"Promises" is a

dance-pop Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...

song by British

boy band A boy band is loosely defined as a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform love songs marketed towards girls and young women. Ma ...

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 sin ...

. Written by

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 Graham Stack, it was released on 11 November 1991 as the second single from the band's debut album, '' Take That & Party'' (1992). It was his first single released after signing to

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also ...

. It was a modest success, charting at number 38 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 ...

Critical reception

Alan Jones from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' described the track as a "well-performed, hook-laden pop song executed with more panache and credibility than most teen favourites can conjure up. This is definitely one to watch." Simon Williams from ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' said, "The synth-mungous likes of '

Once You've Tasted Love "Once You've Tasted Love" is a dance song by boy band Take That. Written by Gary Barlow and produced by Duncan Bridgeman, "Once You've Tasted Love" was released on 27 January 1992 as the third single from the band's debut album, '' Take That & P ...

' and 'Promises' are amiably crass

hi-NRG Hi-NRG (pronounced "high energy") is a genre of uptempo disco or electronic dance music (EDM) that originated in the United States during the late 1970s and early 1980s. As a music genre, typified by fast tempo, staccato hi-hat rhythms (and th ...

rompalongs, sort of

Kajagoogoo Kajagoogoo were a British new wave band, best known for their 1983 hit single " Too Shy", which reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart, and the Top 10 in numerous other countries. History Beginnings (1978–1982) Formed in Leighton Buzza ...

gone Italian House."

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devi ...

for the song uses intercut clips of the band performing and rehearsing as well as showing the hysteria of

's fans. It also shows a half-naked band member, unknown at the time, jumping out of a swimming pool.

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 stu ...

said that person was him during an interview for the 2006 documentary '' Take That: For the Record''. In August 2018 on an Instagram post,

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 ...

revealed that it was he in that shot.

Track listings

* Austrian CD single (PC45085) # "Promises" (7-inch radio mix) – 3:33 # "Promises" (12-inch mix) – 6:50 # "Do What U Like" – 3:06 * UK 7-inch vinyl (PB45085) # "Promises" (7-inch radio mix) – 3:33 # "Do What U Like" – 3:06 * UK 7-inch vinyl (PB45085P) (Limited Edition w/poster sleeve) # "Promises" (7-inch radio mix) – 3:33 # "Do What U Like" – 3:06 * UK cassette (PK45085) # "Promises" (7-inch radio mix) – 3:33 # "Do What U Like" – 3:06 * UK 12-inch vinyl (PT45086) # "Promises" (12-inch mix) – 6:50 # "Do What U Like" (12-inch mix) – 5:06

Personnel

– lead vocals *

– 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 *

– backing vocals

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Promises (Take That Song) 1991 singles Take That songs Songs written by Gary Barlow Songs written by Graham Stack (record producer) 1991 songs RCA Records singles