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<\/p>\nAs Take That prepare for their new Circus Live tour, Gary Barlow recalls which song is officially their worst and why he felt like a ‘failure’ as the band’s songwriter<\/p>\n
Gary Barlow has written many of the Take That’s hits, but also what he considers their ‘worst’ ever single(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n
As the legendary pop group prepares to dazzle fans once again with their highly anticipated The Circus Live 2026<\/a> tour – complete with massive elephant and fire-breathers<\/a> – it\u2019s easy to forget that the road to pop royalty wasn\u2019t always paved with gold.<\/p>\n While they are now celebrated as one of the greatest British bands of all time<\/a>, their early days were a whirlwind of mounting pressure, make-or-break performances, and creative struggles that left certain members feeling out of place.<\/p>\n Following disappointing sales from their first three singles, and with pressure mounting from their record label, there was a lot riding on the success of It Only Takes A Minute. With first-week sales looking promising, the group were invited to make their high-energy debut on Top Of The Pops<\/a>, in what would become their first of several performances on the show that year.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Robbie Williams splits with management team as he says \u2018it\u2019s time for a change\u2019<\/a>READ MORE: Robbie Williams puts decades-long Gary Barlow feud to bed with on-stage confession<\/a> Relight My Fire gave Take That their second number one hit in the UK in 1993 – but not all their songs were as succesful<\/p>\n It was not an easy gig to get, says former TOTP magazine editor Peter Hart, but became instrumental in the band\u2019s change in fortunes. \u201cTop Of The Pops was the show every record label wanted their artist to appear on,\u201d he tells OK!<\/a>. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t just a music programme, it was a cultural institution and genuinely had the power to make or break a performer.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cOutside of the No1 slot, acts were only lucky enough to appear on Top Of The Pops if the show\u2019s producers wanted them there. Of course, it would help if they were inside the Top 10, but there were a number of other factors at play too, including how TV-friendly the act looked and sounded.”<\/p>\n He continues, \u201cWhen Take That<\/a> released It Only Takes A Minute, everything came together at once. The single was going up the charts, the band had great choreography, they looked brilliant and they already had a fan base. But without Top Of The Pops, Take That would probably have never broken through to a mainstream audience \u2013 it\u2019s that simple.\u201d<\/p>\n Take That are reviving and reinventing their iconic 2009 Circus Tour in May 2026(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n Their efforts paid off as the single entered the charts at No16 and steadily climbed to No7 over the following weeks. However, while reaching their highest chart position to date was cause for celebration, the success was a bitter pill for songwriter Gary<\/a>. He later said he felt \u201cdefeated\u201d that their first major hit was a cover version rather than one of his original tracks, revealing, \u201cI felt like I\u2019d failed because I hadn\u2019t delivered what we\u2019d needed as a group.\u201d<\/p>\n Tom Smith, editor of Billboard UK, notes that in hindsight, the band\u2019s relatively slow rise to stardom actually worked in their favour. \u201cIt would have been hugely disappointing for Gary, but it benefitted Take That in the long run. When they were first formed, they were bandmates, but they weren\u2019t friends. The first couple of years gave them a chance to bond. It meant that when things were good, they were really, really good.\u201d<\/p>\n Their next single, I Found Heaven \u2013 also taken from their debut album Take That & Party <\/a>\u2013 was released in August 1992, with an accompanying video shot on the Isle of Wight\u2019s Sandown Beach. However, while it may have reached a respectable 15 in the UK charts, Gary has since described it as \u201cby a huge margin, the worst song of Take That\u2019s and my career\u201d. Gary\u2019s redemption came around two months later with the release of the more critically acclaimed A Million Love Songs, a heartfelt, piano-driven ballad he wrote when playing a keyboard at 15 years old.<\/p>\n \u201cGary has always been an old soul, so he was like a 40-year-old songwriter trapped in a teenager\u2019s body,\u201d says music writer Michael Cragg. \u201cHe wrote with such sophistication and his lyrics were almost timeless.\u201d<\/p>\n To celebrate the highly anticipated return of Take That’s The Circus Live Tour, OK! is releasing this collector’s edition charting the band’s incredible story so far.