"Never Forget" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() UK CD single 1 cover | ||||
Single by Take That | ||||
from the album Nobody Else | ||||
Released | 24 July 1995 [1] | |||
Genre | ||||
Length |
| |||
Label | ||||
Songwriter(s) | Gary Barlow | |||
Producer(s) |
| |||
Take That singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Alternative cover | ||||
![]() UK CD single 2 cover | ||||
Alternative cover | ||||
![]() UK promo CD single cover | ||||
Music video | ||||
"Never Forget" on YouTube |
"Never Forget" is a song recorded by English boy band Take That,included as the sixth track on their third studio album, Nobody Else (1995). Written by Gary Barlow and produced by Brothers in Rhythm and Dave James,it features Howard Donald on lead vocals. A remixed version of the song produced by Jim Steinman was released as a single on 24 July 1995 by RCA and BMG and became the band's seventh number one on the UK Singles Chart,remaining at number one for three weeks. Robbie Williams left the band during the promotion of the song. Its music video was directed by David Amphlett. In 2018,"Never Forget" was included in American Billboard magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Boyband Songs of All Time". [2]
The song was written by Gary Barlow and sung mostly by Howard Donald. Robbie Williams has a short solo section in the middle of the song and his vocals are also featured before the final chorus. There is also a remix with Gary Barlow having a solo part after Robbie Williams's part. However,this remix remains unreleased. In addition to Robbie Williams,Jason Orange,Mark Owen,and Gary Barlow all have parts in the song.
Courtesy of a remix by producer Jim Steinman,the single version contains heavier,more robust instrumentation,with brass arrangements and additional vocals from the Henllan Boys Choir,led by Ally Stubbs. It also features a short instrumental intro taken from the Tuba mirum of Verdi's Requiem . Steinman had been chosen due to his work on Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell ,an album Barlow's brother owned and listened to frequently. Barlow attended the overdubbing sessions in New York,which were followed by the recording of Celine Dion's version of "It's All Coming Back to Me Now". [3] The single mix was premiered on Simon Mayo's Radio 1 show on 3 July 1995.
The song was mimed by the leading characters in the series finale in the fourth series of Shameless and used in 2006 for the "Take That:The Ultimate Tour" finale. Currently the track has sold over 600,000 copies in the UK and received a Platinum certification. [4]
"Sunday to Saturday" was issued as a single in Japan instead of "Never Forget" and reached number nine. However,"Never Forget" still managed to chart in the lower sections of its singles chart.
In his weekly UK chart commentary for Dotmusic ,James Masterton found that what has transformed "a rather weedy-sounding album track" into "a bombastic masterpiece" is the credit on the sleeve which indicates the remixing presence on the track of one Jim Steinman. [5] Pan-European magazine Music &Media said,"Exit Robbie,welcome to the now fab four. Recorded before his departure,the title and the lyrics seem almost to have anticipated his announcement. Jim Steinman's trademark bombastic production underlines the drama." [6] A reviewer from Music Week commented,"The likes of Clive Griffin,Katie Kissoon and Jimmy Ruffin's son Jayray provide the choral backing for this slinky,rousing pop track that grows with a piano and strings accompaniment before a great hand clapping finale." [7] In a separate single review,Music Week rated it four out of five,adding,"A fanfare and a heavenly choir precede this strong gospel tinged number with Howard Donald on lead vocals. It should see the boys grabbing the top spot once more." [8] Paul Moody from NME felt that "Never Forget" "could almost be the work of Meat himself,so lacking in subtlety is it. There's a choir in the intro for a kick off,plenty of self-referential angst from Sir Gaz in the lyric about never forgetting the fans'n'stuff,and an overblown delivery from wolfman Howard to top it off. Fab!" [9]
Some have noticed similarities between the track's chorus and that of Smokey Robinsons' 1965 "Tracks of My Tears". The link to Robinson is also shown in a duet between Barlow and Robinson which features on the 2014 album Smokey &Friends . [10]
In 2018,the song was ranked seventy first by Billboard critics in their compilation of the "100 Greatest Boyband Songs of All Time". [2]
The accompanying music video for the song was directed by David Amphlett. It is a montage of childhood moments of Take That caught on camera and features photographs of the members as children. Most of the footage is taken from the band performing live,backstage at gigs or on tour. Other moments such as the band meeting then-Prince Charles and TV appearances are also shown. The video for "Never Forget" was later made available on Take That's official YouTube channel in 2009,and had generated more than eleven million views as of February 2024. [11]
In the original recording of the song,Robbie Williams had a solo section near the end. When the group reformed in 2006 without him,the first part of Williams' section was sometimes sung by whoever was supporting the band on tour. The second half was sung by Mark Owen. After Williams rejoined the group in 2010,the song was performed live by all five members for the first time on the BBC's Children in Need on 19 November 2010. In 2008,Eoghan Quigg performed a cover of this song on The X Factor and it featured on his critically panned self-titled album,released on 6 April 2009. Critics considered it the worst moment on the album. The following year it was performed by the final twelve during the final group performance of series 6. It was also performed at the beginning of The X Factor Final 2010 featuring finalists Matt Cardle,Rebecca Ferguson and One Direction,and joined by Take That on stage.
