Hassaan

I half wonder if they even believe this stuff. They're clearly happy to play with people's lives either way.

Something saddens me about the term 'legacy act'. It might be technically true but I don't like the idea that an act is less deserving of a number one single because they've been around for 30 years. I'm not saying that's what you've said but that's the general vibe I get from the industry.

I didn't think it would be in the top 100 at all given its streaming seems to be non-existent.

I don't understand what the endgame is for all of this from the Tories' perspective. I know there's using it as a distraction and everything else but it's like they don't even care about the fact they're playing with people's lives. I know they're Tories but still.

Not sure why they haven't, unless they're saving them for a later week. Have they got any telly performances lined up?

He's also supporting Take That next year. As for The Voice UK, he didn't strike me as an obvious choice to replace. The show seems like it's being wound down anyway so it seems a random decision either way.

With the first single now, I'd have been surprised if the album wasn't out before Christmas. I wonder if Wonderland suffered for not releasing in Q4.

I'm definitely hoping to get tickets to one of the Birmingham shows.

I think if they're releasing the first single now, we'll have an album out by Christmas. I think that's how it should be anyway.

Yes, there is a short clip titled '22.09.23'.

Perhaps not, but I'd like to think they are one of the few legacy acts (not a term I like particularly) that can manage it. Giants got into the top 20 and These Days got to number one less than ten years ago.

I'm quite fond of I Found You, personally. I suppose the falsetto chorus was out of step with what people expected from them and therefore a bit marmite, but I liked the fact it was different.

Take That's main reason for doing it was because the originals are already widely available. These aren't designed to replace the originals. In Take That's case though, they just did a few remasters instead of re-recording all the songs.

Yeah, Beautiful World struck me as a more impactful song and I get the impression they didn't fancy Lighthouse that much given they didn't sing it on their Greatest Hits tour.

I hope they've got a load of cassette and CD singles ready to go. Seriously. It's interesting though, they seem to be leading with a softer ballad (ala Patience) if they're saying it's an emotional one, as opposed to something dancey (These Days) or very live-friendly (Greatest Day and Giants).

I'm mainly thinking of those people who have been sacked from a job for an old tweet rather than simply being given a talking to (and the person is clearly not the same person as they were). It has happened to the odd soap actor too (not ordinary in that sense but hardly big names either). I think we haven't really found that line between holding someone accountable and 'cancelling' them. The problem with these Twitter pile-ons, regardless of whether or not the person actually deserves it, is that I don't believe anything is gained. The person on the other end of it is not going to learn much from thousands of people screaming at them, and may make them more resentful instead. It doesn't matter how genuinely apologetic they might be, they'll still get ripped to shreds.

I would respectfully disagree. It doesn't work on powerful people who have big fanbases or whatever. It does, however, affect the ordinary person who gets sacked from a job because of a tweet they wrote as a child (for example).

They've just announced tour dates in India. The current setlist appears to have dropped the ABBA Medley and has brought in 'Nothing's Gonna Change My Love For You', 'Seasons in the Sun', 'Beautiful World' and 'Home'. Beautiful World particularly strikes me as a random choice - although I don't mind the song there's still barely anything from the two more recent albums. Having seen the clip from the recent Shanghai concert though they seem to have split the verses a bit so Kian & Nicky get a solo.

I actually really like this, especially the bits in the verses where he displays the lower parts of his range.

New album out on January 26th. Surprised he's not getting it out for Christmas but I'm guessing it's not ready.

That can't be the sole reason for the shows having seemingly sold out. I believe their biggest market is East Asia but I'm not struggling to believe that they have a following in the US. Wasn't there the whole thing of radio stations really liking World Of Our Own but refusing to play it once they realised it was by a boyband? I imagine some of that stigma has lessened. Westlife have been going for 25 years, it's not inconceivable that their music has reached the US.

They're still playing catch-up cos of COVID. Pretty sure a US tour was planned before then but obviously cancelled. I'd rather they get this tour run finished before doing a new album. Take That are releasing their first one of new material in 6 years this year. Re: Mark. I think Shane is vocally more consistent, as I think Mark uses more playback during live performances than he does. There's never really been one where Shane has mimed but Mark hasn't. If Shane mimes, they all do (from every example I've seen). He gets the bigger moments, but can be hit and miss. Sometimes he really gets the most out of the end bars of Flying Without Wings and other times it doesn't hit as well. It's just about using his voice in the best way.

There's not liking an artist and then there's the immature comments that make up a lot of this thread.

I recall them saying they weren't too keen on that one, like it was a different direction that didn't feel like them. I'm pretty sure they make a point of playing All About You and Obviously at most gigs too.

Somehow I get the impression that if anyone (or most people) other than Ed released two albums within a year, they wouldn't get this reaction.