<\/p>\n By this point, the group\u2019s popularity was growing so rapidly that an album signing at an HMV store in Manchester had to be abandoned due to safety concerns. \u201cTo walk down the street now is just a nightmare,\u201d Gary admitted at the time. \u201cAt the end of the day, you want to leave that behind for just five minutes\u2026 Please nobody touch me for five minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n A cover of Barry Manilow\u2019s Could It Be Magic was the final single from their debut album and reached No3 in the charts. In December 1992, just days after the single\u2019s release, the boys scooped a record-breaking seven trophies at the Smash Hits Poll Winners Party \u2013 the moment Mark (who, naturally, was named Most Fanciable Male) said he knew Take That had truly \u201cmade it\u201d.<\/p>\n Take That were officially the biggest band in Britain, but even greater success was in store in 1993 when they achieved their first No1 single with Pray<\/a>. \u201cWhen Gary first played it to us, we were all so buzzed,\u201d recalls Mark. \u201cI had a feeling that this, this is the song, this is the one that\u2019s going to take us to the next level. And it did.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a real moment for us,\u201d adds Gary. \u201cThat song was the first time we found the sound of Take That.\u201d Pray was loved by both critics and fans, eventually earning Gary an Ivor Novello for Songwriter of the Year, as well as the Best Contemporary Song award.<\/p>\n Take That’s fashion in the 1990s was very much of its time(Image: Redferns)<\/p>\n In a compilation of greatest-ever No1 singles, The Guardian\u2019s Kieran Yates describes it as Take That at their \u201cpeak\u201d, saying, \u201cThe video\/full-blown homoerotica is as over the top as the song, and does it real justice \u2013 Robbie in a scarf and dungarees, Jason holding a log up to God, and hand mirrors on the beach \u2013 the sheer sensual surrealism makes it one of the best videos of all time.\u201d<\/p>\n Two more No1s followed that year with Relight My Fire and Babe, which was their first single featuring Mark on lead vocals.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was clear how much our audience loved Mark, so Nigel [Martin-Smith, their manager] said, \u2018We need a song for Mark,\u2019\u201d says Gary. Mark has since described the experience as \u201cdaunting\u201d, yet his bashful performances and puppy-dog eyes only seemed to fuel his fans\u2019 obsession. In fact, two-thirds of all Take That\u2019s fan mail was addressed to him.<\/p>\n Their Everything Changes album continued to spawn hit records, with its title track \u2013 featuring lead vocals from Robbie \u2013 also hitting the top spot, and beating a record set by The Beatles for consecutive No1 singles by a British act.<\/p>\n Take That\u2019s international fan base was huge and they capitalised on this success with their first European tour, which kicked off in Hamburg, Germany, in March 1994. \u201cAll of a sudden it felt like we were taking over the world<\/a>,\u201d says Mark.<\/p>\n Take That’s Pray video was described as ‘homoerotica’ by one reviewer<\/p>\n While Love Ain\u2019t Here Anymore broke the group\u2019s streak of No1 hits, they returned to the top spot in October 1994 with the R&B-influenced single Sure. This era showcased an edgier new look for the band: Robbie debuted a buzz cut, while Howard sported an eyebrow ring and dreadlocks.<\/p>\n Looking back, Mark thinks their rebellious image reflected the internal struggles the group were experiencing at the time. \u201cThere was a lot of self exploration going on,\u201d he says. \u201cYou were part of a group and you were also trying to find yourself. But the identity of the group got made before you\u2019d found your own.\u201d<\/p>\n Unfortunately, it was becoming all too clear that the polished fa\u00e7ade had started to slip and the cheeky grins had begun to fade. \u201cThe more successful we became, the bigger the audiences, the bigger the stages, we had more lights, more glitz, more glamour, more paraphernalia,\u201d Jason later admitted. \u201cBut in and amongst your excited positive feelings, there\u2019s always a feeling of is this really happening and should it be really happening and should I be feeling happier? It was a tremendous pressure, really.\u201d<\/p>\n And it seemed no one was feeling the pressure more than Robbie Williams. Within a few months, he would no longer be a member of Take That.<\/p>\n To celebrate the highly anticipated return of Take That’s The Circus Live Tour, OK! is releasing this special glossy collector’s edition charting the band’s incredible story so far. Featuring exclusive interviews, rare photographs, emotional fan stories, and backstage secrets, this is a must-have for any Take That fan ahead of the biggest tour of the year!<\/p>\n From the early days of 90’s stardom to their glam return featuring sleeker, more grown up looks – this essential glossy mag is the perfect capsule of the entire Take That journey.<\/p>\n![\"Take](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2_Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-113230JPG.jpg\")
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Take That – The Circus Live Tour 2026<\/p>\n