Greatest Day (Take That song)

"Greatest Day"
Single by Take That
from the album The Circus
Released	24 November 2008
Recorded	2008
Length	4:01
Label	Polydor
Writer(s)	Take That
Producer(s)	Take That, John Shanks
Take That singles chronology
"Rule the World" (2007) "Greatest Day" (2008) "Up All Night" (2009)

"Greatest Day" is a song by British pop group Take That. It was released through Polydor Records on 24 November 2008 as the lead single from their fifth studio album, The Circus (2008). The song was written and produced by Take That and co-produced by John Shanks.

The song reached number one on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the band's eleventh UK number-one single. It has since been certified Gold in the United Kingdom selling over 520,000 copies.^[1]

Background

"Greatest Day" was written by Take That and produced by John Shanks. The song was written and recorded at Sarm West Studios in Notting Hill and was mixed in Los Angeles at the Jim Henson Studios, Gary Barlow revealed on an episode of The Xtra Factor in 2011 that it took him 3–4 hours to write this song.^[2]

Music video

The video for "Greatest Day" was filmed on location in Los Angeles on top of a 60 storey building in the downtown area and has become an iconic for the band. It was directed by Meiert Avis, who previously shot videos for U2, Damien Rice, Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan.^[2] The band shot the video while visiting producer John Shanks in the city who was mixing the album. It shows the band performing the song as they look on the sun setting in LA before they are beamed up into a light as the song finishes.^[3] The video premiered on AOL on 22 October 2008.^[4]

Chart performance

"Greatest Day" debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart upon its release, and became the band's 11th number-one single.^[5][6][7] It stayed at the top spot for one week before being succeeded by Leona Lewis.^[8] In Ireland, the single peaked at number two.^[9] The single also charted in the top 40 in Germany, The Netherlands, Denmark and Hungary.

Promotion

Take That performed the song at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2008 on 6 November 2008, the first pan-European live performance by the band,^[10] preceding the single's release on 24 November 2008. The song was then premiered to a UK audience on The X Factor where they had a Take That themed song week, which the band opened on Saturday night.^[11]

The band also performed the song live at Children in Need 2008 on the BBC on 14 November 2008, before donating £250,000 to the charity.^[12] The song moves in 104 BPM and has a key signature of D flat major. Take That performed "Greatest Day" at the 2009 Brit Awards. They performed the song live whilst upon a UFO stage prop but as the prop descended into the audience they were claimed to have lip synced. It was revealed after in Take That/Take Two that the technical people said they could not sing live as they were on the UFO stage prop. This was because of where they were positioned, which was right in front of the speakers, and if they had then the mics would have fed back.

Track listings

UK CD single^[13]

1. "Greatest Day" (Radio Mix) - 4:01
2. "Sleepwalking" - 3:43

German CD single^[14]

1. "Greatest Day" (Radio Mix) - 4:01
2. "Sleepwalking" - 3:43
3. "Here" - 3:41
4. "Greatest Day" (Video) - 4:01

Charts and certifications

England football team

In March 2014, a re-recorded version of the song - featuring vocals from Barlow and other pop singers like Eliza Doolittle, Katy B and Spice Girls Melanie C and Emma Bunton, and former footballers such as Gary Lineker and Michael Owen - was announced as the official song for the England football team at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.^[24] It was however never officially released.

References