Giants (Take That song)

The lead single from the album, titled "Giants" was released on 17 February 2017.[3] It was written by Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Mark Owen, Jamie Norton and Ben Mark.[4] The production of the song was handled by Mark Ralph, who has previously produced songs for Clean Bandit and Years & Years.[3] In addition, Ralph also provided the bass, guitars, synthesizers and the programming. Drew Smith and Tom AD Fuller, served as the song's engineers, whilst Charlie Russel did the additional engineering and the keys programming. Fuller also provided additional backing vocals alongside Geoff Holroyde. The mixing of "Giants" was done by Mark "Spike" Stent, with Geoff Swan serving as the mixing assistant. The strings were recorded at the Abbey Road Studios in London. Will Malone was the string arranger and conductor whilst Perry Montague-Mason was the string leader. Isobel Griffiths served as conductor and Susie Gillis provided assistance in the process. Tim Young did the mastering at the Metropolis Studios in London.[4]

In his review of the song, Nicholas Reilly of the British newspaper Metro called it 'ready made for arenas' and stated "It’s a welcome return to their penchant for huge choruses that are tailor made for cavernous arenas. It’s also got a damn catchy chorus too that wouldn't be too far out of place on a recent Coldplay album."[5]

The single debuted at 13 in the UK, becoming Take That's 24th UK top 20 single. However, it was the week's highest selling physical release. It performed well on the Scottish charts: entering the top 10 at number 6, whilst it also reached 86 on the Irish charts.[6]

Credits adapted from "Giants" physical CD single.[4]

Locations

• Strings recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London
• Mastering at Metropolis Studios in London

Personnel