Take That are an English pop boy band formed by Nigel Martin Smith in Manchester in 1990. After success in the 1990s as a five person act, a reformed four man version of the band achieved new success in the 2000s.

Take That sold 19 million records (9m albums and 10m singles) between the years of 1990-1996. Between the band's first single release in 1991 and their breakup in 1996, the BBC described Take That as "the most successful British band since The Beatles in the UK, beloved of young and old alike".

Take That's dance-oriented pop tunes and soulful ballads dominated the UK charts in the first half of the 1990s, spawning two of the best selling albums of the decade with Everything Changes (which was nominated for the 1994 Mercury Prize) and Greatest Hits 1996, and according to All Music Guide, "at this time were giant superstars in Europe with the main question about them not being about whether they could get a hit single, but how many and which would make it to number one".

The band split in 1996 but, after a 2005 documentary and the release of a greatest hits album, they announced a 2006 tour around the United Kingdom, entitled The Ultimate Tour 2006. On May 9, 2006, it was announced that Take That were set to record their first studio album in over 10 years.