ELO star works on Take That album
Take That have teamed up with ELO frontman Jeff Lynne for their new album - their first as a trio since Jason Orange quit.
They started work on the album at the start of the year – without Orange but with his “blessing” – and signed up a team of producers including Lynne and Stuart Price, who worked on their Progress album.
The album, called III, will be released on December 1 and is the first new release since their last album, 2010’s Progress, which featured all five original members and was a huge hit, shifting more than quarter of a million copies in one day.
Lynne, who scored dozens of hits with ELO and recently headlined a Radio2 gig in Hyde Park, has produced acts including Paul McCartney, Brian Wilson and Tom Petty.
The group also revealed details of their new single, These Days, ahead of its first play today and its release in November.
All three – Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen – share vocal duties on the song, which is described as “a nod to the sound that defined their early years” and “out-and-out feelgood pop”.
Orange revealed he had quit the group last month, insisting there had been “no fallings-out” with his bandmates.
Orange has followed in the footsteps of fellow ex-Take That star Robbie Williams, who revealed earlier this year he would not be reuniting with the band for their next tour.
The pair were also the only members of Take That not to face accusations of tax avoidance after Barlow, Donald, Owen and their manager Jonathan Wild reportedly invested £66 million into two partnerships styled as music industry investment schemes.
Barlow finally broke months of silence on the controversy earlier this month and apologised on Twitter for the “tax stories”, before telling fans the band were working on a new studio album.
