''Wonderland'' is the eighth studio album by English 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 ...
. It was released on 24 March 2017 through
Polydor Records
Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...
.
Background
On 22 October 2016 Take That announced the album and its release date along with the tour dates in support of it, which started in May 2017. It was also confirmed that
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 ...
and
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 ...
would not be rejoining the band for the album and tour. The band worked with various producers on the album including
Tony Hoffer
Tony Hoffer is an American record producer, songwriter, and music mixer.
Career
Hoffer is credited for his work on multiple platinum-selling albums including The Kooks, The Thrills, Beck, Supergrass, Turin Brakes and Air. His records have been ...
,
Stuart Price
Stuart David Price (born 9 September 1977) is an English electronic musician, DJ, songwriter, and record producer known for his work with artists including Madonna, Dua Lipa, The Killers, New Order, Kylie Minogue, DMA's, Example, Take T ...
and Mike Crossey.
Critical reception
David Smyth from the ''
London Evening Standard
The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format.
In October 2009, after be ...
'' gave a positive three-star review, calling it "Enough to thrill the masses, and business as usual", and wrote: "Their eighth album overall feels like business as usual too, with a full sound, rich in arm-waving choruses and blandly uplifting lyrics ("Music makes me feel good," "We can conquer any mountain," "Every morning is a brand new day," etc.)." Michael Cragg 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 ...
'' gave a mixed two-star review, calling Take That "The boyband equivalent of a
Reliant Robin
The Reliant Robin is a small three-wheeled car produced by the Reliant Motor Company in Tamworth, England. It was offered in several versions (Mk1, Mk2 and Mk3) over a period of 30 years. It is the second-most popular fibreglass car in history, ...
", and went on to write: "the overwhelming feeling is of an album made purely to justify taking the show around the arenas. While that's not exactly a new concept, the cynicism of the idea bleeds into the music, with most of the tracks built around cavernous, chant heavy choruses."
Promotion
Singles
"
Giants
A giant is a being of human appearance, sometimes of prodigious size and strength, common in folklore.
Giant(s) or The Giant(s) may also refer to:
Mythology and religion
*Giants (Greek mythology)
*Jötunn, a Germanic term often translated as 'gi ...
" was released on 17 February 2017 as the first single and was produced by Mark Ralph.
it peaked at 13 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 ...
.
"New Day" was released on 5 May 2017 as the second single.
Tour
On 22 October 2016, Take That announced that they would embark on a UK arena and stadium tour in support of the album. The
Wonderland Live tour began on 5 May 2017 in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
, England at the
Genting Arena
The Resorts World Arena is a multipurpose indoor arena located at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Solihull, England. It has a capacity of 15,685 seats. The venue was built as the seventh hall of the NEC complex. After 18 months of const ...
and concluded on 22 November 2017, in
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
, New Zealand, at
The Trusts Arena
The Trusts Arena is an indoor arena located in Henderson, New Zealand, Henderson, Auckland, New Zealand. It is a multi-purpose stadium that primarily holds sports events and music concerts. The Arena was opened by then Prime Minister of New Ze ...
.
Commercial performance
''Wonderland'' debuted at number two on the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...
with first week equivalent sales of 113,200 copies, giving Take That their eighth top five studio album. Held off the top spot by
Ed Sheeran
Edward Christopher Sheeran (; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...
's ''
÷'', it became Take That's first album not to reach number one since ''
Take That & Party
''Take That & Party'' is the debut studio album by English boy band Take That. Released on 17 August 1992 on RCA Records, it reached number two on the UK Albums Chart and stayed in the UK Top 75 album chart for 73 weeks (almost 18 months). It wa ...
'' peaked at number two in 1992. It reached number three in Ireland
and also peaked at two in Scotland.
Track listing
Personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes.
Take That
*
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 ...
– vocals, keyboards,
programming (tracks 5, 6, 9)
*
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 ...
– 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 ...
– vocals
Additional personnel
* Ryan Carline – keyboards and
engineering
Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...
(tracks 1, 3‒7, 9‒12), vocal production
(1), programming
(4), vocal engineering
(8)
* Charlie Russell – programming
(tracks 1, 5, 10, 13), keyboards and additional engineering
(2),
mixing (13)
* Ben Mark – guitar
(tracks 1, 5, 10, 13), programming
(1)
*
Paul Turner – bass guitar
(tracks 1, 5, 10, 13)
* Jamie Norton – piano, keyboards
(tracks 1, 10, 13)
*
Ash Soan
Ashley Soan is a British drummer. His influences include Stewart Copeland, Steve Ferrone, Jim Keltner, James Gadson, Phil Rudd, Art Blakey, Steve Gadd.
Early life
Educated at the Grove School In Market Drayton, Shropshire, Ashley Soan started ...
– drums
(tracks 1, 10, 13)
*
Mike Stevens – saxophone
(track 1)
* Nicolas Magriel –
sarangi
The sārangī is a bowed, short-necked string instrument played in traditional music from South Asia – Punjabi folk music, Rajasthani folk music, and Boro folk music (there known as the ''serja'') – in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. It is ...
,
tanpura
The tanpura (), also referred to as tambura and tanpuri, is a long-necked plucked string instrument, originating in India, found in various forms in Indian music.
