Synopsis

Take That perform "Pray" in a stylized tropical setting, combining beach scenes, choreographed movement, close-ups, and striking fashion imagery. The five members are presented alongside women representing the elements, giving the video a symbolic, dreamlike quality. Mark Owen is associated with air, Jason Orange with fire, Robbie Williams with earth, and Howard Donald with water, while Gary Barlow appears in contrasting black-and-white imagery. The sensual presentation turns the song's plea for reconciliation into an elaborate fantasy of desire, regret, and longing.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video was filmed in Acapulco, Mexico, in 1993, giving the production its sun-soaked, exotic look.

• The elemental concept assigns Mark Owen to air, Jason Orange to fire, Robbie Williams to earth, and Howard Donald to water. Gary Barlow is treated separately through neutral black-and-white imagery.

• Gary Barlow later wrote that the group were much happier with the Acapulco location than with the setting used for their earlier video "I Found Heaven."

• Howard Donald later recalled that the deliberately sexual presentation made the group feel somewhat uncomfortable, even though it was clearly aimed at the band's predominantly female audience.

• "Pray" became Take That's first UK No. 1 single and stayed at the top for four weeks. Its success helped move the group beyond their early teen-pop image.

• The song and video both received major recognition at the 1994 BRIT Awards. "Pray" won British Single of the Year and British Video of the Year.

• The video also won Best Video at the 1993 Smash Hits Poll Winners Party.

• A separate video was released for the 2018 "Odyssey" version of "Pray." Rather than recreate the original fantasy, it uses previously unseen personal archive footage to look back across the band's career.