Take That Timeline

Continuing with my Take That festival, here's a timeline of the group's major achievements;

Take That: The Early Years

1989-1990

• Nigel Martin-Smith forms Take That, who make their first TV appearance on The Hitman & Her.

1991

• First single "Do What U Like" released in July, stirs controversy for nudist video, fails to make significant chart impact (peaks at #82).
• Second single, "Promises," becomes first top 40 hit in November.

1992

• After missing the top 40 with third single, "Once You've Tasted Love," their fourth single, "It Only Takes a Minute" becomes their first top 10 hit in June (#7).
• First album, Take That and Party, is released in September. The album debuts at #5 and eventually peaks at #2.

1993

• The seventh and final Take That and Party single, "Could It Be Magic," hits #3 in January after a late 1992 release.
• At the Brit Awards, three Take That singles are nominated for Best British Single: "It Only Takes a Minute," "A Million Love Songs," and the winner, "Could It Be Magic."
  
• "Why Can't I Wake Up With You" is released in February and peaks at #2. Although a track from Take That and Party, the single is a new version that will ultimately appear on Everything Changes.
• In July, "Pray" becomes the group's first #1 hit; it debuts at #1 and stays there four weeks.
• The group teams up with Lulu for its October single, "Relight My Fire," which becomes their second #1 hit.
• Second album, Everything Changes, debuts at #1 in October and is the third-biggest album of the year.
  
• In December, "Babe" becomes their third #1, but it just misses Christmas #1.
  

1994

• "Pray" wins the Brit Award for Best British Single, the band's second time winning this award; they are also nominated for Best British Group.
• "Everything Changes" becomes the group's fourth consecutive #1 hit in April.
• Everything Changes' sixth and final single, "Love Ain't Here Anymore," hits #3 in July.
• "Sure," an advance single from their third album, becomes their fifth #1 hit in October

1995

• "Back for Good" spends 4 weeks at #1 in April. The song is the group's biggest hit, selling nearly a million copies and hitting #1 all over the world.
  
• Third album Nobody Else is released in May and becomes their second #1 album.
• The album's third and final single, "Never Forget," hits #1 in August.
• During the time "Never Forget" is being promoted, Robbie Williams announces he is leaving the group.
• Nobody Else is released in the US in the fall, featuring a new cover image without Robbie, eventually peaking at #69.
  
• "Back for Good" becomes the group's first and only US hit, peaking at #7 in November.
  

1996

• "Back for Good" wins Best British Single at the Brit Awards, their third win in this category.
• In February, the group announces that it is breaking up.
• A remake of the Bee Gee's "How Deep Is Your Love" is released as the group's final single in March, although without Robbie, since he'd already left. It spends 3 weeks at #1, the band's 8th #1 hit.
  
• Greatest Hits is released in April, which debuts at #1 and spends 4 weeks there.
  

Solo Careers

1996

• Gary Barlow releases "Forever Love" in July, which hits #1. A month later, Robbie releases his remake of George Michael's "Freedom," which hits #2.
• Mark Owen becomes the first group member to release a solo album, Green Man. Although the album isn't very successful, it generates two #3 hits, "Child" and "Clementine."
  

1997

• Robbie's second single and first from his upcoming album, "Old Before I Die," hits #2. The song is later nominated for the Brit Award for Best British Single.
• Gary scores a second #1 hit a month later with "Love Won't Wait."
• Gary's debut album, Open Road, is released in June and hits #1.
• Robbie releases his debut album, Life Thru a Lens, in October. It debuts at #11 and 2 weeks later falls out of the top 40, with its most recent single, "South of the Border" having peaked at only #14.
  
• Robbie releases a fifth single, the ballad "Angels." It debuts at #7, but shows surprising staying power (especially given the rapid chart turnover at the time), eventually climbing to #4 in early 1998. Although not a #1, the song goes on to become an enduring pop classic, selling over a million copies by 2009.
  

1998

• Gary and Robbie are both nominated for the Brit Award for British Male Solo; Finley Quaye wins.
• Re-energized by "Angels," and its #3 follow-up, "Let Me Entertain You," Life Thru a Lens climbs back up the albums chart, eventually hitting #1 in April. It is the year's fourth best-selling album.
  
