"The Garden" is a song by

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

group

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 ...

. It was released on 20 March 2009 as the third single from their fifth studio album, '' The Circus''.

Song information

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 ...

originally intended to sing the song's bridge during its writing and recording, but was surprised and impressed when

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 ...

sang it instead, which was kept in the final recording. The song's B-side is "84", the same B-side of their preceding single "Up All Night", and is sung by

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 ...

Promotion

The band performed "The Garden" on BBC's Comic Relief show on 13 March 2009. The song has been performed on ''

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'' in the Netherlands on 14 March 2009. The song was then performed on Swiss television on the show ''Music Stars'' on 15 March 2009. The group then made an appearance on the Italian version of ''The X Factor'' on 17 March 2009. The band also performed the song on German TV show '' Wetten, dass..?'' on 21 March 2009. The band then performed the track at the final of ''The X Factor'' (Denmark) on 27 March 2009.

Critical reception

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commented: "'The Garden' is a stunning, string-laden epic with a chorus so massive it requires a marching brass band for backing."

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

described the song as "propulsive and swollen with a giant chorus."

Music video

The video for "The Garden" debuted on 21 March 2009, with all members singing lead vocals. The video for the song was shot at the

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, South London. The video is black and white and shows the band dressed in black performing the song. The video is interspersed with blurred images of people going about their daily lives. In the official Take That book ''Take Two'' the band express their dislike for the video, claiming that it worked with still images but as a music video, it did not work.

Release

A physical version of the single was released in Europe. The single was available on two CDs, both containing the same track listing; however a Limited Edition CD2, housed in a large jewel case, contained an exclusive foam car sticker of the TT logo, with 'The Garden' written underneath.

Personnel

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 ...

– co-lead vocals *

– co-lead vocals, backing vocals *

– co-lead vocals, backing vocals

Track listings

# "The Garden" (radio edit) – 3:22 # "84" – 3:11

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garden (Take That Song), The Take That songs 2009 singles Pop ballads Songs written by Gary Barlow Songs written by Mark Owen Songs written by Jason Orange Songs written by Howard Donald 2008 songs Songs written by Jamie Norton Songs written by Ben Mark