Williams also performed the song solo,on the Take the Crown Stadium Tour in 2013. When playing at Wembley Stadium,he replaced the lyric "Someday this will all be someone else's dream" with "this will be Justin Bieber's dream..." and continued,"I don't think so! He's a good singer and he's got a lovely haircut... I should shut up now before I get into too much trouble," to thunderous applause from the audience. [12]
Williams performed the song on his 2017 stadium tour The Heavy Entertainment Show Tour.
The song's chorus is played during rugby games at Twickenham Stadium when England score a penalty kick or conversion.
On 25 March 2017,the three remaining members of Take That performed "Never Forget" with Ant &Dec as the final song of a medley during the "End of the Show Show" on Ant &Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway . [13]
At the Coronation Concert for King Charles III and Queen Camilla,Take That performed the song as a three-piece to close the concert,with military bands supporting on trumpets and drums. The opening was performed by the St. George's Chapel choristers. [14] Following this performance the song peaked at number four on the LyricFind Global and number seven on the LyricFind U.S charts compiled by Billboard. [15] [16]
|
|
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI) [59] | Platinum | 600,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
Life thru a Lens is the debut solo studio album by English singer-songwriter Robbie Williams. It was Williams' first solo album following his departure from Take That. Released on 29 September 1997 through Chrysalis Records, it is influenced by Britpop, a departure from the poppier tone of the music Take That employed. The album's working name was The Show-Off Must Go On.
"Total Eclipse of the Heart" is the lead single by Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler from her fifth studio album, Faster Than the Speed of Night (1983) written and produced by Jim Steinman and recorded in 1982, released as a single by CBS/Columbia in 1983.
"Angels" is a song by the English singer-songwriter Robbie Williams. It was included on Williams's debut solo album, Life thru a Lens (1997), and released as a single on 1 December 1997 by Chrysalis. "Angels" was written by Williams and Guy Chambers, based on an earlier song written by Ray Heffernan.
"Back for Good" is a song by English band Take That from their third studio album, Nobody Else (1995). Released on March 27, 1995 by RCA and Arista, it was written by lead singer Gary Barlow, who also co-produced it with Chris Porter. The song topped the UK Singles Chart whilst also charting at number one in 31 countries, as well as reaching the top 10 in many others. Vaughan Arnell and Anthea Benton directed the song's music video. At the 1996 Brit Awards, "Back for Good" won the Brit Award for British Single of the Year. In 2003, Q Magazine ranked the song at number 910 in their list of the "1001 Best Songs Ever" and in a UK poll in 2012, it was voted number 11 on the ITV special The Nation's Favourite Number One Single.
"A Million Love Songs" is a song by English boy band Take That that appeared on their debut studio album, Take That & Party (1992). The song was written by lead vocalist Gary Barlow. It was released in the United Kingdom on 28 September 1992 by Sony Music and peaked at number seven on the UK Singles Chart that October. It also reached number 50 in the Netherlands.
"Relight My Fire" is a disco song written and released by American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer Dan Hartman as the title track from his 1979 album of the same name. It was also performed by Costa Anadiotis' band Café Society in 1984 and British boy band Take That in 1993, five months before Hartman died.
Take That & Party is the debut studio album by English boy band Take That. Released on 17 August 1992 on RCA Records, it reached number two on the UK Albums Chart and stayed in the UK Top 75 album chart for 73 weeks. It was their only album not to reach number one until Wonderland also peaked at number two in 2017.