It does not play melody, but rather supports and sustains the melody of an ...
(track 1)
* Jon Green – acoustic guitar, keyboards
(track 5)
* Dan Broughton – drums
(track 5)
* Tom Rees-Roberts, Andy Greenwood – trumpet
(track 5)
* Pete Beachill, Richard Wigley – trombone
(track 5)
* Philip Jewson – horn arrangement and conducting
(track 5)
* Tom Upex – engineering
(tracks 1, 5, 10, 13)
* Jonny Solway – assistant engineering
(track 1), engineering
(5, 10, 13)
* Charlie Rolfe – assistant engineering
(tracks 5, 10, 13)
* Jack Hudson – assistant engineering
(tracks 10, 13)
* Mark Ralph – bass guitar, guitar, synthesizer, programming
(tracks 2, 3, 14),
mandolin
A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...
,
ukulele
The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings.
The tone and volume of the instrumen ...
(3)
* Geoff Holroyde – drums
(tracks 2, 3, 14), backing vocals
(2)
* Scott Ralph – horns, percussion
(track 3)
* Tom AD Fuller – assistant engineering
(tracks 2, 14), backing vocals
(2), engineering
(3)
* Drew Smith – assistant engineering
(tracks 2, 14), engineering
(3)
*
Hayley Carline – backing vocals
(tracks 3‒5)
* Andy Caine – backing vocals
(tracks 3, 5)
*
Will Malone
Wil Malone (born 1952, in Hornsey, North London) is a British music producer and arranger, who has worked with artists including Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Todd Rundgren, The Verve, Massive Attack, Depeche Mode and Italian rocker Gianna Nann ...
–
strings arrangement and
conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary duti ...
(tracks 2, 3, 11)
* Perry Montague‐Mason –
strings leader (tracks 2, 3, 11)
* Isobel Griffiths – string contractor
(tracks 2, 3, 11)
* Susie Gillis – assistant string contractor
(tracks 2, 3, 11)
*
Stuart Price
Stuart David Price (born 9 September 1977) is an English electronic musician, DJ, songwriter, and record producer known for his work with artists including Madonna, Dua Lipa, The Killers, New Order, Kylie Minogue, DMA's, Example, Take T ...
– keyboards, programming
(tracks 4, 6, 9), bass guitar, mixing
(4), guitar
(6, 9)
* Simon Strömstedt – backing vocals, keyboards, programming
(track 4)
*
Tony Hoffer
Tony Hoffer is an American record producer, songwriter, and music mixer.
Career
Hoffer is credited for his work on multiple platinum-selling albums including The Kooks, The Thrills, Beck, Supergrass, Turin Brakes and Air. His records have been ...
– bass guitar, guitar, synthesizer, programming and engineering
(tracks 7, 11, 12), mixing
(12)
*
Dave Palmer – keyboards
(tracks 7, 11, 12)
* Denny Weston Jr. – drums
(tracks 7, 11)
*
Tom Baxter
Tom Baxter (born Thomas Baxter Gleave, 29 October 1973) is an English singer-songwriter based in London. He was born in Ipswich, Suffolk, and grew up in Camborne Cornwall with his 4 siblings.
The second son of Jeff and Julie Gleave (who were r ...
– guitar and string arrangement
(track 7)
* Oli Langford – violin, viola and string arrangement
(track 7)
* Danny Keane – cello
(track 7)
* Cameron Lister – engineering
(tracks 7, 11, 12), mixing
(12)
*
Mike Crossey
Mike Crossey (born 1979) is a Northern Irish record producer, songwriter, and mixing engineer. He produced the debut single by Arctic Monkeys, collaborating with them over two albums. He is known for his ongoing relationship with The 1975 in ad ...
– bass guitar, synthesizer, programming
(track 8)
* Jonathan Gilmore – guitar and recording engineering
(track 8)
* Rosie Crossey – drums
(track 8)
* TSA "The Session Agency" – gospel choir
(track 14)
* Priscilla Jones – gospel choir arrangement
(track 14)
* Matt Furmidge and Dominic Joshua Alexander Liu
for Metrophonic Productions – keyboards
(track 15)
* Rosie Danvers
at Wired Strings – strings
(track 15)
*
Sigma
Sigma (; uppercase Σ, lowercase σ, lowercase in word-final position ς; grc-gre, σίγμα) is the eighteenth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 200. In general mathematics, uppercase Σ is used as ...
–
production
Production may refer to:
Economics and business
* Production (economics)
* Production, the act of manufacturing goods
* Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services)
* Production as a stati ...
(track 15)
* Scott Rosser –
mastering (track 15)
*
Mark "Spike" Stent
Mark "Spike" Stent (born 3 August 1965) is an English record producer and mixing engineer who has worked with many international artists including Madonna, Marshmello, U2, Beyoncé, Björk, Depeche Mode, Echo & The Bunnymen, Grimes, Ed Sheeran ...
– mixing
* Geoff Swan – assistant mixing
* Michael Freeman – assistant mixing
(except tracks 2, 3)
* Tim Young – mastering
(except track 15)
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
References
{{Authority control
Take That albums
2017 albums