Take That Sets New Album ‘This Life,’ Shares First Cut ‘Windows’: Listen

Lars Brandle
·2 min read
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Take That mark their return with This Life, the superstar British boy band’s ninth studio album and first collection of new material in over five years.

The pop outfit’s latest campaign opens with “Windows,” arriving early Friday (Sept. 22). The new set is slated to drop Nov. 24.

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“It’s been a wonderful experience being back in the studio together making this record. It has that feeling of spreading your wings, letting out the old and bringing in the new,” reads a comment from the band.

Formed in 1989 as a five-piece — Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Mark Owen, Jason Orange and Robbie Williams — Take That was one of the most popular acts of its generation, certainly in the U.K.

Now performing and recording as the trio of Barlow, Donald and Owen, the group can boast 12 U.K. No. 1 singles, and eight U.K. No. 1 albums, and a lengthy list of career highlights, including a performance at the closing ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics. The lads had only one top 10 hit in the U.S., 1995’s “Back for Good,” which peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Take That has been gearing up for the new release with a raft of performances in 2023, including an “intimate” spot at KOKO in support of War Child, a headline slot at British Summer Time in Hyde Park, the King’s Coronation concert, and the rollout of Greatest Days, the big-screen adaptation of their musical The Band.

This Life is the followup to 2017’s Wonderland, which peaked at No. 2 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart. Next up, the release of career retrospective Odyssey, which, in December 2018, spent one week at No. 1 with 106,000 first-week combined sales, making it the year’s fastest-selling album.

Sessions for This Life were recorded in such historic music spaces as New York’s Electric Lady Studios and Nashville’s RCA Studio A.

“We’re incredibly proud of the new album, there’s a sense of togetherness, whether that’s us coming back together as a band or people wanting connection in their own lives,” continues the message from Take That. “We’re excited for this new chapter.”

A 2024 tour of the British Isles will kick off April 13 at Sheffield Utilita Arena, with support from Olly Murs.

Stream “Windows” below.


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