The 'boy' band, Take That, have become one of the most popular outfits in British history. Going from cheesy boy band pomp to well-respected songwriters and performers, in the music scene, at least. In 2008 Take That’s “The Circus” album sold 432,490 copies in its first week, which was the third highest opening week in history of the UK album chart. Take That are the solidified comeback kid’s, after a ten year hiatus from the pop charts, Take That shone through the shadow of former band member Robbie Williams to create their own piece of history.

Take That were formed in the spring of 1990 by artist manager Nigel Martin-Smith, as a British, boys next door, alternative to the American boy band ‘New Kids On The Block’. Martin-Smith advertised in the local newspaper for Singers and dancers for a new boy band, after meeting singer-songwriter Gary Barlow, who the band would initially be built around. The band consisted of five members; Gary Barlow (Lead Singer-Songwriter), Mark Owen (Singer/Dancer), Robbie Williams (Singer/ Dancer), Howard Donald (Dancer) and Jason Orange (Dancer). After Two years of extensive touring everywhere from gay clubs to high schools, Take That had there first U.K top 10 hit single, when a cover of ‘It Only Takes A Minute Girl’ reached number 7, this would mark the arrival of Take That and the beginning of what would turn out to be an extremely successful 4-5 years dominating the charts.

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For the next five years Take That had eight number 1 records including: “Pray”, “Everything Changes”, “Never Forget” and “Back For Good” to name a few of their hits (all penned by Gary Barlow). All was going swell until cheeky chappy Robbie Williams left the group on less than good terms. On the 13th of February 1996 the band split up. Gary Barlow would pursue a solo career, as did Robbie Williams. They did battle in the press, a battle that Robbie comprehensibly won, he would go on to become the most successful male artist of all time, Gary would disappear from the limelight.

In 2005, a biographical documentary called “For The Record”, catapulted Take That back into the limelight and re-sparked the publics interest in the band. In May 2006 Take That released the ‘Beautiful World’ album (without Robbie), which went straight to number 1 in the album charts and would eventually go on to sell 2.6 million copies.

Take That returned to the charts with a bang and followed this success with “The Circus” album and a record breaking live tour in the U.K. Unusually for a group like Take That, they were able to keep hold of the teenage fans they gained with their first bout of success (who have since grown up), as well as a new younger generation of fans, discovering their splendour for the first time. 

Robbie Williams has rejoined the band and they continue to tour and release records

This information is provided as a brief overview and not as a definitive guide, there are other sources on the net for that. If however you have a story or information that is not generally known we would love to hear from you. Content@rokpool.com

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Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone was born in Michigan in August 1958. She was raised a Catholic and was the third of six children. As a child, she took ballet classes and after graduating high school, she was offered a dance scholarship at the University of Michigan. The young Madonna later moved to New York to pursue a career in dance. Through her dance work, she made contacts in the music industry and began sending out demos.

After catching the attention of Sire Records, she secured a recording contract and released her first single ‘Everybody’ in April 1982. An eponymous debut album followed and Madonna gained a growing fan-base.

Madonna went from US cult to worldwide phenomenon with the release of her second album, ‘Like A Virgin’. Her distinctive look started fashion crazes for lace gloves, leggings and chunky belt buckles. ‘Into The Groove’ became the biggest single from the album, with buoyed sales from its inclusion in her film ‘Desperately Seeking Susan’.

In 1985, Madonna met – and married – actor Sean Penn, to whom she dedicated her next album ‘True Blue’. Singles such as ‘Open Your Heart’, ‘La Isla Bonita’ and ‘Papa Don’t Preach’ cemented Madonna’s reputation as a force to be reckoned with in popular music.

After embarking on a hugely successful world tour and appearing in films ‘Shanghai Surprise’ and ‘Who’s That Girl?’, Madonna began work on her follow-up album ‘Like A Prayer’, which was released in 1989, the same year as her divorce to Sean Penn. She signed a deal with Pepsi for $5m and the album’s title track made its worldwide debut on the TV commercial. However, Pepsi was forced to pull the ad after seeing the music video, which featured burning crosses and stigmata. This led the Vatican to urge Catholics to boycott the star’s Blonde Ambition tour.

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Madonna later courted more controversy over the release of her sexually explicit book ‘Sex’ which coincided with her follow-up album ‘Erotica’. Her success waned during the mid 90s. However, Madonna won a Golden Globe in 1996 for her role in ‘Evita’ and in 1998, she released her album ‘Ray of Light’ to much acclaim.

Her continuing success into the 21^st century comes from releasing albums such as ‘Music’ and ‘Confessions on a Dancefloor’ and high-grossing world tours like ‘Reinvention’ and ‘Sticky & Sweet’. No-one can deny that Madonna has left an indelible mark in music history and popular culture.

This information is provided as a brief overview and not as a definitive guide, there are other sources on the net for that. If however you have a story or information that is not generally known we would love to hear from you. Content@rokpool.com

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