Take That - Pray

JUL 01 1993 · 12:00

Take That - Pray (1993) Director: Gregg Masuak Era: British New Pop / Boy Band Golden Age (1993) - Peak era of UK boy band dominance; Take That's breakthrough into chart-topping singles territory, bridging teen pop with polished adult-oriented balladry on a global production scale. Exceptionally high. 'Pray' is a dual Brit Award-winning video (Best British Video and Best British Single, 1994) and a primary visual document of the early UK boy band era at its commercial and artistic peak. Its confirmed director, documented Acapulco shoot, elemental-mythological concept, and measurable chart impact (4 weeks UK #1; 438,000 UK copies sold) make it a richly verifiable, multi-dimensionally significant artefact for pop cultural preservation. The 2009 official remaster and subsequent 8M+ YouTube views confirm sustained archival and audience relevance. Context: Released 5 July 1993 on RCA Records/BMG, 'Pray' arrived at the crest of the UK boy band phenomenon, representing a pivotal moment when Take That transitioned from teen novelty act to mainstream chart force. It became the band's first UK number one, holding the top spot for four weeks and initiating a run of four consecutive chart-toppers. Filmed in Acapulco, Mexico, the exotic sun-drenched production elevated the visual stakes of UK pop videos at a time when MTV exposure was critical commercial currency. The video's mythological, elemental concept distinguished it aesthetically from contemporaneous performance-led British pop promos. It won British Video of the Year and British Single of the Year at the 1994 Brit Awards, and the Ivor Novello for Best Contemporary Song in 1994, cementing its status as a cultural landmark of the early 1990s UK pop landscape. Director notes: Masuak directed 'Pray' on location in Acapulco, Mexico in 1993, and went on to direct three further Take That videos: 'Babe', 'Everything Changes', and 'Sure'. In a 2017 Songfacts interview, Masuak described 'Pray' as one of his proudest creative experiences, noting it was built with 'very little notice, building ideas along the way' and that Take That 'really let me run with ideas'. The video employs an elemental conceptual framework pairing each band member with a goddess representing one of the four classical elements. Gary Barlow is separated from this scheme, appearing exclusively in a desaturated black-and-white beach context. The video was later remastered and re-released on Take That's official YouTube channel in 2009. The clip won British Video of the Year at the 1994 Brit Awards and Best Video at the 1993 Smash Hits Awards.