album took place between October 94 and March 95. I wonder if pre-the tour starting, whether they'd finished much other music other than Sure? If they'd perhaps not felt the pressure to need to have a single released in late 94, it makes me wonder whether Sure would have necessarily been chosen as a single, if they'd waited until they had an album's worth of song choices to select from!

 

 

I looked through old Music Week issues and this is what they had to say about Back for Good's scheduling:

 

4th March 95

Early airplay can be a mixed blessing though - audiences can tire of songs and while they may have bought it two weeks into its airplay cycle they may not be so eager a month later. For dealers too it can be a problem, as those already inundated with requests for the new Take That single will surely attest. For the record, it's called Back for Good and it's out April 3.

 

11th March 95

Radio One also continues to plug its former exclusive, Back for Good by Take That, though several of the commercial stations are even more enthusiastic supporters of the single, which has now been brought forward from April 3 to March 27, in order for all four formats to qualify for chart purposes.

What a nightmare system for clarity of sales. I did wonder why certain songs/albums were taking forever to add small sales to be certified.

 

Hopefully BPI and The Official Charts Company will do a complete sales update for their singles/albums to be used as reference.

Edited September 4, 2024Sep 4 by nirvanamusic

In terms of the sales database used for certifications, singles released prior to February 1994 had their sales totals return to 0. So for instance Relight My Fire needs to sell 400,000+ since that point in time, to become Gold certified.

 

I'm sure Relight My Fire exceeded 400,000 in total a while ago inclusive of its pre-Feb 94 sales - I estimate that it would have happened by 2020. In fact I could see it being on 450k+. However I don't think Pray will have quite made it to 600k yet, including its pre-Feb 94 sales.

 

Therefore Relight My Fire and Pray will likely remain stuck on Silver and Gold respectively for the foreseeable future!

 

A Million Love Songs on the other hand did manage to sell 200,000+ post-Feb 94, as of January 2019, to get itself silver certified.

Thanks for your insight! :wub: I noticed when looking at their touring history that they were doing a UK arena tour around the time that Sure was promoted/released - from 24th August 94 to 12th October 94. Then it resumed in Europe in March and April 1995! Maybe this suggests that the bulk of the work on their third album took place between October 94 and March 95. I wonder if pre-the tour starting, whether they'd finished much other music other than Sure? If they'd perhaps not felt the pressure to need to have a single released in late 94, it makes me wonder whether Sure would have necessarily been chosen as a single, if they'd waited until they had an album's worth of song choices to select from!

I looked through old Music Week issues and this is what they had to say about Back for Good's scheduling:

 

4th March 95

Early airplay can be a mixed blessing though - audiences can tire of songs and while they may have bought it two weeks into its airplay cycle they may not be so eager a month later. For dealers too it can be a problem, as those already inundated with requests for the new Take That single will surely attest. For the record, it's called Back for Good and it's out April 3.

 

11th March 95

Radio One also continues to plug its former exclusive, Back for Good by Take That, though several of the commercial stations are even more enthusiastic supporters of the single, which has now been brought forward from April 3 to March 27, in order for all four formats to qualify for chart purposes.

I was trying find the intro to their brits performance on 20 February 95 as i was sure something was mentioned at that point about the song not being available until may. I know it was serviced to radio 6 weeks before release which was unpredicted at the time, so assuming that it's true that the brits performance was the first reveal of the track and the the song wasn't planned to be on the radio for a few weeks after the performance, that would have put the original planned release in at least late April. So I think it was pushed firstly to early April then to March, in other words twice, probably because of the reasons in that commentary. They were fearful of over hype and they were doing something not attempted before.

I see! That would have been quite something, if they'd kept its release as far back as that, 2 months or more after the Brits performance. :drama: I think they made a wise decision to bring it forwards. I guess their team didn't predict the extent of the level of demand that the song would have off the back of that performance?

 

What a nightmare system for clarity of sales. I did wonder why certain songs/albums were taking forever to add small sales to be certified.

 

Hopefully BPI and The Official Charts Company will do a complete sales update for their singles/albums to be used as reference.

Agreed, it's a shame that there's so many releases that are technically under-certified. It would be great if we had an OCC sales update - it seems they haven't done one since 2017? :(

Nice list so far Joseph, not very much I would disagree with. Most of the weaker singles imo you've put rightfully low here.

