Take That have announced a huge UK arena tour and greatest hits album to mark their 30th anniversary next year.
The band, whose line-up currently consists of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen, will start their commemorative trek in April with two shows at Sheffield’s FlyDSA Arena.
They will go on to play five dates in their home city of Manchester and a six-night residency at London’s O2 Arena.
The tour will also take in Dublin, Birmingham and football stadiums in Milton Keynes, Southampton, Bristol, Norwich, Middlesbrough and Huddersfield. They will be supported by Never Gonna Give You Up singer Rick Astley.
The journey continues… #TT30
To celebrate 30 years as a band we reimagined some of our favourite songs, wrote a couple of new ones and we'll be playing them live at our UK Arena and Stadium tour next year! 🎶 https://t.co/S3jD6EJwMS pic.twitter.com/iwtr60CgrJ
— Take That (@takethat) September 21, 2018
Retrospective release Odyssey will be released on November 23. The album will span the group’s entire discography including tracks from 1992 debut Take That And Party as well as three new songs.
The LP will see some of the band’s best known songs “reimagined” and will also contain soundbites from interviews during their career.
Speaking about the new versions, Barlow said: “Some have been reworked, but without spoiling what people loved about them in the first place.
“You’ve got to be respectful, but at the same time, you’ve got to let the ambition of doing something new and refreshed come through as well.”
Owen said: “We wanted to tell the tale of the band, the history of what happened to us. If you only ever own one of them, this should be the definitive Take That record.”
You can listen to our new version of Pray now: https://t.co/RRxz5Vl7Of 😊 Enjoy! x #TT30
— Take That (@takethat) September 21, 2018
Take That formed as five-piece in 1989 with Robbie Williams and Jason Orange also featuring in the original line-up. Williams’ departure in 1995 led to a split the following year.
The other four members reunited in 2005 for a comeback that saw them clock up three number one albums.
Williams later rejoined the group for the Process album in 2011. The record’s subsequent tour set the record for the fastest selling concert tour this century.
Williams departed again in 2012 while Orange called time in 2014. Barlow said last year that the pair were welcome to rejoin any time they liked.