Take That

Take That are a five-piece pop group comprising Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Jason Orange, Mark Owen and Robbie Williams. Gary Barlow is the group's frontman and primary songwriter. Formed in Manchester in 1990, the band achieved major success, selling more than 25 million records between 1991–96 alone before disbanding.

In 2005 the group reformed without Williams and achieved new success as a four-piece scoring a string of chart hits whilst taking the number of records sold to over 40 million worldwide. In July 2010, Robbie Williams' return to the band was confirmed. In total the band have had 22 top forty singles in the UK alone, 11 of which have reached #1 as well as having five number 1 albums.

Williams having left the band in 1995, the rest of Take That split up in 1996. However, after a 2005 documentary and the release of a new greatest hits album, they officially announced a 2006 reunion tour around the United Kingdom, entitled The Ultimate Tour. On 9 May 2006, it was announced that Take That were set to record together as a band once again.

On 7 June 2010 the news broke of a single called "Shame" which had been written by Barlow and Williams and which would features the vocals of both artists. This was the first time the pair had worked together since 1995 and would appear on the second greatest hits collection of Williams. The single peaked at number 2 on the UK singles chart whilst also achieving success throughout Europe.

On 15 July 2010, Robbie Williams announced he was returning to Take That. A joint statement between Williams and the group said "The rumours are true... Take That: the original lineup, have written and recorded a new album for release later this year," read the band's statement. "Following months of speculation Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Jason Orange, Mark Owen and Robbie Williams confirmed they have been recording a new studio album as a five-piece, which they will release in November."

The lead single from Take That's forthcoming album Progress has been announced as "The Flood" and will be released 07 November, with the album released a week later on 15 November. Take That announced on 19 October that they had considered changing the name of the band to The English prior to the release of their sixth studio album. They decided against this after Williams' return to the band, choosing to maintain the name that made them famous.

Take That held a press conference in London today to announce Take That new tour dates. The band revealed that the Progress Live 2011 tour will include cities such as Manchester, Dublin, Glasgow and London, kicking off in Sunderland on May 30. It’s been a big couple of months for the reunited group and especially for Robbie, who married Ayda Field in August.