 

I'd Wait For Life always sticks out for me as one of those major missteps during an imperial phase. It's a perfectly pleasant ballad but was one of the weaker album tracks on a fantastic album as it doesn't showcase the band beyond some nice backing vocals, it might as well be a Gary solo track. No.17 after two No.1s shows what a bad choice it was. If they wanted to put a single out then Reach Out was right there and could have been a safe top ten hit (I personally prefer Mancunian Way and Wooden Boat but can see they might not have worked as singles).

 

One positive thing I'll say about I'd Wait For Life is that it had a brilliant b-side in the acoustic version of We All Fall Down, which topped my personal chart at the time.

 

Interesting to see Out Of Our Heads last, I think this was the first single where they realised they really were not going to have any notable chart success again so they just did whatever they wanted. It's a catchy but cringeworthy song for me. It sounds like somebody asked AI to make a dated Michael Bublé album filler.

Thanks everyone for all the comments and thoughts so far :wub: I'm in the middle of a busy few days amongst my first week back to work too so apologies for a slightly slower pace at the moment!

32 Promises

 

 

After Do What U Like didn't set the charts on fire, Take That's first release through RCA Records fared more promisingly. Promises was the group's first top 40 hit, and though it "only" peaked at #38, it was definitely a sign of upward momentum. I think it's definitely one of the better examples of their early sound, with a catchy chorus, although I can see why it wasn't a gigantic hit still. Either way, it's definitely one of the singles from the debut album that I'd be most likely to hit play on right now - though three of its singles still remain in the countdown!

 

I like Promises, it has a great catchy chorus and sound which keeps it infectious still. The video is also great for capturing that early new excitement and fun. Promises going in at #38 and being on the Chart Show remains the most exciting chart position Robbie ever had.

 

On hearing it announced and played, he jumped so much on the bed in the hotel he broke it.

 

It also marks the debut of the iconic TT logo.

Edited September 8, 2024Sep 8 by nirvanamusic

Promises is another i like song but also forget.

Take That in many ways were very lucky in their early days that they didnt get dropped with the first few singles not doing well, id say had they came on the scene with the same chart fortunes a few years later the labels were more harsh and they would have been dropped, thank god it never happened and it also shows that sometimes groups need time to connect and build up a fanbase.

31 A Million Love Songs

 

 

Finally, we arrive at the first song to drop that I was aware of before I closely started following Take That's career, or chart music in general. I became familiar with A Million Love Songs through The X Factor, but I didn't know who it was by for quite some time! I'd have guessed it was a much older song than a Take That track from the early 90s, actually, because it feels quite old fashioned and dated, but I think that's a bigger part of its charm than for many of the surrounding singles. It's not one I really seek out to listen to, hence its low position, but it's no surprise that this track was the beginning of a more consistent run of hits for the group, and it certainly stands out among the singles (and non-singles) from Take That and Party.

 

A Million Love Songs and Love Ain't Here Anymore getting a very low rank

'I'd Wait for Life' didn't stick out to me as having single potential, so it was certainly a surprise when it was announced! And also unsurprising to me when it didn't do too well. Almost 18 years later(!) I still feel that way about it. It's not that I think it's bad, it's a pleasant track... but surely better left as an album track. I agree that Reach Out would have been a better option! Also an interesting point raised about Jason never being given his moment to have a lead vocal single, like the other three. I wonder if he wanted that or not?

 

'Do What U Like' will always be memorable for that video! :lol: I wonder how many people actually saw the video when it was brand new? Perhaps not that many were exposed ( :kink: ) to it? Did it only become notorious once Take That became massive? I'm kind of surprised that the song was even included on the debut album given how it didn't do well. I don't think the song is great, but not terrible either!

I agree with your analysis of Id Wait For Life.

 

There was a huge possibility that A Million Love Songs could never have seen the light of day. The sixth single from their debut this should have been released a lot sooner than it was.

 

Based on their chart trajectory they could have been history and no one would ever have known this song. This after all was THE song which got their managers attention and started everything for them. Their Angels in the back pocket, in case of emergencies.

 

Robbie said he always knew they would be alright because they had this song.

 

It is a classic and as such sounds that way, devoid of trends and gimmicks, timeless.

Edited September 8, 2024Sep 8 by nirvanamusic