Take That's Official Top 40 biggest songs revealed

2017 is a huge year for Take That, as they return with Wonderland, their second album as a trio. They're also limbering up for a huge anniversary tour to mark their 25th year of pop success.

With new single Giants gracing the Top 20 of the Official Singles Chart and their eighth collection Wonderland out now, we look back at the hits that put them on top. It's an admirable clutch of classics in their back catalogue, spanning a quarter of a decade and taking in 27 Top 40 hits, including 20 Top 10s – 12 of which went all the way to Number 1.

But which song is the biggest Take That track of them all? We delved into the data and totted up physical and download sales, plus streams, to come up with the ultimate Take That all-time chart.

Let's look at the highlights. Oh, and keep your eyes peeled on OfficialCharts.com for more Take That goodness throughout the week...

Back for Good

On paper, Back for Good doesn't feel so remarkable – a ballad, second single off an album, one of many Number 1s – but it was quite the phenomenon upon its release in 1995. Spending a month at the top, Back for Good sold over 250,000 copies in its first week on sale, and went on to become (spoiler) Take That's first million-selling single. Its sales now stand at 1.12 million and is their biggest seller to date. Since we started counting in 2014, Back for Good has been streamed just shy of 6 million times, cementing its place as THE Take That song.

Rule The World

Fast forward over a decade and after a lengthy hiatus, Take That are back at the top of their game. This track, originally taken from the soundtrack of movie Stardust, shockingly didn't get to Number 1 – it was beaten by Leona Lewis's Bleeding Love and spent a month at Number 2 in late 2007 – yet it's their second best-seller. Their second song to break into the million-sellers' club, Rule The World has shifted 1.06 million copies, and its streams tally stands at 8.1 million – not bad to say it was released nearly seven years before streams were eligible for inclusion in the Official Singles Chart.

Patience

What a comeback. Robbie's return was still five years away, but this was a confident reinvention of the Take That machine, a decade after they split "for good". Patience spent a month at Number 1 – their third to do so – and has 713,000 sales under its belt to finish as their third best-seller.

The Flood

Hard to believe, but Robbie's long-anticipated return to the band in 2010 was NOT a Number 1 single; it was beaten to the top by Rihanna's Only Girl (In The World), and then JLS' Love You More. Nevertheless, it's sold a fair amount, notching up just under 602,000 copies, finishing as their fifth biggest song. Since the streaming era began in summer 2014, it's been played 3.68 million times. 

Never Forget

An unofficial farewell, this would be the last Take That single to feature Robbie's voice for 15 years. Another '90s Take That Number 1 would follow – a cover of Bee Gees' How Deep Is Your Love – but this felt like the real goodbye. Plus, it features Howard on lead vocals. Iconic. It's sold 524,000 to make it seventh on the sales countdown, and has been streamed 3.42 million times.

Single: Never Forget
Year: 1995
Official Charts Peak: 1

Take That's last single with Robbie Williams for 15 years, Never Forget has certainly never been forgotten. It is also the band's only single that has Howard on lead vocals.

Pray

With four Top 10s, Take That were already on the verge of hugeness by the time this track was released in 1993, but Pray certainly tipped them over the edge. Their very first Number 1, it stayed at the top for a month and would be followed by three more consecutive chart-toppers. Of the 10 singles that would follow it, only one would not hit Number 1. Imagine! Pray's sold 438,000 copies to finish 10th on their all-time countdown, while for streaming fans, it's been played 1.45 million times across all services.

Relight My Fire

What a song. Their first ever collaboration, which brought about something of a revival for '60s singer Lulu, was Number 1 for two weeks. It's sold 360,000 cppies and has notched up 2.1 million plays, to land at 11 on their all-time Top 40.

It Only Takes A Minute

For the first year or so of Take That's career, things were looking pretty dodgy tbh. Their first single Do What U Like (which is quite something) missed the Top 40 entirely and follow-ups were modest successes. This cover of the 1976 hit from 100 Ton and a Feather was their first ever Top 10 (19 more would follow) reaching Number 7, and has a sales tally of 146,000, their 21st biggest selling song.

Single: It Only Takes A Minute
Year: 1992
Official Charts Peak: 7

Hooray! Take That's first entry into the Top 10 was Only Takes A Minute, a cover of Tavares' 1975 single. The catchy track peaked at Numbe 7 in June 1992.

Could It Be Magic

This one was also a cover – both Barry Manilow and Donna Summer had had hits with it before – but it's mainly remarkable in the Take That oeuvre for being their first single with Robbie singing lead vocals. To date, its sales stand at 345,000, placing 12th on the all-time sales list, while it's been streamed 870,000 times since 2014.

These Days

Another red-letter day for Take That, and their most recent Number 1, These Days was the first ever single not to feature Jason Orange, who'd just quit the band. It was also the first Take That single released after streaming figures were introduced to the Official Singles Chart. It's racked up 18.9 million plays to become their xx most streamed song of all time. It's done pretty well on the sales side too tbh – 341,500 copies.

Take That's Official Top 40 biggest songs of all time:

©2017 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.

And these are Take That's 40 most streamed songs:

©2017 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.

Relive the artwork for every Take That single and album that they've released in the UK below. They've come a long way, baby.

Image: Rex/Shutterstock