Fear not, returning singer ROBBIE WILLIAMS hasn't thrown in the towel again.

Instead, singer and chief songwriter GARY BARLOW has warned his slick-hoofed colleagues that he won't be taking part in the onstage dance routines.

That's despite new album Progress being their "most uptempo ever".

Talking to SCOTT MILLS on Radio 1 this morning, Gary — often mocked for his awkward approach to choreography — stated: "I've hung up my boots."

MARK OWEN chipped in: "Even before we started making the record Gary sat us all down and said: 'I'm just saying one thing: I'm not dancing.' I'm not convinced."

Still, Gary's age-influenced decision to stand still is nothing compared to Mark's senior moment.

The singer confessed he spent 24 hours convinced he'd had his car stolen — only to realise he'd simply forgotten where he'd parked it.

He said: "I'd just left it at some friend's house.

"We were speaking to the friend and said we lost it — and they never said 'it's on our drive!'."

Meanwhile, Robbie revealed he's hoping to bag a singing role on some of the songs Take That released after he departed in 1995.

Still, the singer admits he's just buzzing at the prospect of taking part in a live TT extravaganza.

He said: "The lads had a meeting last week while I was away in LA and came up with a load of ace ideas for the show. We know how it's going to work. I'm just thrilled to be part of it.

"I do want to do some of the tunes from the last few years please. I need to discuss that with the lads."

Well, Mark's the best man to organise a band meeting.

He revealed: "We try to get together at least once a month for dinner. We call them ban-them-birds evenings."

Tickets for the lads' 2011 UK shows go on sale this Friday.

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The band's Progress album had been set to hit the shelves on November 22, the same day as their young chart rivals.

But Take That said during a live appearance on Radio 1 today that their eagerly-awaited collection would instead come out a week earlier.

They have also brought forward the release of single The Flood, which will now come out on November 7 which also avoids a clash with the boy band.

JLS will still release their second album Outta This World on November 22, and Children In Need single Love You More on November 15.

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The group's Gary Barlow said they had been analysing airplay and order data before reaching their decision.

"We've actually never seen one of our singles be played so much so we're actually pulling all our release dates forwards," he said.

"We're able to see the pre-orders now on albums and it's massive, so we thought let's pull everything forward."

The band admitted there was a wave of younger bands hoping to emulate their success and win fans' affections.

Barlow told breakfast show presenter Mills: "Listen there's no question about it, we're here to be replaced aren't we? There's always a faster younger better model."

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Take That have monthly "band and the birds" evenings.

The five-piece British band - who have recently welcomed back Robbie Williams after he quit in 1995 - have revealed that once a month they get their wives and girlfriends together and all go out for a bonding meal.

Mark Owen - who is married to Emma Ferguson - explained: "We try and do a dinner all together once a month, which is great. We call it band and the birds evening! We just do it whenever we can."

It would appear the bonding evenings are working for the group - made up of Robbie, Mark, Gary Barlow, Jason Orange and Howard Donald - as they are "loving" being around each other again.

In an interview with UK station Radio 1, Gary said: "It's been very natural. We were a five-piece the first time around but this time we all want the same thing. We're loving each other, we speak about emotions with each other. Robbie's got married - we're all a bit more grown up."

Despite the band reforming minus Robbie in 2005, they admit it always felt as though there was "a piece of the jigsaw missing".

Mark added: "It feels natural. As a four we've had a great few years work-wise but when we started off there were five us. We've had Rob coming back in and spending more time with us in this last year. It's felt like there was always a piece of the jigsaw missing and now we're complete."

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Lead singer Gary Barlow has been keeping a close eye on the five young lads and says: ‘They look like us when we started.’

He told Radio 1’s Scott Mills: ‘They are quite good actually…’

So good in fact, Barlow says the boys could be Take That version 2.0 - and their next big successor.

‘We’re here to be replaced. There is always a younger, faster, better model’, said Barlow.

The songwriter is not the only member impressed by Harry, Liam, Niall, Zain and Louis as Robbie Williams says they are all like mini-Mark Owens.

‘They’re really cute. Five Mark Owens. I saw the first week’, he said. ‘They’re sweethearts. They’re lovely.’

Meanwhile, the X Factor home has gained another fan but it will put the spooks up them.

A mystery black cat has crossed all the singers’ paths at the North London digs just days before this weekend’s Halloween special.

Singer Katie Waissel posted snaps of the feline on Twitter, introducing him as a new contestant.

The 24-year-old tweeted: ‘Newest addition to the x factor team - Bentley The Cat x.’

And as if the singers aren’t spooked out enough, they were subjected to a gruesome tour of the London Dungeons this week for inspiration ahead of Saturday’s show.

X Factor, London Dungeons

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