dylandog

Great performance of GRFI on the JR show.

32 million between the four sounds about right but I read Elisabeth's comment to mean 32 million in relation to Gary. Its possible that negotiations may still be ongoing on between TT and HMRC, but the fact remains if HMRC requested a certain amount and TT didn't comply there would be legal action; and to date there's been none. For all we know they could have paid up months and months ago. Don't get me wrong Kath I abhor their decision to enter into a tax avoidance scheme and would never condone their actions. However they've been thrown under the bus by the press who have chosen to ignore the involvement of other well known celebs. The vitriol they've faced has been unacceptable in my opinion and to their credit they've remained dignified in the face of a sustain campaign against them. In terms of the tour I hope fans around the world do get an opportunity to see them live and tickets sell well ( but I have my doubts) The truth is if we only went to see artists who met a certain ethical standard in terms of their public and private life tours would be few and far between !!

I'd be very interested to know how you know their tax status? If they haven't paid back the money owed court proceedings would have been instigated - which hasn't happened as yet. As for facts - the tax issue related to four of them as their manager was involved. Gary's tax bill would be nowhere near 32 million!! To pay back that amount in tax he would have earned around 70 million in the past four years- more than his net worth. Take That have been successful the second time around, but not that successful!!!! I believe everyone is entitled to their opinion Elisabeth. However, I strongly disagree with your inference that they're touring simply to pay off their tax bill. Whatever you think of them they are committed musicians and absolutely love music and performing.

If the five nights is correct I'm a little shocked. I hope they haven't over estimated demand for tickets? Perhaps they should have gone for two nights - Berlin and Hamburg, for example, and tested the water. Would hate for them to play to less than capacity crowds. However I do hope they play some countries they haven't played before. They have a small but loyal following in the States and it would be lovely for those fans to see them even if it's a paired down show in a small venue. The same goes for South America - again a small but loyal fan base. Would also be nice for other European countries to have some kind of show. Think they may play Dubai as Gary had a good turnout for his concert last year and he mentioned returning with Take That.

I agree. They aren't always confident about their music and maybe they are testing the water with GRFI. The reviews for the film have indeed been excellent so it really is a good time to promote the song. It's a shame the promos for the film don't have the song on them!! Wondering if they're hoping to get as many of the songs from the album out in the public arena in the run up to the tour ? I would love another single off the album and hope it's Higher Than Higher but I would be surprised if there's another release after Let In The Sun as the tour starts in April.

The issue has been done to death now. Most of us have recognized the significant downturn in their album sales this time around and recognized Rob's far greater popularity outside of the UK - nothing more to be said on the matter really. It would be nice to focus on their upcoming performances on Jonathan Ross, BRITS and the War Child concert. It's really lovely to have them back after nearly four years away (even if there's only 3) Jason's leaving could easily have seen the end of TT. Fans need to relish and appreciate the fact they've carried on because the three could easily have decided to end it. If anyone hasn't seen their Kingsman performance I'd highly recommend it!! 3,4, or 5 their live performances are second to none.

Really surprised. No idea that the single has been released. Assumed it would be released around the time of the film's release which is the end of Jan. Can't understand the marketing strategy at all !!!

Yes they have, but I think the point is that they were won on the public vote. I think only best group was chosen by the industry which suggests that music bigwigs don't rate TT - not that it matters I guess. If ID win for best group it will be an interesting comparison to TT ( and I make the comparison not because I think they are equal in terms of quality, but because both are considered' boy bands')who had to wait 20 odd years for that accolade, have full control over their song writing and are heavily involved in the production side.

Not that big of a surprise. The Brits have never really been keen on TT. Probably won best group due to Rob's return. Most, if not all of their previous Brit awards have been voted for by the public. Possible they may not win any further Brits unless they have such a resurgence in sales that they can't be ignored. Interesting to compare ID and TT - Brits have bent over backwards to ensure ID win, going as far as to introduce new categories to accommodate them. A Life Time Achievement Award is indeed their best change of winning.

Great performance at the Kingsman premiere but why or why didn't they showcase another new song off the new album ? They always fall back on established songs so yet another opportunity missed.

