Take That Greatest Weekend: The band's rise to stardom and my take on the mania ahead of Malta festival

I completely missed “Take That Mania” living in New Zealand; still, the chance to visit Malta to see them play seems pretty cool.

“The Greatest Weekend,” as Gary Barlow, Mark Owend and Howard Donald are touting their Malta excursion, is set to be a four-day festival-style event with the band performing not one but two headline performances across the weekend from October 17 to October 19 2024. 

No, sadly I was living it up in Auckland as a pre-teen still enamoured with Nirvana, Foo Fighters and the like, with family members in the United Kingdom telling me about this massive boy band better than Boyz II Men, New Kids On The Block and Blackstreet combined.

Though I’d see some of their music videos, the pop cultural phenomenon didn’t make its way to the Southern Hemisphere, though admittedly I enjoyed their cover of “Relight My Fire” with Lulu and am not ashamed to admit I thought Mark Owen was the looker of the bunch. 

Am I right?

But as I moved back to the United Kingdom in 1996, when the band broke up, I could kind of understand the commotion but wasn’t aware of the acrimonious decision leading Robbie Williams to leave the band. 

It didn’t help that the next music video I saw for the band was “Do What You Like,” which was… interesting, to say the least. So I asked myself - “how did this band who at one stage were adorned in leather, playing around with custard and jelly, become one of UK music’s biggest acts?”

Here’s my brief history lesson for those of you who may also have not experienced the fire and the fury that was Take That’s big rise to fame, their split and then subsequent renaissance when Robbie came back - but not for good. 

Take That - from HI-NRG to Britain’s biggest pop act.

It started here - “Take That and Party” (1992)

They say first impressions count - so whoever could have predicted Take That becoming the all-conquering answer to the wave of US boy bands could be forgiven for thinking their first album was an indication of what to expect from the band. 

The first single from the band, “Do What You Like,” tapped into the HI-NRG style popular in the ‘90s, with a fusion of Eurodance beats alongside Gary Barlow’s vocals. It screamed boy band hit, but the video for the song became infamous. 

Cue the band being smeared in cream, custard and jelly, bearing “almost” everything at points. Surprisingly, the band looked back on the video with some regrets; it was omitted from Take That’s “Never Forget - The Ultimate Collection” DVD, but thankfully it was uploaded onto Take That’s official YouTube channel.

Speaking years later about the video in the 2004 documentary “Take That: For the Record,” Gary Barlow said that despite neither the song nor the video being brilliant, they were important in helping the band get noticed.

The biggest band in Britain - “Everything Changes” (1993)

Yet by the time “Everything Changes” was released in 1993, the group became the biggest boy band in the United Kingdom, thanks in part to the success of the album’s lead single, “Pray” - the first of many UK single chart-toppers through the band’s existence.

So what led to the about-turn from the HI-NRG music they founded themselves upon to the music they released which garnered a more widespread appeal? 

"With the first album, we were still finding our feet and figuring out our sound. By the time we started working on 'Everything Changes,' we had a clearer vision of what we wanted to achieve musically,” Gary Barlow has discussed in interviews and written about in his biography, “A Better Me," in 2018.

Robbie Williams in his autobiography, “Feel,” echoed those sentiments: “We were young and having fun with the first album, but we knew we needed to grow and evolve. “Everything Changes” was about showing the world that we could be taken seriously as musicians.”

The end of the line for now - “Nobody Else” (1995)

But as quickly as Take That ascended the ranks of UK music history, like a firework they fizzled out before fading away - in part due to Robbie Williams leaving the group after recording “Nobody Else.”

Despite debuting at number one on the UK Albums Chart and producing three number-one singles in the UK ("Sure," "Back for Good," and "Never Forget”) it would be the dissolution of the band that the record is more known for.

Robbie Williams officially left the band in July 1995 during the promotional tour for "Nobody Else" announcing his departure in a press release, stating he had left to pursue other interests.

“I felt stifled and needed to express myself in ways that I couldn't within the band,” Williams explained in “Feel.” “Leaving was one of the hardest decisions I've ever made, but it was necessary for my own sanity and growth."

In Gary Barlow’s book, he wrote: "There was a lot of resentment and anger at the time. We felt betrayed, and it took a long time to get over it. But looking back, I understand why Robbie felt he had to leave."

A year later, the fateful press conference was called where the remaining members announced that they would be calling it a day, leading to widespread distress among the fanbase, including charity lines taking calls from the fandom that didn’t think they could carry on without Take That.

Mark Owen recalled: “We had achieved so much, but the fun was gone. We needed to take a step back and figure out what we wanted to do next."

Take That’s back - “Progress (2010)

While four members of the band released their comeback album, “Beautiful World” in 2003, it would take seven more years before fans got the “definitive” Take That line-up back - as Robbie Williams finally re-entered the fold. 

The five-piece recorded “Progress” in 2010, the first time all five members of the band were involved in a Take That record since 1995. "Progress" debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart and became the fastest-selling album of the century at the time in the UK.

 "Coming back to Take That has been incredible,” Robbie Williams discussed during interviews around their reunion and subsequent 2011 World Tour. “We’ve all matured, we’re all respectful of each other’s space, and we’re all very grateful for what we’ve got."

Howard Donald felt that "Having Robbie back has added a new dimension to our music. It feels like a reunion in the truest sense, and we’re excited for what’s ahead."

Where we are now - “This Life” (2023)

This brings us to the past 12 months, with Take That’s most recent album “This Life” once again topping the UK album charts and becoming the biggest first-week sales for a British act in 2023. 

But along the way, they lost two members; Robbie Williams, content with his own incredibly successful solo career, continued on his musical path, while Jason Orange called it a day in 2014, three years before the release of “Wonderland.” 

"At the end of The Progress Tour I began to question whether it might be the right time for me to not continue on with Take That,” Orange revealed in a press release regarding his departure. “There has been no falling out, only a decision on my part that I no longer wish to do this.”

While Howard Donald expressed his shock, Mark Owen was more philosophical about the departure in interviews: “We’ve had a good run. I want to celebrate what we’ve done together and go out on a high. We’ve got a bit of room to breathe."

This nimbly brings us up to the present - give or take a few album releases and tours.

Are tickets still available to attend Take That’s “The Greatest Weekender” in Malta?

Four-day tickets to attend Take That’s “The Greatest Weekend” in Malta have almost sold out through Ticketmaster, so to avoid missing out on the entire weekend, or if you fancied just seeing one of Take That’s two-headline performances, then head on over to the ticketing agents and make your choice.