• Robbie scores his first solo #1, "Millennium," and releases his second album, I've Been Expecting You, which is the year's fifth best-selling album (just behind Life Thru a Lens) and is nominated in 1999 for the Brit Award for Best British Album.
  

1999

• "Angels" wins the Brit Award for Best British Single, while "Millennium" is also nominated for that award and wins Best Video. Robbie wins Best British Male Solo Artist. He finishes the year with another #1 hit, "She's the One."
  
• Gary Barlow's solo career takes a turn for the worse when his second album, Twelve Months, Eleven Days, charts at only #35 and its first single, "Stronger," only reaches #16. His final solo single, "For All that You Want," hits #24.

2000-2005

• Robbie continues to dominate charts worldwide (except in the US) with hits like "Kids," "Feel," and "Tripping." He wins the Brit Award for Best British single in 3 consecutive Years for "She's the One" and "Rock DJ" following the 1999 win for "Angels," and is his 2000 album Sing When You're Winning is nominated for the Best British Album award. "Somethin' Stupid" with Nicole Kidman is the 2001 Christmas #1. All of his albums released during this period hit #1 and rank among the top 3 best-selling albums of the year (Escapology was the #1 album of 2002). He hits #1 with "Rock DJ," "Eternity," "Somethin' Stupid" and "Radio." In 2004, he releases a Greatest Hits compilation.
  
• Mark has a second solo album in 2003, In Your Own Time, with top 5 hit "Four Minute Warning."
• With his solo career on hold, Gary becomes a successful pop songwriter, working with acts like Blue, Alesha Dixon, Lily Allen and Delta Goodrem.
  

Take That: A New Beginning

2006

• Gary, Howard, Jason and Mark re-form Take That.
• Robbie's solo career falters a bit with Rudebox, which receives divisive reviews from critics and sells significantly less than his previous solo albums. Following this, he takes a 3-year break from recording.
  
• Take That's first single in 10 years, "Patience," is a massive #1 hit, spending 4 weeks at #1 just before Christmas (it gets knocked from the top spot by Leona Lewis's "A Moment Like This").
  
• The group releases its first album in 11 years, Beautiful World, to instant success. The album hits #1, generates two #1 hits, and goes on to become the group's best-selling album by far--8x platinum and one of the 10 best-selling albums of the 2000s in the UK.
  

2007

• "Patience" wins the Brit Award for Best British Single, the fourth win in this category.
  
• "Shine," the second Beautiful World single, hits #1 in February. It is the group's 6th consecutive #1 hit.
  
• A one-off single, "Rule the World," is released in October. It's kept from #1 by Leona Lewis's "Bleeding Love," but nevertheless is actually the group's biggest hit of its second era, spending 72 weeks on the UK singles chart (the fourth-longest run ever), and becoming the 30th best-selling single of the 2000s. The song appears in the film Stardust, although not on its soundtrack.
  

2008

• "Shine" wins the Brit Award for Best British Single, the band's fifth win in this category. Beautiful World is nominated for Best British Album, the first time Take That has been honored in that category. They also win Best British Live Act and are nominated for Best British Group.
  
• "Greatest Day" is released, becoming the group's 11th #1 hit.
  
• The Circus, the group's fifth album, is released and like its predecessor, is another big hit, becoming 7x platinum and the year's second-best-selling album, behind Duffy's Rockferry.
  

2009

• Robbie rebounds with Reality Killed the Video Star and hits #2 with its lead single, "Bodies," and #6 with its second single, "You Know Me."
  

2010

• Take That announces that Robbie will return to the group.
• Robbie and Gary bury the hatchet with cheeky duet, "Shame," a #2 hit released off of Robbie's 2-disc greatest hits compilation, In and Out of Consciousness.
  
• "The Flood" is released in November as the first single from Progress. It the group's first single to include Robbie Williams since "Never Forget" in 1995.
  
• Progress, the group's fifth album, is released to critical acclaim. It's upbeat, electronic production by Stuart Price signals a new direction for the group.