milly

So jealous :D I hope everyone has a good time at the boys' concerts this year!

That's exactly what I was thinking - Gary must be really happy with the reviews the musical is getting. What better present than have your work acknowledged? I'm really glad for him. Dylandog - If I'm clapping my hands like I'm retarded, you got the right video :D The video is not very good quality, but it works to my advantage (don't want to scare anyone :D ) I was pleasantly surprised to see how many fans embraced the idea of this bday pressie for Gary. I hope seeing how many fans still support him motivates him in continuing with his music for a long time.

I'm not a great fan of Greatest Day myself. I admit it's quite an anthem and a feel good song and it works really well in live shows, I just can't seem to be able to listen to it casually, like most of their other songs. May I ask if anyone else took part in Gary's bday surprise? A fan gathered everyone's bday wishes to Gary on a tumblr page and sent the link to Gary. http://happybirthdaygary.tumblr.com/ I think I'm just curious to learn more about everyone on this forum :) My message is signed Mirela (and, compared to everyone else's wishes, it was the most stupid :D )

To be honest, if the next album has the same sales as III, I'll be happy, as they are really good numbers in the current climate (disappointing for TT, but desired and envied by most artists). I'm a bit worried that the sales will drop even more for the next projects. Does anyone have any idea why Gary would have been visiting the Radio 1 studios last week?

Didn't they acknowledge it though? They sent replacement dvd-s to everyone. I didn't even bother to open the first dvd I got. The replacement dvd worked without any problems and the good thing is that I got it a couple of days after I received the deluxe package. But I guess the press didn't bother to write a proper article about this like they did when they learnt that there was a problem with the initial dvd-s.

I think the package cd+dvd is doing better than the dvd alone. This week, the dvd didn't chart in top 100.

#93 on the sales chart. Too bad III didn't spend one more week in the official charts :(

Really glad to hear Higher than Higher is being played somewhere on this planet :)

Nice to see you back, Jay :) I hope you had a lovely holiday!

I don't want to upset anyone, cause I realize some of you may be fans of Olly's, but I really can't stand the guy and I'm not happy to hear he'll join the boys. He's always sucking up to Robbie and trying to impersonate him - he's a bit a better singer than Robbie, but that's not too hard to achieve. I'd have wanted a more credible artist to open up for the boys. Anyway, as long as he doesn't actually sing WITH them....

I honestly have no interest in Adele. I neither like her or dislike her. I just used her as an example of someone who becomes big all of a sudden thanks to the hype built by the media. She's been around for far too short to be able to reach a conclusion about her. I just expressed my doubts that she'll have the same longevity as TT once she reaches a certain age and once people realize that she's not versatile at all. From what I've heard all her songs sound pretty much the same and, aside from Million Years Ago, I haven't been able to make it through 30 seconds of any other song on her latest album. Maybe she'll prove me wrong with her next album, but, so far, for me, the hype is bigger than the quality when it comes to her.

I have a feeling Adele's next album won't have half the sales of 25, because I've seen lots and lots of negative reviews. Take That have had more albums that sold well than most of the artists out there. Each year, there's a "chosen one" - Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith, Adele, Taylor Swift and so on. For some reason, people buy into all the hype and buy their albums without caring too much whether they're actually good or not. I remember a time when Nelly Furtado or Jennifer Lopez or Marc Anthony were the 2nd coming, but they couldn't sustain all that hype.What the heck, I lived the fan-mania of RBD, Thalia and Natalia Oreiro :D When you compare these short-lived successes to the long-term phenomenon that is TT, their sales for III don't seem that bad anymore. Streaming seems to be gaining more and more terrain and sales will continue to drop. There's always gonna be one or other artist who will sell hugely compared to the rest, but the majority of the artists will have to find new means of making money. Take That will never again benefit from the hype that surrounds Adele or Taylor at the moment, but we shouldn't expect them to. The older they get, both Adele and Taylor will lose fans, cause they won't be perceived as cool or relevant anymore. Someone else will replace them too - someone younger, of course, cause I don't see any middle-aged artist breaking the charts right now. Take That have been more than blessed to have been able to sell more than half a million records at their age, which is, without a doubt, due to the quality of their music. PS: I think I've been misunderstood when I said that I want TT to produce "commercial" music. By no means did I imply that I'd want them to produce music like Justin Bieber's or 1D's or Miley's - Heaven forbid! I can't even call those outputs music. I want TT to produce good music that is heartfelt, represents them and connects with people, without worrying too much about originality. If a new sound comes to them naturally, fine, but I don't want them to force themselves to produce something they didn't do before just so they gain critical acclaim.

