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A Million Love Songs

"A Million Love Songs" is a song by English boy band Take That that appeared on their debut studio album, Take That & Party (1992). The song was written by lead vocalist Gary Barlow. It was released in the United Kingdom on 28 September 1992 by Sony Music and peaked at number seven on the UK Singles Chart that October. It also reached number 50 in the Netherlands.

"A Million Love Songs"
Single by Take That
from the album Take That & Party
Released28 September 1992 (1992-09-28)[1]
GenrePop
Length3:52
LabelSony Music
Songwriter(s)Gary Barlow
Producer(s)
Take That singles chronology
"I Found Heaven"
(1992) 		"A Million Love Songs"
(1992) 		"Could It Be Magic"
(1992)
Music video
"A Million Love Songs" on YouTube

The song was one of three Take That songs nominated at the Brit Awards in 1993 for British Single but lost to their version of "Could It Be Magic".[2]

Song information

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Written by lead vocalist Gary Barlow at the age of 15,[3] it was released as the sixth single from the band's debut studio album, Take That & Party, peaking at number seven in the UK Singles Chart. The two primary instruments are piano, played by Barlow, with a saxophone in the bridges originally scored, performed and recorded by Snake Davis. Take That's longtime saxophonist and music director, Mike Stevens went on to perform these sax parts live, many of them using the extended saxophone part written by Davis, at the end of the song. In January 1993, the song entered the Dutch Top 100 and peaked at number 50. The song was released for airplay in the United States in September 1993, but it failed to chart.

The song was performed in the final of The X Factor's third series in 2006 by eventual winner Leona Lewis, who was joined on stage halfway through the song by all four members of Take That. It was also performed in the second series of The X Factor by eventual winner Shayne Ward and by JLS on the fifth series of X Factor and in sixth series by Lloyd Daniels. Ward's version was released as a B-side to his single "No Promises". The song was also covered by Alexander O'Neal on his 2008 album, Alex Loves.... On the ninth series of The X Factor, the song was performed by eventual winner James Arthur at the bootcamp, playing an uptempo rendition on acoustic guitar.

Critical reception

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Larry Flick from Billboard wrote "the boys drip with toothy sincerity. Fluttering harp fills are a bit too much for weak stomachs, while the sax lines give the song a '50s retro pop tone that makes you think of sockhops and make-out point. Too bad it's not prom season."[4] British magazine Music Week commented, "Take That change tack with the ballad A Million Love Songs, all Philadelphia creamy harmonies and poignant phrasing, that's bound to cause another stampede among the teenies. A nagging sax that is given free reign [sic] to roam is a minor annoyance, but that won't stop this from renewing the group's acquaintance with the Top 20."[5] Simon Williams from NME called it "weepsome", stating the song is "impeccably manufactured", and "one of the few times Take That sound remotely genuine".[6] A reviewer from Staffordshire Sentinel described it as "swooning".[7]

Music video

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The music video for the song is shot in black and white, and makes use of the "watercolour" video editing effect which effectively blurs the image. The video is simple and shows the band performing the song with Barlow at the piano. Two versions of the video exist; one has the watercolour effect fading in and out and the other features a hand-drawn cartoon storyline with the members of the band trying to woo an emperor's daughter.[8]

Track listings

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  • UK and European CD and 7-inch EP[9][10]
  1. "A Million Love Songs" (7-inch edit) – 3:53
  2. "Still Can't Get Over You" – 4:10
  3. "How Can It Be" – 4:57
  4. "Don't Take Your Love" – 4:04
  • UK 7-inch and cassette single; European 7-inch single; Japanese mini-CD single[11][12][13]
  1. "A Million Love Songs" (7-inch edit)
  2. "A Million Love Songs" (Lovers mix)
  • Japanese maxi-CD single[14]
  1. "A Million Love Songs" (live version)
  2. "Satisfied" (live version)
  3. "Take That Medley" (live version)
  4. "Why Can't I Wake Up with You" (radio edit)
  5. "A Million Love Songs" (Lovers mix)

Personnel

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Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[21] Silver 200,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 26 September 1992. p. 25. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  2. ^ "History". Brits.co.uk. Archived from the original on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  3. ^ http://www.smoothradio.com The Story of... A Million Love Songs by Take That
  4. ^ Flick, Larry (16 October 1993). "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. p. 61. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
  5. ^ "Mainstream: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 3 October 1992. p. 22. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  6. ^ Williams, Simon. "TAKE THAT – Greatest Hits". NME. Archived from the original on 17 August 2000. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  7. ^ Staffordshire Sentinel. 29 July 1993. p. 25. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  8. ^ "Take That - A Million Love Songs (Official Music Video)". 25 October 2009. Retrieved 28 September 2021 – via YouTube.
  9. ^ A Million Love Songs (UK & European CD EP disc notes). Take That. RCA Records. 1992. 74321116002.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  10. ^ A Million Love Songs (UK & European 7-inch EP sleeve). Take That. RCA Records. 1992. 74321116307.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  11. ^ A Million Love Songs (UK & European 7-inch single sleeve). Take That. RCA Records. 1992. 74321116007.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  12. ^ A Million Love Songs (UK cassette single sleeve). Take That. RCA Records. 1992. 74321116004.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  13. ^ A Million Love Songs (Japanese mini-CD single liner notes). Take That. RCA Records. 1992. BVDP-85.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  14. ^ A Million Love Songs (Japanese maxi-CD single liner notes). Take That. RCA Records. 1992. BVCP-1022.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  15. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 9, no. 45. 7 November 1992. p. 47. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
  16. ^ November 3, 1992
  17. ^ "Take That – A Million Love Songs". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  18. ^ "Take That – A Million Love Songs" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
  19. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
  20. ^ "Year End Charts: Top Singles". Music Week. 16 January 1993. p. 8.
  21. ^ "British single certifications – Take That – A Million Love Songs". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
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