The group have had 28 top-40 singles and 17 top-5 singles on the UK Singles Chart, 12 of which have reached number one, including "Back for Good", "Never Forget", "Patience" and "Greatest Day". They have also had eight number-one albums on the UK Albums Chart. Internationally, the band have had 56 number one singles and 39 number-one albums. They have received eight Brit Awards—winning for Best British Group and Best British Live Act. In 2012 they received an Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music. According to the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), Take That has been certified for 14 million albums and 11.4 million singles in the UK.
Williams left the band in 1995 while the four remaining members completed their world tour and released a final single before splitting up in 1996. After filming a 2005 Take That: For the Record about the group and releasing a new greatest hits album, a four-piece Take That without Williams officially announced a 2006 reunion tour around the UK, entitled The Ultimate Tour. On 9 May 2006, it was announced that the group were set to record new material together once again; their fourth studio album, Beautiful World, was released in 2006 and was followed up with The Circus, in 2008. The group achieved new success as a four-piece, scoring a string of chart hits across the UK and Europe while selling over 45 million records worldwide. Williams rejoined Take That in 2010 for the band's sixth studio album, Progress. Released on 15 November of that year, it was the first album of new material to feature Take That's original line-up since their 1995 album, Nobody Else. It became the fastest-selling album of the 21st century and the second fastest-selling album in British history.
In 2014, the band recorded a seventh studio album, this time as a trio without Williams and Orange. The album, titled III, was released in November 2014 and became the band's seventh number one. It was preceded by the single "These Days", which became the band's 12th number one single in the UK.
In 2011, Take That set the new record for the fastest-selling tour of all time in the UK with Progress Live, beating the previous record set by their Circus Live Tour in 2009. At the 2011 Brit Awards they won Best British Group. In 2012, Forbes named them the fifth highest-earning music stars in the world. The group performed at the London 2012 Olympic Games closing ceremony, playing "Rule the World" while the Olympic Flame was extinguished. In the same year, the Official Charts Company revealed the biggest-selling singles artists in British music chart history with Take That currently placed at 15th overall, making them the most successful boy band in UK chart history. Four of their albums are listed in the best-selling albums of the millennium, with three of them among the 60 best-selling albums in UK chart history.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Take_That
Studio albums
Take That and Party (1992)
Everything Changes (1993)
Nobody Else (1995)
Beautiful World (2006)
The Circus (2008)
Progress (2010)
Progressed (2011)
III (2014)
Wonderland (2017)
This Life (2023)
Underground Machine
Take That Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You're in a room with a rock star
Only I play the good parts of a kind heart
The sky's too low and the room's too dark
But she just carries on
And I get her in but her friend gets turned away
But what can I say?
And the boy thinks the girl's all right
Get your head out the library
Get the courage of the cavalry
You might be good looking,
But you can't sleep with yourself tonight
Oh what a beast, oh what a man
You've gotta get it while you can
Oh what a beast, oh what a man
Oh I, I wish that beggars were choosers
Unload my love like a looter
I need some gas and a kick start, for a good heart
The lighting's cheap, and the room is cold
But she just carries on
And you'll get no sleep
But you might be turned away
So what will you say?
When the boy meets girl and the girl meets boy
And the boy thinks the girl's all right
Get your head out the library
Get the courage of the cavalry
You might be good looking,
But you can't sleep with yourself tonight
Oh what a beast, oh what a man
You've gotta get it while you can
Oh what a beast, oh what a man
Oh what a beast, oh what a man
When the boy meets girl and the girl meets boy
And the boy thinks the girl's all right
Get your head out the library
Get the courage of the cavalry
If you're so good looking
Why don't you sleep with yourself tonight?
Oh what a beast, oh what a man
You've gotta get it while you can
You've gotta get it while you can
You've gotta get it while you can
Oh what a beast, oh what a man
The lyrics of Take That's song Underground Machine seem to be about a person who is just a small part of someone's life. The singer feels like they are just a piece of the pie chart when compared to the other people in the person's life. The person is in a room with a rock star, but they are the only one who plays the good parts of a kind heart. The sky seems too low and the room too dark, creating an atmosphere that could feel oppressive or overwhelming, but the person just carries on. The singer is let into the room, but the friend they brought with them is turned away, which could be symbolic of feeling left out or not good enough.
The chorus of the song appears to be talking about the excitement and nervousness that comes with meeting someone new and potentially having a romantic connection with them. The lyrics encourage the person to get out of their head and be bold, to take risks and go after what they want. The repetition of "Oh what a beast, oh what a man" could be interpreted in different ways, either exclaiming the exciting potential of a new relationship or commenting on the conflicting feelings that can arise when two people are attracted to each other.
Overall, Underground Machine seems to be a song about the ups and downs of trying to connect with another person, the feelings of insecurity and uncertainty that can arise in these situations, and the importance of being courageous and taking risks to pursue desired outcomes.
Line by Line Meaning
I, I'm just a piece of your pie chart
I feel like I only matter to you in terms of how much of your life I take up
You're in a room with a rock star
You're surrounded by people more famous and successful than me
Only I play the good parts of a kind heart
I'm the only one who sees the good side of you
The sky's too low and the room's too dark
I feel trapped and suffocated in this situation
But she just carries on
You continue with your life, ignoring my feelings
And I get her in but her friend gets turned away
I was able to get the person I care about in, but others were not as lucky
But what can I say?
There's nothing I can do about it
When the boy meets girl and the girl meets boy
When two people meet and are attracted to each other
And the boy thinks the girl's all right
The boy likes the girl and thinks she's attractive
Get your head out the library
Stop overthinking and take action
Get the courage of the cavalry
Take bold action and face your fears head-on
You might be good looking,
You may have physical attractiveness
But you can't sleep with yourself tonight
Even if others find you attractive, you still need to be comfortable being alone with yourself
Oh what a beast, oh what a man
Be bold and confident in yourself
Oh I, I wish that beggars were choosers
I wish I had more control over this situation
Unload my love like a looter
I want to express my love, even if it may not be accepted
I need some gas and a kick start, for a good heart
I need a boost to my motivation and energy to keep my kind heart going
The lighting's cheap, and the room is cold
This situation is cheap and uninviting
And you'll get no sleep
You'll be so consumed by this situation that you won't rest
If you're so good looking
If you're really attractive
Why don't you sleep with yourself tonight?
Why don't you learn to be comfortable being alone with yourself?
You've gotta get it while you can
Seize the opportunity to live your life to the fullest
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JASON ORANGE, HOWARD DONALD, ROBERT PETER WILLIAMS, MARK ANTHONY OWEN, GARY BARLOW
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind