dylandog

Don't know how true this is but I've seen a post stating that the TT show is on BBC1 on 22nd December at 10.30pm. Unfortunately, that's not a good time slot and I doubt there will be high viewing figures.

I think the simple answer is not enough people have liked the music they've released lately. These Days did well but they made a major mistake releasing HB - it was dreadful. If they'd released WYBTFM and promoted it I do believe the outcome would have been more positive. As for Rob, he does a lot of promo and if he has a strong release he will do well.

The reviews for The Girls musical have been fantastic and bodes well for a transfer to the West End.

Oh dear. That's pretty much a disaster. I guess sales must be minuscule to be that low down in the chart. I've mentioned my puzzlement before regarding sales. How can 500,000 attend their tour only a matter of months ago, yet so few show interest in their new songs/ DVD? It really doesn't make any sense to me. The Christmas market is a lucrative one and sales are always higher this time of year. However, aside from Adele sales do appear to be surprisingly low, although I imagine some kind of resurgence in the next two weeks as people buy last minute presents. TT seem to have slipped under the radar promotion wise. I haven't seen any adverts for the DVD but I understand there is one floating around. The documentary should have been scheduled for now or next week rather than over the Christmas period. Perhaps they didn't have much say in the scheduling but I'm sure they could have put pressure on the TV company to show it sooner.

Happy Birthday, Milly !! Hope you have a wonderful day :)

Yes, there is more than a passing resemblance to Jump - but an improvement on it. The Dare melody is far more beautiful. I've seen a progression in Gary's lyrics in recent times which is why HB seems such an odd choice. I do think he benefits from a writing partner, such as Eliot and Tim Firth, who I understand gave Gary direction and focus with the lyrics and song construction for The Girls. Gary is a prolific song writer but probably discards 90% of his songs. He must have melodies constantly going around in his head. I struggle to remember where I've put my car keys:)

The position is ok all things considered. However, I would be interested to know the sales figures. My guess would be pretty dire. Surprised how poor the sales are in the run up to Christmas for all artists outside of Adele. I hope most people like her album because there'll be a lot of them under trees come Christmas morning :)

You are so right, Milly. They came back with Patience which is a very traditional ballad and their biggest selling single since 2005 is RTW - again a very classical ballad sound. I do like the fact they experiment to some degree, but most people need to identify with a specific sound for a band. Move too far away from that and there's danger of alienating your core fan base and general buyers. I know the critics have mauled FN but it's received wonderful reviews from the public. Gary may not write in the true tradition of musical theatre but I think some of the songs are beautiful. I've listened to Dare a few more times and the melody is so, so pretty. Gary's vocals are very crisp and his high notes are fab, although I actually prefer his lower range - for example, 6th Avenue. To me the band's reverted back to their early sound of the 90's - and if they reflected on this they would recognise this type of music wasn't very successful for them. Their success came from a mostly classical pop, ballad sound.

With some changes to the arrangements some of Gary's musical theatre songs would fit neatly onto the BW album. I love the string arrangement for Dare. The more I hear of FN and TG, leads me to believe that Gary loosened his influence on TT to free up more time for his theatre work. I personally think this kind of music is the real, authentic Gary. As you say, some may consider it dull but I love it. There's nothing more wonderful than an orchestra and pure vocals.

Wondering what everyone thinks of the song Dare from The Girls musical ? Some lovely lyrics and a very pretty melody. Gary's voice also sound good on it. This is the second song that's been recorded from the musical. Could this mean there's a possibility of an album?

The performance was ok but if I remember correctly the staging was a bit strange and they were all positioned quite far away from each other, so it didn't look like they were a band. I would like to think the Brits will acknowledge their contribution to UK music over the past 25 years but that remains to be seen. My main disappointed of the past week or so is that WYBTFM will never get the recognition that in my opinion it deserves. It is a classic TT sound with some wonderful lyrics and beautiful music. We've all been saying they should come back with a classic ballad. Well they had one, which if there was any justice would have been a big hit. One can only surmise why they chose such a weak song, but they did. Either they were pressured into choosing that song by the record company, or for some unfathomable reason, the three of them believed HB was the best out of the four new songs :)

I can't see them appearing at the Brits. Didn't they appear last year and perform LITS with little or no impact on sales? The only chance of an appearance would be for the Lifetime Achievement Award. Given that the Brits aren't too keen on TT I would be surprised if that happened. The Brits will belong to Adele with possible awards to Sam/Ed. Given their love for ID I'm sure they'll come up with some kind of award for them too.

I can't stop playing the three new songs - on constant repeat. My DVD seems to be ok but what a shambles. There doesn't appear to have been any quality control of the product. Let's hope the BBC show gets a good schedule spot and not some death spot which no one will see. They need maximum exposure now. A slot on X Factor ( in spite of it's falling viewing figures ) would be fantastic, but there's no indication that they're going to appear. If they performed WYBTFM on the show I would be amazed if album sales didn't significantly increase.

