"Shine" is the second single taken from English 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 ...

's comeback album, '' Beautiful World'' (2006). It became Take That's sixth consecutive number one single and their tenth number-one overall, making them one of only seven acts in the history of the UK charts to have more than nine number one hits. The song is about former Take That member

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 ...

' battle with depression.

Background and release

The song is written in the key signature of E flat major; however, on some live versions it is performed in D major. It later emerged that

was the subject of the track, written and released prior to his decision to return to the band. The version of "Shine" performed during the band's Beautiful World Tour in 2007 featured an intro that was taken from the finale to the song "

Mr. Blue Sky "Mr. Blue Sky" is a song by the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), featured on the band's seventh studio album '' Out of the Blue'' (1977). Written and produced by frontman Jeff Lynne, the song forms the fourth and final track of the "Concerto fo ...

" by the British pop rock group

Electric Light Orchestra The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1970 by songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood with drummer Bev Bevan. Their music is characterised by a fusion of pop, classical ...

—this was also done on the group's subsequent The Circus Tour in 2009 and Progress Live Tour in 2011. "Shine" was released on 26 February 2007 and features lead vocals by

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 ...

. A 'live' version was recorded at a session with

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

, and appears on the CD singles of " I'd Wait for Life" and " Reach Out". The song went on to win the British single of the year award at the 2008 BRIT Awards making it Take That's seventh Brit Award.

Critical reception

Sharon Mawer from

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

described the song as "a masterpiece of 21st century pop". The BBC noted the song as "a brilliant Beatlesesque, funky pop song".

Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...

rated the song 5/5 commenting on the musical development of the band, labelling the tune "exciting" and a "really great, fun track".

Commercial performance

The single entered 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 ...

at number 83, and made its official debut to the charts at number 30 the following week, three weeks before its physical release. It reached number one on 4 March 2007, staying two weeks at the top. The single peaked at number two on the download chart. During its first week at the top of the UK Singles Chart, the single rose from number 20 to 2 on the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are bas ...

. The single has been certified Platinum in the UK for sales over 600,000, and was the second most played/used song of the 2000s in the UK, as reported by UK music licensing body PPL.

Music video

The video for "Shine" was directed by Justin Dickel with a concept of recreating a

Busby Berkeley Busby Berkeley (born Berkeley William Enos; November 29, 1895 – March 14, 1976) was an American film director and musical choreographer. Berkeley devised elaborate musical production numbers that often involved complex geometric patterns. Berke ...

style musical number. While

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 ...

sits at the piano, the other three members perform most of the song on a lavish staircase. A dozen women dressed in gold dance in the background. It premiered on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

on Thursday 25 January 2007 at 11:05 p.m.

Samplings

The song is sampled in

Lily Allen Lily Rose Beatrice Allen (born 2 May 1985) is an English singer-songwriter and actress. She is the daughter of actor Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen. Her music career began in 2005 when she made some of her vocal recordings public ...

's 2009 song "

Who'd Have Known "Who'd Have Known" is the fifth and final international single (fourth and final in the United Kingdom) by British recording artist Lily Allen from her second studio album, '' It's Not Me, It's You''. Written by Allen and Greg Kurstin, while ...

", which in turn is sampled in T-Pain's 2011 single " 5 O'Clock".

Track listings

UK CD single # "Shine" (radio mix) – 3:29 # "Trouble with Me" – 3:23 German CD single # "Shine" – 3:29 # "Trouble with Me" – 3:23 # "Patience" (stripped down version) – 3:19 # "Shine" (video) – 3:29 Dutch CD single # "Shine" – 3:29 # "Trouble with Me" – 3:23 # "Patience" (stripped down version) – 3:19 # "Patience" (Live In

Goede Tijden, Slechte Tijden ''Goede tijden, slechte tijden'' (, ), also known as ''GTST'' or simply ''Goede tijden'', is the longest-running Dutch soap opera, which began on 1 October 1990 on RTL4. The programme was the first daily (every workday) soap in the Netherlands ...

- video) – 3:29 Belgian CD single # "Shine" – 3:29 # "We Love to Entertain You" – 4:11

Personnel

– 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 – backing vocals

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

In popular culture

The song was featured in several commercials for the

Morrisons Wm Morrison Supermarkets, trading as Morrisons, is the fifth largest supermarket chain in the United Kingdom. As of 2021, the company had 497 supermarkets across England, Wales and Scotland, as well as one in Gibraltar. The company is headq ...

supermarkets in the UK, fronted by actress Denise van Outen, comedian

Nick Hancock Nicholas John Hancock (born 25 October 1962) is an English actor and television presenter. He hosted the sports quiz ''They Think It's All Over'' for 10 years. He also formerly presented ''Room 101'' (1994–1999) on TV, as well as its earlier ...

, television presenter Gabby Logan, gardener

Diarmuid Gavin Diarmuid Gavin (born 10 May 1964) is an Irish garden designer and television personality. He has presented gardens at the Chelsea Flower Show on nine occasions from 1995 to 2016, winning a number of medals, including gold in 2011. He has als ...

, singer

Lulu Lulu may refer to: Companies * LuLu, an early automobile manufacturer * Lulu.com, an online e-books and print self-publishing platform, distributor, and retailer * Lulu Hypermarket, a retail chain in Asia * Lululemon Athletica or simply Lulu, ...

, and television presenter

Richard Hammond Richard Mark Hammond (born 19 December 1969) is an English journalist, television presenter, mechanic, and writer. He is best known for co-hosting the BBC Two motoring programme '' Top Gear'' from 2002 until 2015 with Jeremy Clarkson and J ...

. According to a PRS-published list of songs used in TV and radio advertisements, it was the 7th most played song for the year 2012. It was then brought back in an instrumental form in 2013 as part of Morrisons' 'More of what Matters' campaign. It has also been used by Gala Bingo to mark the start of their bingo sessions, in club, between 2008 and 2014. It has been used on an episode of ''

Doctor Who Confidential ''Doctor Who Confidential'' is a documentary series created by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) to complement the revival of the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Each episode was broadcast on BBC T ...

'' in 2007. The song was used in an episode of Inside No. 9 entitled Cold Comfort. The song has been used in

Furniture Village Furniture Village is a British furniture retailer. It has over fifty stores throughout the United Kingdom, the first of which was opened in Abingdon, and also sells online. The company is headquartered in Slough. It is the largest privately owne ...

adverts since 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shine (Take That Song) 2006 songs 2007 singles Brit Award for British Single Number-one singles in Scotland UK Singles Chart number-one singles Song recordings produced by John Shanks Take That songs Songs written by Mark Owen Songs written by Gary Barlow Songs written by Jason Orange Songs written by Steve Robson Songs written by Howard Donald Polydor Records singles