"Happy Now" is a song by British pop 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 singer ...

from their sixth studio album, ''

Progress Progress is the movement towards a refined, improved, or otherwise desired state. In the context of progressivism, it refers to the proposition that advancements in technology, science, and social organization have resulted, and by extension w ...

''. The song features

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 ...

and

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 ...

performing lead vocals. The song was released as the third single from the album, mainly to promote the group's

Comic Relief Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension. Definition Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic epis ...

sketch, "Fake That".

Background

The song was first announced as the album's third single when it was revealed that the band would perform the song live on the

telethon on

Red Nose Day 2011 ''Red Nose Day 2011'' was a fundraising event organised by Comic Relief. There was a live telethon broadcast on BBC One and BBC Two from the evening of 18 March 2011 to early the following morning as well as a number of run-up events. The theme ...

– Friday 18 March. The group performed the song at 9:15pm, following which an announcement was made that a video for the track would premiere on the same night at 10:30pm. The video premiered on digital music channels on 6 April 2011, which subsequently was the same date that the track was placed on the

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

B-Playlist, on 6 April 2011. In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, the single was only released digitally, though a promotional physical release of the single, complete with remixes from

Paul Oakenfold Paul Mark Oakenfold (born 30 August 1963), formerly known mononymously as Oakenfold, is an English record producer, remixer and trance DJ. He has provided over 100 remixes for over 100 artists including U2, Moby, Madonna, Britney Spears, Mas ...

and

Benny Benassi Marco "Benny" Benassi (; born 13 July 1967) is an Italian DJ, record producer and remixer. He is widely seen as a pioneer of electro house, a genre brought into the mainstream by his 2002 summer club hit " Satisfaction". He started his career ...

, was made available in Europe.

Critical reception

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 ...

praised the "glam stomp" sound of the song.

Virgin Media Virgin Media is a British telecommunications company which provides telephone, television and internet services in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters are at Green Park in Reading, England. It is owned by Virgin Media O2, a 50:50 joint ventu ...

praised the production: "While this could easily have been traditional Take That fare,

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 ...

touches it up with a trendy electro fringe."

Music video

The official music video for "Happy Now" was recorded at the BBC Television Studios during February 2011. The video premiered on the

telethon on 18 March and Take That also performed the number live. The video begins with the band sitting as a Judges' panel in a small room. The band bring on participants who are hoping to be formed into the group's ultimate tribute act, Fake That. Many bands appear on stage, including a group of youths, a mixed gender group and five OAPs. The band are then introduced to a five piece made up of comedians

Alan Carr Alan Graham Carr (born 14 June 1976) is an English comedian, broadcaster and writer. His breakthrough was in 2001, winning the '' City Life'' Best Newcomer of the Year and the BBC New Comedy Awards. In the ensuing years, Carr's career burgeon ...

, James Corden,

John Bishop John Marcus Bishop (born 30 November 1966) is an English comedian, presenter, actor and former footballer. Bishop formerly played football as a midfielder for Winsford United F.C., Crewe Alexandra F.C., Runcorn F.C., Rhyl F.C., Witton Al ...

David Walliams David Edward Williams (born 20 August 1971), known professionally as David Walliams, is an English comedian, actor, writer, and television personality. He is best known for his work with Matt Lucas on the BBC sketch comedy series ''Little Br ...

and

Catherine Tate Catherine Jane Ford (born 5 December 1969), known professionally as Catherine Tate, is an English actress, comedian and writer. She has won numerous awards for her work on the BBC sketch comedy series '' The Catherine Tate Show'' (2004–2007) ...

, impersonating Owen, Barlow, Williams, Donald and Orange respectively. The five comedians appear on stage in the group's outfits from their " Do What U Like" video in 1991. The real Take That heckle them off stage, however, they return disguised as the group from their video for " The Flood", complete with the Progress rowing boat. In similar fashion, they are heckled off; however, they return in outfits from the group's videos for "

Pray Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified a ...

" and " Back For Good", with each impersonator performing the dance moves of the member of Take That they are pretending to be. Gary Barlow and the rest of the band then agree that the group look good in their " Back For Good" outfits, and decide to make them into Fake That. The real Take That then appear on stage and perform the final piece of the track with them, before leaving what seems to be a television set. In the end, Carr says "Bye, thanks for coming" to them.

Personnel

– co-lead vocals *

– co-lead vocals, backing 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'' fro ...

– 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

Track listing

;European promo single # "Happy Now" (main version) – 3:56 # "Happy Now" (live version) – 3:45 # "Happy Now" (Paul Oakenfold Radio Edit) – 3:31 # "Happy Now" (Benny Benassi Radio Edit) – 3:52 # "Happy Now" (Paul Oakenfold Remix) – 7:19 # "Happy Now" (Benny Benassi Remix) – 7:00 ;UK iTunes package # "Happy Now" (live version) – 3:45 # "Happy Now" (video) – 4:44 # "Happy Now" (behind the scenes footage) – 14:18

Charts

Release history

References

{{authority control 2010 songs 2011 singles Take That songs Polydor Records singles Song recordings produced by Stuart Price Songs written by Gary Barlow Songs written by Howard Donald Songs written by Jason Orange Songs written by Mark Owen Songs written by Robbie Williams