Given all the negative publicity 9 isn't too bad. Fantastic news about the BBC show which sounds like it's scheduled for over Christmas. Ideally it should have aired at the beginning of December to capitalize on the run up to the holidays. I so wished they'd arranged an Audience with now, but it is great to have something positive to look forward to. Does anyone know if the rumours around Gary and The Voice are true? I would prefer him not to take on any TV commitments but I swear that man is a workaholic . Either that or there's two of him. :)

I haven't see any advertising for the DVD but apparently there have been some TV slots. It's such a shame the DVD isn't garnering more interest because it was a really good show. Universal's response has been poor and they should have recalled the faulty stock immediately. I remember the Progress DVD release and it was everywhere. I think Universal have simply lost interest in the band post Progress and moved on to other, younger artists. I would absolutely love Jay to return, it isn't quite the same without him. I know Jay has said positive things about Rob but if you look carefully at the body language from the Progress era I believe there were unresolved issues. I think Mark and Gary were instrumental in paving Rob's return and Howard and Jay were side lined. The Circus era was a fantastic one with a universally acclaimed tour - they didn't need Rob's return. They could have released a new album two years after Circus and it would have done very well in my view. Rob's return split the fan base/image. I apologise to all Rob fans but I simply don't like him. I acknowledge that he was an integral part of TT first time around but I became a fan of the four and I identified with them and not their earlier incarnation. I don't know how I feel about them continuing if their decline continues. I love the band but I also want them to produce fab music and have that recognized.

You may be right, Jay. The problem is the return of Jay and Rob would open up questions about the viability of the three as a going concern. I can imagine the media slanting the narrative around the need to have Rob on board to boast sales and popularity. It may be a short term fix but people are creatures of habit and may not appreciate the constant changes in the band. I question the decision to have Rob back in the first place. I think it derailed the group after they'd forged a separate identity without him. Yes, they profited in the short term, but I'm not sure it was beneficial in the long run. Sadly, I don't see Jay returning. I think he made a decision and I would be highly surprised if he changed his mind. We will never know all the reasons for his departure but I wonder if he would still be on board if the status quo hadn't changed in 2010? I think it's rather sad that two good songs and one great song have been shoe horned onto a re release - this era has been so poorly managed.

I think it will Pippa. I know Gary has a hard outer shell but they must be acutely aware of the sales figures. They would have expected better sales and I've no doubt so did the record company. The lll era started out relatively well but it hasn't fulfilled it's initial promise. There isn't any hype around them any more and the lack of radio air play has been most obvious this time around. It's a shame they didn't put greater thought into how they could effectively market the album and the re-lease. If ever they needed a TV special it was this time around. I wonder why they didn't go down that avenue?

I really don't understand the low sales. As I've said before hundreds of thousands went to the tour so it's not unreasonable to assume that around 50 - 100,00 would buy a copy, but they haven't. If it was a poor tour I could understand, but the reviews on sites were absolutely fantastic, so very few came away disappointed. It's really rather strange... There's a story about the DVD on the Daily Mail website picking up on 'fans' criticism due to the faults many have experienced. They've posted a few negative stories about the band in recent times and it looks like some of the press are taking any opportunity to print less than positive things about TT.

Well they are performing next month - great for those who can get to London on a work day. They are 6 in the mid week chart - hopefully they will hold on to that position, or somewhere near it. However, sales are very low at this point. I think ID are at 5 with sales of around 19,000 so it is disappointing when you think back to their DVD sales for The Circus.

Congrats indeed. Those are incredible figures in today's music market. She's obviously tapped into a sound that people love and her personality seems to appeal to many. She is an excellent singer in a music industry which is devoid of classic singers, but I nevertheless think that the quality of her music is over rated. It looks like she'll hold onto the number one position in the album charts well into January, if not beyond. I guess we know who's walking away with a handful of Brits next year! I would imagine that in the UK she is destined to sell in the region of two and a half to three million if sales hold up. I can't see TT sales holding up until Friday - but figures crossed I'm wrong. A heavy promo campaign this week would have been very beneficial.

You're right it was too busy, which was actually one of the key weaknesses of the Progress tour. I wonder who was responsible for the routine? The 70's look and homage to that era seems to have gone over the head of a lot of people. Most are commenting on the fact that three 40 somethings are dressed in naff clothes!!! I guess not the impact the lads were hoping for:)

I love your optimism :) Thinking back to their Abbey Road session. How lovely would it be to hear some of the lll album stripped back. Songs like Freeze would sound really good. I'm guessing it there is a concert it will be before the end of the year due to Howard's personal situation. I think Gary will focus on The Girls musical and FN between Jan and May as I've heard that FN may be coming to the West End next summer and if the shows in Leeds and Manchester go well I would imagine they'll look to roll out The Girl's show either to the WE or across the country.

Another hint from Heart - artist has won 6 Ivor Novello awards. This does sound like it could be TT or Gary on his own. Hard core fans loving the Strictly performance but some very harsh, nasty comments on line from non fans/general viewers. I thought this could happen. Can you imagine how lovely WYBTFM would have been with the ballroom back drop and lights. They came back as a mature pop act, I really don't want to see their reputation ruined. Any more performances of this kind/music of this genre and they will undo all their hard work. They can get away with it as part of an overall live concert but it doesn't work as a stand alone piece. The general public don't get the ' tongue in cheek element' and thus it comes across as more than a little cringe worthy

The boys certainly don't mind sending themselves up. Sometimes I look at the clothes Gary's made to wear and the dance routines, then I look at the serious Broadway composer/ song writer and the two seem miles apart. I have a feeling the Hyde Park gig is going to be an extravaganza!!!! Heart radio are hinting at a secret gig from a big artist - over 7 million concert tickets sold etc. I wonder if it could be them? I know they did a show for Heart some time ago. These kind of gigs make little difference sales wise. At this point only big TV exposure will improve sales. However, for those fans lucky enough to get tickets it's a real treat.

Oh Milly, I didn't like it. Watched it all and I thought they were miming. So many dancers it was actually quite difficult to see them. It was showy, brash and camp so in a way it was representative of SCD. That said, there's something quite adorable about the love they have for performing :)