"A Million Love Songs" is the penultimate single released by Take That

Take That

Take That are a British five-piece vocal pop group comprising Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Jason Orange, Mark Owen and Robbie Williams. Barlow acts as the lead singer and primary songwriter...

 from their debut album and was written by lead vocalist Gary Barlow

Gary Barlow

Gary Barlow is an English singer-songwriter, pianist and record producer. He is frontman and lead vocalist of pop group Take That and is currently the head judge on the eighth series of The X Factor. Barlow is one of Britain's most successful songwriters...

 at the age of 15.

Song information

Written by Gary Barlow

Gary Barlow

Gary Barlow is an English singer-songwriter, pianist and record producer. He is frontman and lead vocalist of pop group Take That and is currently the head judge on the eighth series of The X Factor. Barlow is one of Britain's most successful songwriters...

 at the age of 15, it was released as the sixth single

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

 from their debut album

Album

An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

, Take That and Party

Take That and Party

Take That & Party was the debut album from British boyband Take That. It reached #2 in the UK album chart and stayed in the UK Top 75 album chart for 73 weeks...

, peaking at number 7 in the UK Singles Chart

UK Singles Chart

The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

. The two primary instruments are piano

Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

, played by Barlow, with a saxophone

Saxophone

The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...

 in the bridges originally scored, performed and recorded by Snake Davis

Snake Davis

Snake Davis is a session musician who has played with some of the worlds biggest artists. In the 1980s he fronted York band Zoot and the Roots....

. Take That's longtime saxophonist and music director, Mike Stevens went on to perform these sax parts live, many of them using the extended saxophone part written by Davis, at the end of the song.
In January 1993, the song entered the Dutch

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 chart

Record chart

A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....

 and peaked at #50. The song was released for airplay in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 in September 1993, but it failed to chart.

The song was performed in the final of The X Factor

The X Factor (UK)

The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. Created by Simon Cowell, it began in September 2004 and is contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. It is the originator of the international X Factor franchise. The seven series of the show to date...

's third series in 2006 by eventual winner Leona Lewis

Leona Lewis

Leona Louise Lewis is a British singer and songwriter. Lewis first came to prominence in 2006 when she won the third series of the British television series The X Factor....

, who was joined on stage half-way through the song by all four members of Take That. It was also performed in the second series of The X Factor by eventual winner Shayne Ward

Shayne Ward

Shayne Thomas Ward is an English pop singer who rose to fame as the winner of second series of The X Factor. He has sold over 3 million records worldwide and has had number one albums and singles in 9 countries.During The X Factor competition, Ward was mentored by manager Louis Walsh...

 and by JLS

JLS

- Music :* JLS, an English boyband** JLS , debut album by JLS* JLS a Spanish Rock band based in Zaragoza , Spain formed in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic by lead Leo Susana.- Organizations :...

 on the fifth series of X Factor

The X Factor (UK series 5)

The fifth UK series of The X Factor was broadcast on ITV in 2008. The series started on 16 August and was won by Alexandra Burke on 13 December, with new judge Cheryl Cole emerging as the winning mentor. Auditions in front of producers were held in April/May, with callbacks in front of the judges...

 and in sixth series

The X Factor (UK series 6)

The sixth series of British television music competition The X Factor started on ITV on 22 August 2009 and was won by Joe McElderry on 13 December 2009. Cheryl Cole emerged as the winning mentor for the second consecutive year, the first time in the show's history that a mentor has won back-to-back...

 by Lloyd Daniels. Ward's version was released as a B-side

A-side and B-side

A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...

 to his single "No Promises". The song was also covered

Cover version

In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...

 by Alexander O'Neal

Alexander O'Neal

Alexander O'Neal is an American R&B singer. He is best-known for the songs "If You Were Here Tonight" and "Fake", and the duets with Cherrelle, "Saturday Love" and "Never Knew Love Like This".-Biography:...

 on his 2008 album, Alex Loves.

The song has also been voted by critics and music fans as the greatest ballad of all time.

Music video

The music video

Music video

A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...

 is shot in black and white

Monochrome

Monochrome describes paintings, drawings, design, or photographs in one color or shades of one color. A monochromatic object or image has colors in shades of limited colors or hues. Images using only shades of grey are called grayscale or black-and-white...

, and makes use of the 'watercolour' video editing effect which effectively blurs the image. The video is simple and shows the band performing the song with Barlow at the piano performing the song.

Track listings

spellingUK/EU CD Single (74321 11600 2)

1. "A Million Love Songs" (7" Edit) - 3:53
2. "Still Can't Get Over You" - 4:10
3. "How Can It Be" - 4:57
4. "Don't Take Your Love" - 4:04

UK Cassette (74321 11600 4)

1. "A Million Love Songs" (7" Edit) - 3:53
2. "A Million Love Songs" (Lovers' Mix) - 6:12

UK 7" Vinyl E.P. (74321 11630 7)

1. "A Million Love Songs" (7" Edit) - 3:53
2. "Still Can't Get Over You" - 4:10
3. "How Can It Be" - 4:57
4. "Don't Take Your Love" - 4:04

UK 7" Vinyl - Limited Edition (74321 11600 7)(with transfer tattoos)

1. "A Million Love Songs" (7" Edit) - 3:53
2. "A Million Love Songs" (Lovers' Mix) - 6:12

Japanese CD Single (BVCP-1022)

1. "A Million Love Songs" (Live Version) - 6:06
2. "Satisfied" (Live Version)
3. "Take That Medley" (Live Version)
4. "Why Can't I Wake Up with You" (Radio Edit) - 3:38
5. "A Million Love Songs" (Lovers' Mix) - 6:12

Japanese 3" CD Single (BVDP-85)

1. "A Million Love Songs" (7" Edit) - 3:53
2. "A Million Love Songs" (Lovers' Mix) - 6:12

Chart performances

Chart (1992)	Peak position
UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...	7
Chart (1993)	Peak position
Dutch Singles Chart	50

Official versions

• Album Version (3:52)
• 7" Edit (3:53)
• Live Version (6:06)
• Lovers' Mix (6:12)
• Extended Mix (6:10)