It's obvious we all have different tastes, but it comes to a point where the majority has to decide, in my opinion. It's true that every artist has to keep his music fresh, but that doesn't mean he has to deviate from his sound to such point he alienates most of his audience. And I think this is what happened with Progress. I know that some TT fans and most Robbie fans loved Progress because it was centred on Robbie, but the fact is that MOST of the TT fans like that album the least. It would be easy for me to say I loved it because it was mostly Gary's concept, but aside from Eight Letters, Don't Say Goodbye, When We Were Young and Happy, I didn't love anything else from that era. And I'm one of the fans who stuck around. But many were put off by the musical output, Robbie's behaviour, Jason and Howard's exclusion and so on. TT may wanna experiment, but what's the point of being "respected" if you have no one who listens to what you've done? If they want to do music for themselves, fine, they should record what they like, play it to their families and closed ones, but not waste the resources of a label and certainly not expect for fans to buy it just because...Music should be aimed at an audience, should touch hearts, not just be a testing matter. Poets and novelists in the 20th century certainly tried their best at changing what writing should be about and, aside from mentions in literary critique, almost nobody cares for their style or wants to read their output. Seriously, how many of you are passionate about dadaism? :D It's the same with music. Critics were over the moon with Progress's sound for obvious reasons, but, as a listener, I don't want to hear electronic distortions and I certainly don't want to feel like banging my head against a wall when listening to an album. It's also one of the reasons I can't listen to Mark's TAODN, it just gives me headaches and it's obvious most people feel the same. I don't believe there's that much "honour" in always pursuing a new sound. What for? If people fell in love with a certain sound, it must be because it was good, so why change it? Holding Back the Tears is so old, but it still emotes because it has meaning and comes from the heart. Songs on Progress do not stimulate my emotions in any way. If things will continue in the same vein, I, for one, will cease to be a TT fan and will remain a Gary fan only, because he, at least, has always delivered what I expected from him. Nothing on any TT album and certainly not on Progress/ed or III even comes close to Dying Inside and I doubt anything will ever match the magnificence and sincerity of that song for me. I may have been a bit drastic with my post, but that's only because I don't want to see TT go to waste. I want them to make good music, not to try to keep up with the trends or be ahead of their time. Critics may love such approaches, but critics are not the ones buying the albums and going to tours.

Elizabeth, fans cannot be disappointed in an album they haven't heard, but they can be disappointed by an album they bought. I'm with Aphrodite on this one. The true damage lies with Progress. It was so far from what TT fans were expecting that it probably put them off from future purchases. The Flood was a misleading single, as Gary pointed out very well - the rest of the album didn't sound anything like it. As I said, it's the only TT album I don't own or even intend on purchasing, simply because it's not to my taste. I liked III a lot - not as much as SISYL, which I still listen to very often - but a lot. The problem was the promotion and also the single releases. They should have promoted Get Ready for It more, cause it could have been a minor hit. All the comments on the song's video are very appreciative, even from people who don't know TT. Higher Than Higher could have as well never happened, since almost no one knew about its existence and release and Let In the Sun should have never been a single. These Days was spot on, though, and it grew over me in time. I still enjoy seeing it being performed and I think it's up there with their classics. The documentary seemed to have had an impact for a couple of days after it aired, but then the sales tumbled down again. Maybe not many people watched it? I hope the boys get it right with the next album, because the talent is there and it would be sad not to see it put to work, especially when we have Gary writing such beautiful music for the musicals.

Oh, you guys :cry: WYBTfM is a masterpiece :wub: You need a therapy session:D Play all year long the song and you'll eventually fall in love with it :D On one thing we can all agree: Hey Boy was the wrong single choice. Oh Boy would have been a better title :P Happy New Year to all of you and may the new year fulfill all your wishes!

The same for me when it comes to WYBTFM. It's just so raw and simple it's stunning. I'm not as fond of CMH because I can still hear that electronic distorted sound that I don't like. On WYBTFM, Gary's voice sounds so clear and is so beautiful on the lower register and the lyrics and melody are sweet and genuine. I'm just afraid it will have the same fate as Don't Say Goodbye and I'll never get to hear it live :(

Each time you mention WYBTFM, Dylandog, you get my hopes up. I ADORE that song so much I made it my ringtone instead of RTW. For me, it's the best song they did since BFG. Single or no single, I'd love for it to have a video and be sent to radios. I just want people out there to hear it, that's all. I don't care whether it charts or not. I'd love for the video to be an actual live recording - just them with the band, in a studio, singing live this song. That would make a lot of fans happy. At least if they were never to perform it on any show, we'd have an official video and a live performance 2 in 1.