Love the video it compliments the song really well. Don't know if anyone has posted this already but there's a live stream of the Kingsman premier this evening and Take That are performing.

I often find that Take That sound better live than on a recording. The lll songs did indeed sound good live on the Radio 2 show. Remember taking my son to a TT concert for the first time - Circus tour I think. He commented on their live vocals and actually said recently he thinks they're one of the few pop acts that sound as good live as they do on a record. Obviously their live locals are not as perfect at the recorded version, but I think he meant that they sound clearer and somewhat stripped on the over production element. Never thought about the TT sound it terms of Gary and Mark's distinctive tastes but you're probably right. Gary's album was a more MOR effort and reminiscent of BW and Mark has a more indie sound, and dare I say it, a more imaginative approach to music.

The Take That sound works best when its pure and simple. I disliked Progress in particular because to my mind it was vastly over produced. BW worked so well because the sound was pure, you could clearly hear the vocals and it had a simply and timeless feel to it. As much as I love RTW that is over produced as well and if I have any criticism of them it's that they keep over producing their sound. The Abbey Road compilation was really lovely. I love lll but they should have come back with a sound similar to BW/Abbey Road for the latest album. Well crafted, ballads are doing well- Sam Smith, Ed Sheeran etc. If you think of Adele's 21 was in no way ground breaking. It was simply an album with solid song writing, well produced with clear vocals and a pure sound. To remain at the top Take That need to go back to basics. Leave the modern, electronic sound to other bands and return to quality songs with an orchestral feel to them.

Gary has always said they'd never consider a new member of the band. NMS suggested Shayne Ward could replace Jason at one point ( think I read it in Gary's book) and Gary immediately poured scorn on it. Your right Milly, Take That could never replace Rob or Jason, they have too strong an identify and back history. There's a lot of buzz around the new Kingsman film and those who had seen have rated it highly. Unfortunately the song comes at the end of the film, rather than at the start, so I can't see it having that much impact, but who know! The stills from the video look really good so let's hope it's a strong video which compliments the song.

Your right - they made a conscious decision to focus on the UK. There were some half hearted attempts to booster their profile in Europe and Japan but I don't think they had the fight for it. It would have involved constant travelling and time away from their families, and they simply didn't want to do it. That said, regardless of persistent promotion I think sales abroad would still have been relatively small. The pop business is mostly for the young and although mid 30's isn't old it makes it that much harder to break down barriers.

Just goes to show we all see or hear things differently. I really liked their rendition of the Flood. Howard was clearly nervous but I would have liked him to have sung all of Robbie's part. I've heard Rob sing live and trust me he's not that great ! Regarding Take That's success, most of us are commenting from the perspective of the UK in full knowledge that European sales are negligible. Because a music act only sells in their own country doesn't mean they're somehow less credible or talented than acts that sells across the world. The chances of four men in their mid 30's returning to the music scene after a 10 year hiatus and selling around the world would have been very unlikely to say the very least. The success of Take That second time around should not be undervalued simply because they don't sell worldwide. They've produced quality music since their return and their live shows are amongst the best in the world - and in my opinion their best tours have been without Rob with Progress being their weakest since their 2006 comeback.

Not sure Jason will come back. If he does return in the next few years why the hell did he leave in the first place? If he's fed up of the media and out of love with music I don't see how that will change. Jason was always the most reluctant to return in 2006, so sadly I don't see this option happening. Possible Rob will come back for some kind of anniversary tour. Their sound constantly changes- no two albums have been the same so I can't see reinventing themselves again wouldl lead to greater sales. Hopefully they will write another massive hit, but need to go back to the MOR Take That sound - Patience, RTW etc and that may bring back some of the music public. Can't see them breaking up to reform again - Howard would be late 50's at that point!!!! They will either continue, albeit on a smaller scale and take on individual projects, or they will call it a day.

Visually it looks rather strange without Jason but musically the sound really isn't much different. I think Jay's voice was under used but it wasn't a strong voice so their current sound hasn't altered much at all. I got the impression from documentaries I've seen that Jay wasn't very involved in the song writing and musical side of it and didn't put nearly as much effort in as the others - but that's simply my view.They will miss Jay on tour without a shadow of a doubt ( as I think he came into his own with dance routines ) and so will the fans, but as a three they are still excellent performers and I don't doubt the tour will be exceptionally good.

