Mar 7 2009 By John Dingwall

JASON Orange believes he is finally getting the chance to shine after being given lead vocals on a new Take That song.

The 28-year-old's voice is behind the track 84, which is the B-side to the group's new single Up All Night.

And Jason admits he always saw himself as the weakest link in Take That, having lacked the belief to step up to the mic when the band shot to fame first time around.

"I didn't have confidence in myself, so it didn't happen then," Jason said.

"There wasn't enough encouragement from the others to change my lack of confidence. I was consigned to doing backing vocals and dance routines. That was my job description at the time."

Struggling to dazzle under the management of Nigel Martin Smith back in the Nineties, Jason insists he is still trying to prove himself an equal to his bandmates, Howard Donald, Gary Barlow and Mark Owen.

"Nigel had his vision of how things would be and that's how they were," Jason recalled. "We pretty much all fell in line with his vision. It was frustrating. That's human nature.

"I was with a bunch of lads and wanted to prove myself in among them. Although we are all friends and care for each other, there is a rivalry we all share.

"You always want to appeal to the people around you. I was frustrated, I'm sure all the lads were in their own way.

"It is why we are doing what we are doing. We want to prove things to ourselves."

The new song is helping boost Jason's self-esteem however.

"I like it for that reason," Jason explained. "It's only the third time I've done a lead on a Take That song. It is a rarity.

"We're trying to be more democratic across the board. As far as the songwriting is concerned, we are all contributing more than ever. Likewise with who gets to sing what. I am probably the weakest - well, not probably, I am the weakest singer in the band."

The song 84 features on the flip side of the new single and marks a new direction for Take That as it provides a nostalgic look back to the Eighties and life before Take That.

It name checks the miners' strike, which was staged 25 years ago to prevent pit closures against abackdrop of confrontation. But Jason describes those days as the best of his life.

"It is semi-autobiographical," he said. "That stuff happened and the facts of the miner's strike are there. I wanted a staccato rhythm and to tell a story and we decided to tell a nostalgic one.

"It's a story from my childhood.

Back then, I was breakdancing on the corner of the street with my lino on the ground and my breakdance crew. We were just kids. I was 14 or 15 years old.

"I look back with huge fondness."

As well as singing fondly of Margaret Thatcher, he fast-forwards into the 21st century to name check "lies about Iraq" in the lyrics.

But he denies it is his chance to get on his political soapbox.

"We don't want to be a protest band," he said. "It wasn't written for that reason.

"I wanted to make reference of the fact the Conservatives were in power and go on to sing about what happened with Iraq. That and the fact Iraq rhymed with 'heart attack' from the first line.

"It doesn't express opinions about things back then. It makes statements of what's happened. It is quite innocent in that way."

Jason says the Take That boys are looking forward to heading to Scotland in the summer for their record-breaking three dates at Glasgow's Hampden Park.

"We can't wait," he said. "It's going to be brilliant. It's the biggest tour we have ever done.

"It'll be summertime and we are playing so many stadiums, it's awonderful honour.

"We're going to try to grasp it and be fully involved with it and not let things go by too fast.

"I remember we did a big tour at the start of the Nineties. We came to Scotland and it was the first time we were outside Manchester.

"We did mainly gay clubs around Glasgow. It was brilliant.

"We've always had a fantastic reaction there."

Meanwhile, Jason says he has nothing but praise for his bandmate Gary Barlow's on going climb of Mount Kilimanjaro, in aid of Comic Relief.

Gary and fellow climbers Cheryl Cole, Kimberley Walsh, Fearne Cotton, Ronan Keating, Alesha Dixon, Denise Van Outen, Ben Shephard and Chris Moyles, have now passed the £1million mark in funds raised for the charity.

Speaking from the mountain yesterday, Gary said: "I am overwhelmed at the generosity of the public. We're all near to reaching mental and physical exhaustion up here, so to know everyone is behind us and giving whatever they can is so humbling.

"Knowing we've raised this fantastic amount of money in cashstrapped times is the push we need to get us to that summit."

The team have struggled on their climb and both Fearne and Cheryl have been treated for altitude sickness, but all the climbers made it to High Camp and were due to reach the mountain summit today.

That means it is left to the other band members to promote the new song, which has Mark singing the A-side, Up All Night.

Mark, 37, said: "We're left behind to do all the hard work."

Jason quipped: "We'd have to wear high heels and short skirts for the rest of us to have been invited on that mountain with him. Have you seen who is up there? It's Cheryl, Denise and Kimberley. You have got to be a really pretty girl or have influence with the BBC, like Chris Moyles.

"I'm kidding, of course. We all got invited, but we left it to him."

He added: "Gary hurt his back before he left, but he'll be fine.

The effort he is making is brilliant.

"He is making loads of money for charity and having a great experience in the process.''