Maybe the 2016 gigs will help it sell a bit more. I think it will get to double platinum eventually, it's just gonna take a bit longer than anticipated.

Merry Christmas everyone! :)

Completely agree, Dylandog. I don't know if it was just me, but last night's documentary almost seemed like a farewell. I know the boys have plans for the following years, but there's still that nagging feeling that the end of the band is near. I hope I'm wrong, cause I still enjoy their output (Hey Boy aside :P ) I give up, Elizabeth. You take what you like from what others are saying and what you don't like, you twist it so it suits you. The only point I'll make is the one about the Flood - Gary has explained in detail how he came up with the backing tracks for all the Progress songs and how he ended up with too many sections for the Flood. Robbie did write the lyrics, but, last time I checked, lyrics are only a small part of a song, so, by no means can you claim that Robbie wrote that song. Even if he wanted to, I doubt he'd be able to fully write a song. Mybelle is right. Your comments on this thread are very off putting. At least with Kath I know that she dislikes Gary, but she does seem to acknowledge the band's merits when it comes down to it. You, instead, claim to appreciate Gary and TT and to wish them well, but all your posts prove otherwise. You are obsessed with success and especially with asserting non-stop that Robbie is more successful than TT outside UK. As a TT fan, I want them to be recognized everywhere, but I won't lose sleep if that doesn't happen. You seem to be under the impression that we go crying into our pillows or something because Robbie is more famous.

Last night, for the first time in many years - since The Circus tour in fact - I saw the boys really happy and at ease with each other. I wasn't one to believe at the time that Robbie joined TT for the Progress tour out of personal interests, but, lately, I'm reaching the conclusion that he somehow used TT for his own benefit. I do believe he made peace with Gary, but he did not join the band because he wanted to be in the group again. In all the interviews taken during the Progress era, there was a tension in the air. I doubt they had open conflicts, but they clearly were not comfortable with each other and, in Jason's case, it was the most obvious. Gary seemed genuinely the happiest out of them all, probably because he thought Robbie was truthful and was willing to put the past behind them and to apologize. Unfortunately, I did not get the same feeling from Robbie. I stand by what I said - Robbie may have helped TT sell more, but he ruined the balance and dynamics of the group and changed people's perception of the band. I still remember all the comments about Rob's behaviour and language during the gigs and how these elements put many people who perceived TT gigs as family events off. As you all know, I haven't been able to see the boys live, but I do have all the dvd-s and, for me, Progress is the least enjoyable. I get sad every time I watch that dvd because I hate seeing Gary reduced to a backing singer and Robbie taking all the glory. Even now, I get annoyed by comments such as Elizabeth's, stating that Progress was critically acclaimed due to Robbie, which is simply not true, because even Robbie admitted that the new sound was all down to Gary - whether I liked it or not is another matter. I would have preferred to hear more from the boys in last night's documentary, but, at least, I got the sensation that everything is right between them and the tension present during the Progress era was gone. They did seem a bit nostalgic, but, at the same time, well down to earth and willing to put the effort and make the band work. When Gary said that they had been watching the social media for 48 hours to grasp people's reactions to Jason leaving the band, I really felt sorry for them and realized that it wasn't that easy for them to decide to go on as a trio. I know some people think that they stood together for money, but I don't see any evidence of that.

That documentary was something else when it comes to dvd spoilers :D You should have watched the dvd when you had the chance, Aphrodite :D I hope the programme helped the sales, at least a little bit.

I can concede to Jay, but Robbie...why? Because some of his fans want to take advantage of TT for as long as it suits them? Why would Robbie still be a part of TT? Why should he still benefit from everything TT does or wins if he's not willing to put in the effort and be in the band? His stunt in 2011 seems to have damaged the band more than it helped, so why should TT fans be loyal to him and grant him the honour of being a TT member? And what does have to do with the discussion we were having anyway?

If you're apologizing for your typos, I should stop posting altogether, seeing how many mistakes I make :) I'm disappointed to hear the dvd isn't in stores. I was sure it would have been in all stores, considering TT dvd-s usually make good Christmas gifts.

The dvd is sooooo good. The visuals, the vocals...everything is perfect.