As I've said before I think their pride will have been dented with the low sales figures. That said, I genuinely think they love music, songwriting and performing and in some shape or form will continue to do so; regardless of sales figures. In years to come Gary , and perhaps the others with diversify. Gary has already made in roads into musical theatre and the group's been involved in a number of film scores. Kath is right. Take That may be one of those artists who don't need huge albums sales to sell out arenas. The likes of Madonna and Kylie, for example, are not the heavy weights they previously were in the charts, yet they still have sell out tours. The Rolling Stones haven't sold albums in great numbers for god knows how many years but they still make millions from touring. Take That may be lucky enough able to sustain their career through touring; however I do think being relevant in the charts is still very important to them.

The sales difference between BW and Circus is small, your right, Pippa. What is surprising if you think about it is the sales for Progress. If you factor in Robbie then the sales for it should actually have been stronger than they were. Am I right in thinking that BW still has higher sales figures than Circus and Progress?

When you think how the fortunes of Take That, and particularly Gary, have changed its amazing. I do remember buying Open Road but not 12 months, 11 days. I wasn't a big TT fan in those days and never went to any of their concerts. Many have said Gary's second album campaign was handled badly with poor single choices ( Take That don't seem to have learnt from this the second time around) and I have to say I don't even remember his second album being released . It goes to show how quickly the music public move on ! I do have an abiding memory of watching The Brits and hearing Rob's comments about TT/Gary and squirming in my seat and I also have a really vivid memory of Rob leaving his record company and shouting he was rich beyond his wildest dreams! The music industry is so fickle , as many have pointed out to have a 90's 'boy band' and solo 'boy band' members still topping the charts and selling out tours over 20 years later is quite remarkable. Regarding lll - the record company should definitely reduce the price dramatically. At least it will give the album a chance to climb back up the charts and a fighting chance against other reduced albums.

Sorry Milly - thought that will their popularity dwindling in Europe it would be difficult for them to fill venues as I remember reading somewhere that they struggled to fill venues for their BW tour in Europe. I still think it would be quite sad if their venues are not full, however, the band may think that they want to thank fans and go ahead anyway. If as you say there wouldn't be a problem filling arenas in Romania, I hope you get a chance to see them. Interested to know if TT have ever toured Romania. If so, when?

I'm guessing sales are low in Europe. They have said they'll tour but given sales, if they do I think it will be a very small one and in quite small venues , perhaps 3 or 4 dates at most. Sorry for European TT fans but I would prefer they didn't tour Europe if crowds are poor and venues half full. If they do small venues it could also mean that they don't put on the UK show which will be a big production. It's clear that Rob coming back four years ago hasn't helped them one bit and the success of Progress was obviously due to Rob and not down to any particular interest in TT as a four/three. As soon as Rob left again so did the European fans it seems

These Days 8 in the chart - holding up well. Album down to 12- a poor show. It doesn't seem to have much momentum at all which is disappointing. Does anyone know the sales figures for both? I'm guessing that album sales have plummeted as it's January.

It's true they never could have envisaged the success which followed the documentary, but having happened I think they've loved being the most popular UK act, until Adele came along! They are rightly proud of what they have achieved but I do think that beneath all the smiles they will be disappointed and somewhat surprised with their sales figures for this album. Their reunion worked where others hasn't because , like their music or not, they are talented, songwriting wise and performance wise. Not many people like NMS, quite rightly, but one thing he did was instill a terrific work ethic and this has stuck with them. Other 'bands' ... ID for example, didn't have to work for their success, it simply happened ( and this is evident to anyone who has seen them live) TT worked in clubs up and down the country to get their big break and Gary worked from a teenager. Consequently their performance skills are exceptional and they give all on stage. This stage craft has been a big factor in their success second time around. At the end of the day if the songs are great their albums will benefit so I really hope that Mark and Gary have another song like RTW in them - at this stage I'm hanging on to the belief that somewhere there is that exceptional song to bring them back on track.