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/enterta....1177944

I bet you looked good on the dancefloor

What would tempt Jason Orange away from the reformed Take That? The chance to relive the pioneering days of breakdancing in Britain. John Robb reports
'You can't describe the atmosphere in the clubs when Broken Glass were there," says Jason Orange. Once again a member of Take That, Orange is recalling the nights more than 20 years ago when he would show off his breakdancing moves with the Street Machine crew, and their rivals Broken Glass were doing the same.

The kids, as they then were, didn't just work in clubs. They'd lay down pieces of lino in the street and, in a blur of Sergio Tacchini and Fila tracksuits, Puma trainers, sovereign rings and rope chains, throw a complex series of dance shapes. Broken Glass were the pioneers, Street Machine the upstarts; between them they imported New York's street culture to the greyness of Manchester. They would be out in all weather, battling to prove themselves the best breakdancers in town, while a ghettoblaster pumped out hip-hop and electro. As their skills developed, the crews' fame spread, and soon they were winning competitions across the UK, setting the breakdancing standard with their complex moves.

The crews reunited recently in Liverpool for a one-off event in tribute to Royston Swanson of Broken Glass, who died this year. There, a new generation of UK breakdancers treated them with respect bordering on reverence. And so keen is Orange to relive those days that he has travelled back to Manchester for the day to be photographed by the Guardian with his old friends for a second reunion.

The roots of breakdancing go back to the mid-70s, when Kool DJ Herc, a Jamaican-born New Yorker, started mixing funk records to create a seamless flow of dance beats, which he called "cutting breaks". The boys who danced to those breaks he called B-boys, meaning either "boogie boys" or "break boys". At block parties, Herc would shout out "B-boys go down!" and the dancers would hit the floor with an upgraded version of what they did on the streets - a mixture of dance styles and martial arts moves they adapted from kung-fu films.

Hip-hop culture first made a serious impression in the UK in 1982, when Grandmaster Flash and the Furious 5 released The Message, a piece of social commentary that made an impact on young black Britons in the aftermath of the 1981 riots. But the record that brought breakdancing to the UK was Malcolm McLaren's Buffalo Gals. The Sex Pistols' former manager had seen breakdancing on a trip to New York, and used it in the video for his single.

"It was the first video where you could see a DJ scratching," says Greg Wilson, the first electro DJ at Legend in Manchester, who would later manage Broken Glass. "The World Famous Supreme Team were scratching a seven-inch single, and I remember naively wondering at the time if it had to be a seven-inch. The video showed three of the four elements of hip-hop - scratching, graffiti and breakdancing - all, except rapping, introduced into this country from one video."

Within months, the founder members of Manchester's breakdancing crews had worked out the moves on the video and added their own spin. "When I first saw people doing those moves, spinning on their heads, I couldn't believe it," says Benji Reid, former member of Broken Glass and now a playwright and professional dancer. "It was the first time you had seen a physical depiction of the culture. You got to see the dancers doing headspins, backspins. It showed us the moves."

Wilson was DJing at the Star Bar in Huddersfield one night in 1982 when he played a promotional copy of the Buffalo Gals video before it was ever shown on TV. He remembers the impact it had on the club's regulars. He recalls them standing and staring at the video as it was repeated, offering them a crash course in hip-hop street culture.

From the start, UK breakdancing was on a different course from the US version. It took different musical cues, says Street Machine's Evo, who was three times British breakdancing champion. "In New York they would dance to original funk breaks, James Brown, stuff like that. Over here it was electro, and that changed the way we danced."

At first, the breakdancers kept their moves behind closed doors, practising on the lino in their kitchens. The first people to show their breakdancing in clubs were those Huddersfield lads, one Tuesday night at Wigan Pier in 1983. Greg Wilson was playing an electro set at one of the venue's funk nights when the Huddersfield crew hit the floor, prompting the early Manchester breakers who were also there that night to take up the challenge. "The people from Huddersfield came on to the floor first, but the Manchester kids responded immediately with their moves. I soon found out that the Broken Glass Street Crew, as they were known then, had been practising, getting ready to unleash in a club," remembers Wilson.

Broken Glass had been working on their routines in Piccadilly Gardens in Manchester city centre; breakdancing was a street form. "We'd be out there battling, seeing who had the best moves," says Reid. "It kept us out of trouble. When I joined Broken Glass, I had to work hard. You had to rehearse. Go out on tour." His friend Sefton, who became a star human beatbox, agrees: "It gave us a life. I was a latchkey kid, I was 12 or 13 at the time, and I would go round the country doing the human beatbox, playing to 5,000 people in London. That was something."

Broken Glass made a crucial breakthrough later in 1983 at the Hacienda, the notorious Factory records club in Manchester, where they were invited to dance at Greg Wilson's weekly electro set. At first, the indie kids in the club were bemused, but the dancing helped turn them on to electro, paving the way for the house revolution a few years later, and providing an often overlooked link in the city's musical heritage. Perhaps they taught Manchester how to dance. They certainly gave a curiously Mancunian bent to an American street culture.

