TAKE THAT Prepare to relight the fire -- Without Robbie WIlliams

Quoted from: http://www.thedailyjournalonline.com

' LONDON - They broke the hearts of legions of teenage girls when they split a decade ago. But now Take That, the biggest boy band of the early 1990s, is to reform for a UK tour - without Robbie Williams.
Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Jason Orange and Mark Owen will dust off their old hits for 11 arena concerts next year. Only Williams has remained successful in the music industry since the members of the band went their separate ways, but their record company is confident that fans will rush to buy tickets for the shows out of a sense of nostalgia. A spokesman for the band said: "Take That are excited to be able to get back on stage and thank the fans who have remained loyal since their split in 1996. Many will remember the explosive and creative live shows that Take That put on, with pyrotechnics and perfectly choreographed dance routines." The 2006 tour promises to be no different and will serve as a fitting tribute to their overwhelming success and stature as Britain's ultimate boy band." Take That sold more than nine million albums and ten million singles. A telephone counselling service was set up to help fans to come to terms with their disappointment when the band split up. Although Barlow had two early hits, he failed to make a career as a solo artist and now writes for other singers. Owen's career was briefly back on track when he won Celebrity Big Brother in 2002 and he began a tour playing to small venues last night (Friday). Orange became an actor and Donald a DJ. Interest in the band was revived by a warts-and-all television programme this month which attracted nearly six million viewers. Simon Douglas, an executive director of Virgin Megastores, said: " The comeback tour will be a real money-maker for the boys. Their album went in at No 2 and sold 90,000 in its first week; well beyond expectations." The band members have been offered a reported pounds 1.5million each to go back on the road. At a press conference in a London hotel yesterday (Friday) the four remaining band members, who are now in their 30s, admitted that they would love Robbie Williams to join them. It will not be the first time that Take That has performed without Williams; the band carried on for six months after he left. Tickets go on sale from 9am on Friday, December 2.

By Helen Nugent
The Times of London'