elisabeth1973

Obviously I agree with all what Kath and Bong Bug wrote. In non Uk countries TT had been not noticed aside of Patience after their return and when Progress charted well and you read the tour reviews it was Robbie with his backing singers. Gary Barlow did not leave an impression as solo artist with his last work either while Robbie sold 550,000 of his last record only in Germany and he did sell even more than 145,000 a week with RKRVS, and SBWays. Now TT is Gary and Mark and Howard are his dancers. He is clearly the focus and he loves it, even n the pictures. For me Gary was and is the downfall of TT. He is obviously very talented. But he is also very arrogant and up himself in a totally different way than Robbie. And while Robbie fans are moaning about every single it the hard core THatters and GB army may be absolute intelligent in real life but lemmings when it comes to their idols in a way maybe 1D fans are and they are youngsters. Robbie is trying out a lot of new ventures and so I guess that he will always hold a certain significance. Gary will decline because his next album doesn't have the x-factor judge prominence anymore. But he is writing musicals and will be successful there. It fits him. TT will take a break afer a Greatest Hits and a new tour to cash in. That is what I am thinking. It was by the way poor that more than half of Gary's tour sogs were TT songs.

isn't it a bit of a tunnel vision to only loo at the UK :-)? I wonder if this is a fans only thread. Place 39 means they sell 4,000 copies and as I said promo didn't help them in Europe, where they do chart.... with a good album and Robbie in the fold

they are on the bill now doing Rule the world with the contestants. Disappointing sales and chart position. They are doing the Voice in Germany this week. It will be interesting to see if that will help sales

Thanks dylandog. You make the point clear. It is nice to be a TT fan and see anything through tinted glasses, but sometimes the reality is different. I guess that the discrepancy between sales figures and ticket demand is due to the fact that TT is known as huge live band and fans are hungry after 4 years and know they will hear all the old hits, too. The new album has not made an impact yet. A lot of TT fans did not mind the absence of Robbie, both acts have proved to be great with and without each other. But they mind the departure of Jason. As of sales figures. 500,000 if they are lucky is poor. I don't agree with the promo thing either, Jay. They did promo in Holland (radio, TV) and it brought hem nowhere despite we are a TT country. Gary did promo in Germany, charted shortly, but was forgotten equally fast. He promised to tour Australia and Germany solo...he didn't, ask why. TT promised European tour dates and have not delivered them...yet. They will have a thought if they will tour Europe based on an album which does not sell or with the hope that the tickets are bought because of their live status. This can be so, but it is not necessarily like that. They toured BW in Europe and the venues were half empty in parts. with potentially 500,000 albums sold in Britain (which I doubt) and 80,000 max in Europe, you can call the album a for TT, despite all the hype created. The thatters are always faithful, the causal album buyer has moved on. This is not only valid for TT but will be similar for the next real Robbie album. He, too, has to grab the casual buyer. His advantage though is that he sells all over Europe and in Australia, a fact TT3/TT4 has to proof

Not too bad? Sorry, For a band like TT it is a disaster in a market like Germany which is known to stay faithful with established acts. Germany had always the second most crazy Thatters behind the UK. The Netherlands, Denmark and Italy should have been clear charts success. Progress (with Robbie) showed what is possible when he sings with them and the album has quality. But you can also see a 26 spot through pink glasses. The promo argument does not count. I am from the Netherlands and as a TT and Robbie fan have seen all their performances/interviews online as if I would live in the UK. And who else than fans watch this? This is valid for everyone from TT to U2 to Coldplay. There were articles in German media and also spots in TV. How do they chart in Holland where they did promo?

where do they have released European dates? They have not left any impression last week in Holland

Aren't the usual albums these days not only trigger for the tours? If they sold 150,000 week one and will continue with 80.000 slowly decreasing, they might sell 500,000 in the UK and maybe 60,000 in the rest of Europe. But the tour in the UK sold very well. So the album is not that important, but to see the act. I am wondering if they will really tour Europe next year.

How many album did Ed sell? Plus he also sells big time everywhere else. There must be a reason that TT3/4 don't sell in Europe

They will always be a classy life band, maybe the best, It is not about the 25 years either Has anyone listened o Rob's 'Under the radar'? This is the hell of an album and it only consists of sides. Progress was fantastic, the Circus, too. But this album sounds cheap, more like 1D than three great songwriters. If it would not be TT and the massive promotion it would have not go anywhere. The 2016 album will be a success again, because of the 25 years and Gary will sell solo, as Thatters are faithful. But the casual buyer has to be convinced again

I have mentioned it already that Europe had not even bought the very good Circus. They are not in boybands in general and not in TT without Robbie. III od not such a good album either. I agree with the German reviews. I am wondering though about the UK. I thought they would sell more

I am still wondering with what kind of total sales this kind of promotion is rectified and pays for Universal considering the single charts nowhere else than in the UK and Ireland and the album hits the second big market - Germany - at no 58. These days TT had become an all UK phenomena. This might be the reason they have not announced European dates yet

They will be number one with their album in the UK, although all three songs heard by now are nothing against the Circus or Progress, imo. But they will be no 1 because of the pre-orders and their strong fan base. They have not charted well with the Circus anywhere else than in the UK and Ireland. Progress was an exception because of the super star status of RW in Europe and the fact that all 5 members were together again. Considering the music which is in the charts in Germany and Holland or Italy and France these days, they will hardly hit the top 30 with the single and the top 10 with the album. Like Gary's album didn't chart anywhere for long despite promo in Germany. Their sales will be UK sales where they will hit 1 million, add 150,000 in the rest of Europe and thats' it. Nail me on that.

they want it fresh. I think it is a mistake to use this song again anyway. But it is clearly good not to always hook to the same artists. there are enough young ones who showed their abilities. They even got Adele

they have 28 UK dates now with approximately 450,000 attendees if they sell out. This is not that much compared to the million selling tours the last two times. It will be interesting how many they will add in the general sale and if they will go to Europe were they are not very popular compared to the UK