LONDON, UK (Top40 Charts) Take That will be celebrated on BBC
Radio 2 and BBC
Sounds on New Year's Day with five hours of shows featuring one of the UK's best-loved bands, including a two hour countdown of listeners' favourite Top 30 songs to mark the 30th anniversary of the group's first Number 1 single, Pray, in 1993.
From today, listeners can vote at www.bbc.co.uk/takethat for up to three of their favourite songs taken from Take That's Top 75 chart singles. Voting closes at 11.59pm on Wednesday 14th December.
Cat Deeley will host the live countdown show - The Ultimate
Take That Song - on New Year's Day in a show which will also feature the band with new and archive interviews, plus fans such as
Olly Murs and
Sam Bailey talking about many of the songs which have been voted into the chart. Produced by BBC Audio.
The band says: "We are so lucky to have the best fans in the world, who have supported us for over 30 years - can you believe it! We're honoured that
Radio 2 are giving them the opportunity to vote for their favourite
Take That songs, which our friend Cat will be counting down on New Year's Day. We'll be tuning in to find out which song is at Number One !"
Cat says: "I was a
Take That fan back in the day and I'm a
Take That fan today! So I can't wait to welcome the first day of 2023 live on
Radio 2 by playing two hours of their hits, chatting to the listeners about their own
Take That encounters and celebrating a brand new year together."
Jeff Smith, Head of Music,
Radio 2 and 6 Music, says: "Of the 16,000 different tracks played on
Radio 2 last year, quite a few were by Take That! So I'm delighted to give our listeners the chance to vote for their best-loved songs for our New Year's Day chart, live with Cat Deeley."
Also on New Year's Day,
Take That at the BBC features some of the band's greatest songs alongside interviews, taken from the BBC Archive. The story of one of our greatest contemporary bands, through highs and lows, break-ups and triumphant returns, told through their hit singles and appearances on BBC
Radio and Television. The programme includes footage ranging from Take That's first appearance on the 8-15 From Manchester, via Top Of The Pops, The O-Zone, live concert backstage interviews, radio and chat show visits,
Radio 4's Desert Island Discs with
Lauren Laverne, to Mr Barlow becoming an acclaimed interviewer and specialist presenter himself on
Radio 2! Robbie, Mark, Howard, Jason and Gary can be heard in honest conversation, along with their many anthemic songs including Never Forget, Back For Good, Shine, The Flood, Greatest Day and Rule The World. A BBC Audio production.
It is followed by Robbie Williams: My Life Thru A Lens which sees Scott Mills in conversation with his old pal Robbie, talking about 25 years since his debut solo album from its creation to the eventful twists and turns of his career that followed and right up to the present day. The pair's friendship goes back to when Scott was a fresh new presenter introducing a new boyband called
Take That at a local radio roadshow in 90s. Their meteoric rise followed, then the eventual break-up and Robbie's solo career which then became yet another meteoric and record-breaking phenomena. Alongside the smash-hit albums and singles, Robbie faced personal struggles with high-profile girlfriends, the record-shattering three nights at Knebworth, then marriage, fatherhood, Kylie, Britney, Elton, The X Factor... they talk about it all! This is one of the UK's biggest pop stars of the last 30 years as you have never heard him before, opening up to his mate. It's an essential listen for Robbie and
Take That fans, as Scott guides Robbie into his past and they open a world of nostalgia. A Mostest production.
On BBC Sounds, the
Take That celebration continues with a boxset of shows featuring another chance to hear Gary Barlow: We Write the Songs - with Robbie Williams, My Life In A Mixtape: Mark Owen, Talking Take That, R2 In Concert:
Take That from 2014 and
Radio 2 In Concert: Robbie from 2020.
Take That have performed for
Radio 2 in Concert (December 2014) and headlined 2017's
Radio 2 Live in Hyde Park.
Coming up before then is
Radio 2 In Concert with Lewis Capaldi. Tickets are available for the recording on
Thursday 8th December via audience ballot by registering at www.bbc.co.uk/inconcert by 11.59pm on
Thursday 24 November. It will be broadcast on
Radio 2 and BBC
Sounds on
Thursday 15 December (7-9pm) and available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
On
Radio 2 and BBC
Sounds earlier this year was the Most Streamed Chart 1952-2022 marked the 70th anniversary of The Official UK Singles Chart in November, The Official All-time Debut Albums Top 40 for
National Album Day revealed Meat Loaf's Bat Out Of Hell as the biggest ever debut album in the UK, Toy Story's You've Got a Friend in Me was voted the number one listener favourite in the Ultimate Animated Movie Song Countdown and Notting Hill was number one in the vote for Your Ultimate Romantic Comedy.
BBC
Radio 2 is the UK's most listened to radio station, with a weekly audience of 14.46 million (RAJAR Q3, 2022), and won Station Of The Year at the
Music Week 2021 awards. The network's presenters include Michael Ball, Zoe Ball, Rob Beckett, Tony Blackburn, OJ Borg, Rev. Kate Bottley, Ken Bruce, Rylan, Fearne Cotton, Sara Cox, Jamie Cullum, Gary Davies, Paul Gambaccini,
Angela Griffin, Bob Harris, Cerys Matthews, Scott Mills, Jason Mohammad, Trevor Nelson, Dermot O'Leary, Elaine Paige, Mark Radcliffe, DJ Spoony, Liza Tarbuck, Jeremy Vine, Michelle Visage, Johnnie Walker, Jo Whiley, Claudia Winkleman and Steve Wright.