By 1984, both Broken Glass and Street Machine were touring the country. Broken Glass would perform at Rock City in Nottingham and the Powerhouse in Birmingham. They appeared on TV, and danced at the Hacienda the night Madonna made her first appearance in the UK. They appeared in magazines, and even cut their own single. The crew was 20-strong at any given time, with usually a dozen or so turning up to dance. They were in sufficient demand that they could make a living from touring.

But breakdancing's first flush did not last long. Many of the original British breakers could see that the scene was no longer cutting edge, and moved on, looking for something new. Some, including Reid, started dancing professionally. Orange joined Take That, and another original breaker, Kermit, joined local rap crew Ruthless Rap Assasins, before forming Black Grape with the Happy Mondays' Sean Ryder. Some, like Evo, became breakdancing champions, while others took up martial arts and boxing.

And while they moved on, hip-hop gradually became the most influential force within youth culture, permeating everything from music to fashion to TV.

The friendship and respect the men, now pushing 40, hold for each other is evident as they reconvene at the Y Club gym in central Manchester for the Guardian's photo shoot. And so is the fondness with which they recall their days on the dance floors, throwing moves they can still recreate. "All those different crews at the time - the competition was fierce. It was like the film The Warriors, without the violence," says Orange. "They were the most important days of my life."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2006/oct/06/dance.popandrock

He may have turned 40, but Jason Orange hopes to run next year's London marathon.

He says: "I feel quite fit. Depending on what dates we're doing, I'd like to do the marathon - it'd be an accomplishment. I hope my hips hold out."

Ooh, bet they do!

http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs....1418745

BAND'S VIP TREAT FOR CRASH VICTIM BEN, 10

Take That fan Ben Watcham feared the worst when his mum crashed their car on the way to a concert - and he knew he would miss the show.

Amanda, 36, escaped with minor injuries while Ben, 10, was unhurt.

But she was devastated he would not see his idols sing hits such as Greatest Day after waiting six months for the concert.

Luckily, the PC who attended the smash told band star Jason Orange - and they laid on VIP tickets for the next night's gig. Amanda, 36, said: "Ben's a big Take That fan and I got the tickets for his Christmas present, so I was devastated he missed the concert.

"But I was over the moon when the band fixed up tickets for us. It was so kind. We got VIP seats next to Jason's family and Ben loved it."

The schoolboy added: "Take That are my favourite band. It was a great show and we were glad we got to see them."

Nhs worker Amanda had chest, back and whiplash injuries and her car was a write-off in a multivehicle pile-up on Friday as the pair drove to the Sunderland concert.

Three of the other four vehicles involved were also going to the gig.

The officer who rushed to the scene, Tony Houghton, bumped into Jason on Saturday when he was called to move fans camped outside. PC Houghton said: "I saw Gary Barlow saying goodbye to his wife, Jason Orange and the tour manager. When I told him about Ben and his mum he said, 'I'm not having that.' The band were really down to earth."

Jason and pals Gary, Howard Donald, and Mark Owen laid on three seats for Saturday's gig, including an extra one for Ben's dad Danny, 35.

Everyone else involved in the accident had managed to get to Friday night's show.

Take That's record label Polydor said: "Jason was glad to step in when he heard what had happened."

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news....1423665

Isn't he wonderful??? Love ya!

Уряяяя! Я рулю тоже!
"Jason wants to give you a congratulatory snog"

I ran a thousand miles to be by your side...

So much so that GARY BARLOW even tried to step in and stop him from purchasing an old-fashioned piece of music equipment.

Gary said: "I caught Jason trying to buy a CD Walkman.

"I said, 'Jay, what are you doing? I'll get you an iPod.'"

But Jason was having none of it.

He explained: "I like the CD Walkmans. I'm a bit old fashioned like that.

"And I still even have lots of old cassette tapes."

It seems the future's not Orange after all.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol....es.html

Твоя правда

I ran a thousand miles to be by your side...

Name: Jason Orange.

Born: July 10, 1970.

Occupation: One-quarter of the freshly reformed, Robbie-less Take That, still the most successful British band since the Beatles, would you believe?

College: South Trafford College.

Course: English A-level and an access to higher education course.

Attended: 2001-2003.

Sue Collinson, history lecturer, recalls: "On the access course Jason did history, psychology, biology and study skills. I think someone had said who he was but he never used to talk about Take That and the students didn't treat him differently. He was an enthusiastic student who had a hunger for academic knowledge. He really liked learning for its own sake, and made perceptive and thought-provoking contributions in class. Jason was extremely able - probably one of the brightest students I've taught - and he had a real flair for history. He was very popular with his peers and the tutors."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2006/jan/31/furthereducation.uk1