On 7 July 2011, it was announced on Take That's official website that "When We Were Young" would be the next single from Progressed, and that it would also serve as the theme song for the new film adaptation of The Three Musketeers, directed by Paul W. S.

In his review of Take That's Progressed, Gavin Martin of The Daily Mirror concluded that "the trad Barlow ballad setting of 'When We Were Young' ... extends the original album's balancing act between dignified nostalgia and commercially crafted experimentation.

It features Take That performing the song inside an empty Wembley Stadium after one of their Progress Live concerts, with each member in a different location of the ground.

Robbie Williams opens the video on the b stage, surrounded by ticker tape, trying to grab it as the wind blows through the stadium.

Gary Barlow is shown to be sitting in the seats looking down upon the stage as he performs the chorus, whilst Mark Owen, Jason Orange and Howard Donald all look around the stadium contemplating the night before.