Nobody Else is the third studio album by English boy band Take That. It would become Take That's last studio album to be recorded before their initial disbandment in 1996.
"Shine" is the second single taken from English pop group Take That's comeback album, Beautiful World (2006). It became Take That's sixth consecutive number one single and their tenth number-one overall, making them one of only seven acts in the history of the UK charts to have more than nine number one hits. The song is about former Take That member Robbie Williams' battle with depression.
"I Found Heaven" is a song by English boy band Take That from their debut studio album, Take That & Party. It was released as the album's fifth single on 3 August 1992.
"Everything Changes" is a song by English boy band Take That. Released as the fifth single from the band's second studio album, Everything Changes (1993), and written by Gary Barlow and producers Michael Ward, Eliot Kennedy and Cary Bayliss, the song features Robbie Williams on lead vocals.
"Sure" is a single by English boy band Take That, released as the lead single from their third studio album, Nobody Else (1995). It was written by Take That's lead singer Gary Barlow and fellow band members Robbie Williams and Mark Owen. Released on 3 October 1994 by RCA and BMG, the song became the band's fifth number one on the UK Singles Chart and has received a silver disc certification in the UK for selling over 200,000 copies. Q Magazine ranked "Sure" at number 86 in their list of the "1001 Best Songs Ever" in 2003.
"Rule the World" is a song by English boy band Take That. It was recorded for the soundtrack of the film Stardust (2007), and then included on the deluxe edition of their fourth studio album Beautiful World (2006).
"Said It All" is a song by English rock band Take That. It is the fourth single from to be taken from their fifth studio album, The Circus (2008). The single was released in the United Kingdom on 15 June 2009, where it peaked at number nine on the UK Singles Chart and number one on the Scottish Singles Chart. It was their last hit as a four-piece as Robbie Williams return to the group on the next hit, "The Flood".
"Shame" is a song written and recorded by English singers Robbie Williams and Gary Barlow for Williams's second greatest hits compilation album, In and Out of Consciousness: Greatest Hits 1990–2010 (2010). Produced by Trevor Horn, it was released as the lead single from the album on 27 August 2010 in most countries worldwide and on 1 October in the United Kingdom. "Shame" marks the first time Williams and Barlow collaborated on a song together solely and the first time they worked together since Williams left Take That in 1995. It is a pop song with country and folk music influences; two reviewers noted that it contains an acoustic guitar part similar to the one of the Beatles' 1968 song, "Blackbird". The lyrical content revolves around the singers repairing their broken relationship.
In and Out of Consciousness: Greatest Hits 1990–2010 is the second greatest hits compilation album by the English singer-songwriter Robbie Williams, after his first greatest hits compilation, Greatest Hits, which was released in 2004. The album, which features 39 songs, was released in October 2010 and is his last album under his recording contract with EMI. The lead single of the album is "Shame", co-written by and featuring fellow Take That member Gary Barlow. The song is their first collaboration in 15 years since Williams left Take That in 1995.
"The Flood" is a song by English pop group Take That from their sixth studio album, Progress (2010). It was released as the lead single in the United Kingdom on 7 November 2010. The song is the first to feature Robbie Williams since his return to the band in July 2010, and features both Williams and Gary Barlow on lead vocals.
English singer Gary Barlow has released six studio albums, eighteen singles, twenty-two music videos and five featured songs. Barlow has had fifteen number-one UK singles, eleven number-one albums and has written thirteen UK number-one singles, selling over 50 million records worldwide and over seven million concert tickets.
"Candy" is a song by English pop singer Robbie Williams, released on 11 September 2012 as the lead single from his ninth studio album Take the Crown. It was written by Williams and Gary Barlow, interpolating a riff from "Eurodans" by Terje Olsen. The song was Williams's first UK number-one single since "Radio" in 2004, and was deliberately produced in the style of other 2012 chart-toppers in a calculated attempt to re-establish his presence in the UK charts.
"Cry" is a song performed by British drum and bass duo Sigma featuring vocals from English pop group Take That. The song was released as a digital download on 20 May 2016, through 3 Beat Records. The song peaked at number 21 on the UK Singles Chart and is included on the deluxe edition of Take That's eighth studio album, Wonderland (2017).