Pray (Take That Song)

"Pray" is a song by English boy band Take That. Written by band member Gary Barlow, the ballad was released on 5 July 1993 by RCA Records and BMG as the second single from the band's second studio album, '' Everything Changes'' (1993). It is the first of twelve singles by the band to reach number one on the UK Singles Chart, staying at number one for four weeks, and starting a streak of four consecutive number-one singles. The music video for "Pray" was directed by Greg Masuak and filmed in Mexico.

"Pray" has received a gold sales status certification and sold over 438,000 copies in the UK, won British Single of the Year and British Video of the Year at the 1994 Brit Awards, and was the finale of Take That's Beautiful World Tour 2007. In 1994, the song won the Ivor Novello for Best Contemporary Song and Songwriter of the Year for band lyricist Gary Barlow.

A newly arranged and recorded version was released on 21 September 2018 as the first single of their greatest hits album ''Odyssey''. The album was released on 23 November 2018 followed by a Greatest Hits tour marking the band's 30th anniversary in 2019.

Critical reception

AllMusic editor Peter Fawthrop described "Pray" as a "quality ballad" in his review of '' Everything Changes''. Tom Ewing of Freaky Trigger complimented Barlow's songwriting on the song. He said that "at this point he was still the group's secret weapon – canny and professional enough to bring the hooks but with a streak of desperate earnestness. So the classic Take That song – "Pray" isn't their best, but it very much sets a template – wanders like a lost puppy on the verses then pulls itself together for a monster chorus." Caroline Sullivan from ''The Guardian'' viewed it as "rather fine". Chris Roberts from ''Melody Maker'' felt the song "boasted a fantastic chorus". Another ''Melody Maker'' editor, David Bennun, named it "one of Nineties pop's most exalted moments, and the only song so far to justify the talk about Gary Barlow's writing talent." A reviewer from ''Music & Media'' commented, "The five messiahs have found a juvenile congregation in the UK willing to lend its ear. Now they're praying for continental attention for their matchless bubble gum soul."

Alan Jones from ''Music Week'' gave "Pray" a score of three out of five. He found that it is a "fairly intricate mid-tempo workout hathas pleasant harmonies and a glossy sheen, although the song itself is more slight than some of the group's previous efforts – none of which really matters, as it's bound for the Top Five." ''Smash Hits'' gave "Pray" four out of five, praising the chorus as "a fab gospel tune with the group sharing vocals and doing those beautiful harmonies that they seem to be getting so good at these days." The magazine also declared it as "a pretty mature song" and "a definite number 1." A reviewer from ''Staffordshire Sentinel'' complimented it as a "soulful ballad".

In a 2012 retrospect Pray was awarded The Guardian Music Award for Best Number 1 Single of 1993 stating "filled with euphoria, guitar riffs and the boys' echoing vocals, this was Take That at their peak, and rightly kept them at No 1 for four weeks".

Music video

The accompanying music video for the song was directed by Greg Masuak and shot in Acapulco, Mexico. The clip features the band members in the exotic location singing and dancing. The band members are paired with a goddess of the four elements, taking on a different form with each – Air (Mark Owen), Fire (Jason Orange), Earth (Robbie Williams) and Water (Howard Donald) – with the exception of Gary Barlow who is represented in a neutral black and white context. In Barlow's autobiography, he stated that after the disappointment of where " I Found Heaven" was filmed, the band were a lot happier about the location for this video. Reflecting on the video in 2005 for '' Take That: For the Record'', Donald remarked: "We was doing all the sexual thing and stuff. ... Even then it felt a little bit uncomfortable. But girls like it. Girls like this kind of thing." David Bennun from ''Melody Maker'' praised "the gorgeous, sinister, young Aryan cod-arcadia of "Pray", Leni Riefenstahl on MTV." The video was later made available remastered on Take That's official YouTube channel in 2009, and had generated more than eight million views as of early 2024 on the platform.

Track listings

Original version

* UK CD1 and European CD single
# "Pray" (radio edit)
# "Pray" (a cappella)
# "Pray" (alternative club mix)

* UK CD single 2
# "Pray" (club swing mix)
# "It Only Takes a Minute" ( Tommy Musto Underground dub)
# " Once You've Tasted Love" (Harding & Curnow remix)
# "It Only Takes a Minute" (Tommy Musto Underground vocal)

* UK 7-inch and cassette single
# "Pray" (radio edit)
# "Pray" (a cappella)

* Australian limited-edition maxi-single
# "Pray" (radio edit) – 3:43
# "Pray" (a cappella) – 4:26
# "Pray" (alternative club mix) – 5:21
# "Pray" (club swing mix)
# "It Only Takes a Minute" (Tommy Musto Underground dub)
# "Once You've Tasted Love" (Harding & Curnow remix)
# "It Only Takes a Minute" (Tommy Musto Underground vocal)

* Australian Tour Edition CD single
# "Pray" (radio edit)
# " Relight My Fire" (live)
# "Could It Be Magic" (live)
# "It Only Takes a Minute" (live)

2018 version

* International digital singlePray Odyssey version
on iTunes
# "Pray – ''Odyssey'' version" (new arrangement and vocals) – 3:40

Personnel

* Gary Barlow – lead vocals
* Howard Donald – backing vocals
* Jason Orange – backing vocals
* Mark Owen – backing vocals
* Robbie Williams – backing vocals

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pray (Take That Song)
1990s ballads
1993 singles
1993 songs
Bertelsmann Music Group singles
Brit Award for British Single
Music videos directed by Greg Masuak
Polydor Records singles
RCA Records singles
Songs written by Gary Barlow
Take That songs
UK singles chart number-one singles