"Pray" is a song by English boy band

Take That Take That are an English pop group formed in Manchester in 1990. The group currently consists of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen. The original line-up also featured Jason Orange and Robbie Williams. Barlow is the group's lead singe ...

. Written by band member

Gary Barlow Gary Barlow (born 20 January 1971) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He is the lead singer of the British pop group Take That. Barlow is one of the United Kingdom's most successful songwriters, havi ...

, the

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

was released on 5 July 1993 as the second single from their second studio album, '' Everything Changes'' (1993). It is the first of twelve singles by the band to reach number one on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, staying at number one for four weeks, and starting a streak of four consecutive number-one singles. The song has received a

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

sales status certification and sold over 438,000 copies in the UK, won British Single of the Year and

British Video of the Year The Brit Award for British Video of the Year was an award given by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), an organisation which represents record companies and artists in the United Kingdom. The accolade is presented at the Brit Awards, an annua ...

at the

1994 Brit Awards Brit Awards 1994 was the 14th edition of the Brit Awards, an annual pop music awards ceremony in the United Kingdom. It was organised by the British Phonographic Industry and took place on 14 February 1994 at Alexandra Palace in London. It was t ...

, and was the finale of Take That's

Beautiful World Tour 2007 The Beautiful World Tour 2007 was the sixth concert tour for the British pop group Take That. The tour ran from 11 October to 31 December 2007, with fifty stops in ten European countries. A band member chose a band or musician to open the conc ...

. A newly arranged and recorded version was released on 21 September 2018 as the first single of their greatest hits album ''

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major Ancient Greek literature, ancient Greek Epic poetry, epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by moder ...

''. The album was released on 23 November 2018 followed by a Greatest Hits tour marking the band's 30th anniversary in 2019.

Critical reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

editor Peter Fawthrop described "Pray" as a "quality

" in his review of '' Everything Changes''. Tom Ewing of

Freaky Trigger ''Freaky Trigger'' is an Internet publication and e-zine that focuses on popular culture with topics varying from music to cinema. It was founded by the music critic Tom Ewing in 1999 and features Pete Baran and Mark Sinker as editors. From 2000 ...

complimented Barlow's songwriting on the song. He said that "at this point he was still the group's secret weapon – canny and professional enough to bring the hooks but with a streak of desperate earnestness. So the classic Take That song – "Pray" isn't their best, but it very much sets a template – wanders like a lost puppy on the verses then pulls itself together for a monster

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in which all verse ...

." Caroline Sullivan from ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' viewed it as "rather fine". A reviewer from ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

'' commented, "The five messiahs have found a juvenile congregation in the UK willing to lend its ear. Now they're praying for continental attention for their matchless bubble gum

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

." Alan Jones from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' gave "Pray" three out of five. He felt that it is a "fairly intricate mid-tempo workout

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

has pleasant harmonies and a glossy sheen, although the song itself is more slight than some of the group's previous efforts – none of which really matters, as it's bound for the Top Five." In an retrospective review, Pop Rescue wrote that Barlow's "soft soulful vocals make light work of this whilst the rest of the group put in some great vocal harmonies. The song is light and summery, thanks to the 90’s rent-a-beat". ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand fo ...

'' gave "Pray" four out of five, praising the chorus as "a fab

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

tune with the group sharing vocals and doing those beautiful harmonies that they seem to be getting so good at these days." The magazine also declared it as "a pretty mature song" and "a definite number 1." A reviewer from '' Staffordshire Sentinel'' complimented it as a "soulful ballad".

Music video

The accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for the song was directed by Gregg Masuak and shot in

Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , also , nah, Acapolco), is a city and major seaport in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semicircular bay and has bee ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. The clip features the band members in the exotic location singing and dancing. The band members are paired with a goddess of the four elements, taking on a different form with each – Air (Mark Owen), Fire (Jason Orange), Earth (Robbie Williams) and Water (Howard Donald) – with the exception of Gary Barlow who is represented in a neutral black and white context. In Barlow's autobiography, he stated that after the disappointment of where "

I Found Heaven "I Found Heaven" is a song by English boy band Take That from their debut studio album, '' Take That & Party''. It was released as the album's fifth single on 3 August 1992. Background Written and produced by American singer Billy Griffin and ...

" was filmed, the band were a lot happier about the location for this video. Reflecting on the video in 2005 for '' Take That: For the Record'', Donald remarked: "We was doing all the sexual thing and stuff. ... Even then it felt a little bit uncomfortable. But girls like it. Girls like this kind of thing."

Track listings

Original version

* UK CD1 and European CD single # "Pray" (radio edit) # "Pray" (a cappella) # "Pray" (alternative club mix) * UK CD single 2 # "Pray" (club swing mix) # "

It Only Takes a Minute "It Only Takes a Minute" is a 1975 song by American soul/ R&B group Tavares, released as the first single from their third album, '' In the City'' (1975). The song was the group's only top-10 pop hit in the United States, peaking at number 10, a ...

" ( Tommy Musto Underground dub) # "

Once You've Tasted Love "Once You've Tasted Love" is a dance song by boy band Take That. Written by Gary Barlow and produced by Duncan Bridgeman, "Once You've Tasted Love" was released on 27 January 1992 as the third single from the band's debut album, '' Take That & P ...

" (Harding & Curnow remix) # "It Only Takes a Minute" (Tommy Musto Underground vocal) * UK 7-inch and cassette single # "Pray" (radio edit) # "Pray" (a cappella) * Australian limited-edition maxi-single # "Pray" (radio edit) – 3:43 # "Pray" (a cappella) – 4:26 # "Pray" (alternative club mix) – 5:21 # "Pray" (club swing mix) # "It Only Takes a Minute" (Tommy Musto Underground dub) # "Once You've Tasted Love" (Harding & Curnow remix) # "It Only Takes a Minute" (Tommy Musto Underground vocal) * Australian Tour Edition CD single # "Pray" (radio edit) # "

Relight My Fire "Relight My Fire" is a popular disco song written and released by American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer Dan Hartman as the title track from his 1979 album of the same name. It was also performed by Costa Anadiotis' band Ca ...

" (live) # "

Could It Be Magic "Could It Be Magic" is a song with lyrics by Adrienne Anderson and music by Barry Manilow, inspired by Frédéric Chopin's Prelude in C minor, Opus 28, Number 20. The song was initially released in 1971 by Featherbed (a group of session musi ...

" (live) # "It Only Takes a Minute" (live)

2018 version

* International digital singlePray Odyssey version
on

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

# "Pray – ''Odyssey'' version" (new arrangement and vocals) – 3:40

Personnel

– lead vocals *

Howard Donald Howard Paul Donald (born 28 April 1968) is an English singer, songwriter, drummer, pianist, dancer and record producer. He is a member of English pop-group Take That. Donald was also judge on the German reality talent show ''Got to Dance'' from ...

– backing vocals *

Jason Orange Jason Thomas Orange (born 10 July 1970) is an English former singer and dancer, known for being a member of Take That. He departed from the group in September 2014. Early life Jason Thomas Orange was born on 10 July 1970 in Manchester, Lancashi ...

– backing vocals *

Mark Owen Mark Owen (born 27 January 1972) is an English singer and songwriter best known for being a member of pop group and band Take That; as of 2019, the group have sold 14 million albums and 11.4 million singles in the UK. In Owen's solo career, he ...

– backing vocals *

Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stud ...

– backing vocals

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pray (Take That Song) 1990s ballads 1993 singles 1993 songs Bertelsmann Music Group singles Brit Award for British Single Polydor Records singles RCA Records singles Songs written by Gary Barlow Take That songs UK Singles Chart number-one singles