(Official Video) Take That - When We Were Young

When the Take That boys were young... well, you'd have to have been living under a rock for the past twenty years not to be aware of the whole Robbie-gate business and the ultimate dissolution of the group, the end to a glorious, shining pop career that would finally be resurrected - the band reformed and rejuvenated - 10 years later.

It's a defining saga of pop music. The tale that everyone knows. Yet it still holds an undefinable power to it - and much the same can be said of the band's new single, the last to be taken from their dizzyingly successful Progress album.

Interestingly, When We Were Young sees a return to the sound of the Robbie-lite Take That, the band that banged out mega-ballad after mega-ballad to massive success. It was a formula Gary Barlow seemed born to fulfill - unleashing these behemoth-like songs on the UK, a nation of fans lapping them up.

For all the song's charm though, it feels a little flat compared to both past successes like Rule The World and Greatest Day, and even more so compared to the new electro-driven Take That which has manifested itself courtesy of Robbie's return to the band and the involvement of super-producer Stuart Price.

No, if anything, it's the track's accompanying video which is the real attraction here. Shot in ear-wateringly rich quality at Wembley Stadium during the band's immense eight night residency there, it simply looks magical. All in black and white, it feels classy, magical - a fitting showpiece for the group who stand as Britain's premiere pop band.

As Gary Barlow sings in the track, 'We adored the fabulous' - Take That, we adore you.

When We Were Young is released on the 22nd August and features on the soundtrack of new movie The Three Musketeers.

A good old Arctic Monkeys / Take That love-in

Do you remember Arctic Monkeys' frontman Alex turner saying some rather rude things about Take That at the Q Awards? He let loose at the band saying they were a 'load of b*llocks'. Now, while that might be anatomically correct what with them being five guys... it's not a very nice thing to say, and is also incorrect as Take That are actually Very Good.

But Turner's done a U-Turn now and in a recent NME interview has professed his love for the 'lads'.

'We love Gary Barlow!' he enthuses. Don't we all! Judging by how pretty much every single one of the dates on Take That's impossibly immense UK stadium tour are already sold out, the whole of the UK seems to love Gary Barlow (and Robbie, and the others...)

'I think I really offended him a few years ago though, which I'm sorry about,' continued Turner. 'I didn't understand it then. Didn't know what was going on, trying to rustle some feathers.'

See, isn't a lovely when bands make up. Now, when are we going to get them all teaming up for a big ensemble version of Never Forget?

Video: Take That - Kidz

I love it when music videos just get it SO right. Where the video just fits the track SO well. Take That's Kidz does just that. I mean, just how amazing is a Take That space-ship coming down and landing in a city?! Very amazing.

Now, to be fair, I definitely prefer Girls Aloud's take on the whole 'futuristic popstars invade the Earth' thing when they did their Untouchable video, but Take That definitely come a very well deserved second.

What are the best bits of the video? Well, for starters, the band's costumes are just so fantastical and steam-punk - very befitting a band that is the epitome of old mixed with new. They're almost scary - Gary Barlow in all his military finest, Robbie with a chain-mail vest and Mark Owen looking like he's stepped off the set of the BBC's Merlin with that hooded robe and staff of his.

Oh, and there's lots of soldiers thrown in. And in our age of Spooks and Call of Duty, stuff like that always adds a bit of excitement to things.

'Welcome to the future of the world...' goes the song. If the future is as exciting as this video makes out, I want more.

Take That - The Flood

Every so often a song comes along that quite literally picks you up off your feet and blows you away. There are some songs that are just ‘that’ good. And for me, Take That’s new single – the first from their 6^th studio album – is one such song. Walking down the street, this song comes up on your iPod, and my God does it leave an impact. From its subtle beginnings it builds and builds, layer upon layer, to an immensely powerful crescendo.

Of course, it’d be unfair not to mention the significance of Robbie Williams’ return to the band, this is after all the band’s first single with him since his return to the group. Robbie doesn’t fail to make his presence immediately felt, adding a much needed grit to the band’s sound. Post-comeback Take That were always highly skilled at pumping out glossy, melodic guitar-edged slabs of modern pop, but with Robbie’s return on The Flood, they now reach a new level of epicness, something the brilliant accompanying video marks out perfectly.

Featuring the band in a beautifully shot rowing race down the river Thames, it feels as quintessentially British as the band itself. By the time we see the reunited fivesome making their way past London’s famous landmarks and on out into the sea, we have a perfect visual metaphor for the song’s message of triumph in the face of adversity. Quite literally ‘holding back the flood’.

And so we have Take That, returning once again, stronger than ever. With each new album since their return they have presented themselves as more glossy, more meaningful, more driven. No wonder then they set the charts alight with colossal record sales, blasting the Christmas market apart with numbers other acts can only ever dream of. And with The Flood, every single inch of that success is justified – it really is a truly magical record.

Out 15^th November