Vocal heroes ... the boys perform The Circus at Abbey Road studios

THE TAKE THAT boys never stop surprising me - now they've got a secret BEE GEES karaoke tribute act, the GBs.
Their amusing alter-ego - a pun on GARY BARLOW's initials - comes to light on the lads' new live DVD, which I got to see yesterday.

Gary, MARK OWEN, HOWARD DONALD and JASON ORANGE sing a version of their own hit Rule The World in the high-pitched style of the Gibb brothers at the Abbey Road studios.

It's priceless.

Sadly, it won't ever come out as a single. But the man band are sure to get a double No1 with the DVD and the audio CD.

They are massive fans of the Bee Gees, and once covered their hit How Deep Is Your Love.

Take That Present: The Circus Live DVD, comes out on November 23.

If you're struggling for a Christmas present for the missus, your mum, auntie or sister - this is it. There's no shame in blokes owning it either. It's a two-disc masterpiece.

On the first disc is the brilliant Circus tour recorded at Wembley. It's a chance to relive the live show, which has to go down in history as one of the best.

The second is a slick film of the boys at Abbey Road doing a stripped-down version of The Circus album, with interviews between songs.

The session is shot beautifully in black and white.

The album version - just the music - comes out a week later, on November 30.

There are a few nice moments in the film when the lads banter between takes. Here are some of the highlights.

Gary: "When I was 15 I entered a comp to win a session at Abbey Road studio to record a song and then watch it being cut on vinyl. I won it. So one of my first ever recording experiences was here. It's been downhill ever since!"

Howard: "We've got a much bigger friendship now than we ever did. Gary used to write everything at such a rate we were always catching up. It's different now, with all of us sharing the writing."

Gary: "I throw gems, diamonds into the air, and they are all thrown back at me!"

Jason: "I'm the most negative in the band, asking, 'Can we do it better?' all the time. I always question if what we are doing is good enough."

Mark: "I was apprehensive about going into the studio to write together. Sometimes one of us has to go down a certain path with an idea before we all decide it's s***."

Jason: "The whole thing is greater than the sum of the parts. That realisation is a great thing. We need each other."

Mark: "I have written some great songs in my sleep. I sing lyrics into my phone. I'll wake up in the night and sing into my Dictaphone and try not to wake the missus.

"When I wake up in the morning it's just me mumbling and falling asleep - but when I'm dreaming I hear all the string arrangements and everything."

The sell-out Circus tour was seen by an incredible 1.2million people earlier this year.

Now there's every chance Take That could have the Christmas No1 DVD and album. Good luck to them.

THE Bee Gees reached No3 with their classic How Deep Is Your Love in 1977. When Take That released it in March 1996 - weeks after announcing they were splitting - it went to No1.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol....ct.html

To celebrate the release of The Greatest Day – Take That Present The Circus Live Take That and iTunes have created an amazing offer exclusively for iTunes customers.

Pre-order and purchase the new album on iTunes and you will receive a unique passcode that allows you to buy a set of 5 Take That lithographic Prints

These exclusive prints have been specially selected by Take That for fans who pre-order the album on iTunes – they are not available anywhere else

The set of 5 lithographic prints features one of each band member plus a group shot and comes in an envelope embossed with the Take That logo

Each print is approximately 200mm by 288mm and is printed on 300gsm Chromomat fine-grained Art paper

These prints are the perfect Christmas gift for you or for your loved ones – so pre-order The Greatest Day – Take That Present The Circus Live on iTunes TODAY to get access to this great offer.
http://www.bandstores.co.uk/shop/takethat222/takethat_itunes_offer.php

Released on Monday, November 30 2009

By Mayer Nissim, Entertainment Reporter
Take That: 'The Greatest Day'

Take That are two albums into the most successful pop comeback since Elvis dusted off his leather jacket in '68. While their pre-split records featured some brilliant singles and surprisingly little filler, it's the band's post-return platters that have established them as a credible album act. 2006's Beautiful World had an assured quality throughout and rightfully cemented the boys' return to the top of the pop tree. Last year's The Circus was less immediate, but had enough charm and euphoric pop moments to keep the group flying high.

After successful DVD releases chronicling the visually (and musically) incredible Ultimate Tour, Beautiful World and Circus dates comes Take That's first live album proper. Billed as The Greatest Day - Take That Present: The Circus Live, it does exactly what it says on the tin, with a whopping nine of its 16 selections taken from their last LP. Also present are two songs from their first comeback album ('Patience', 'Shine') and the bridging single 'Rule The World'. That leaves less than a handful of the band's biggest hits ('Pray', 'Back For Good', 'Never Forget', 'Relight My Fire') juggled around the newer stuff. Despite that initial disappointment, The Greatest Day is a triumph.

As anyone who's seen Take That live since their return will know, their faultless backing band give a sense of depth that just can't be compared to anaemic tapes, while the boys' live vocals more than match the instruments. Gary Barlow serves as ringmaster and on tracks like 'Greatest Day' and 'Said It All' he reminds you that he should be lauded not only for his immaculate songwriting but also for the oft-forgotten quality of his voice. Mark Owen's double-header of 'Shine' and 'Up All Night' show that even if Mr Williams never rejoins the group, he's more than capable of filling that cheeky chappy void himself. Jason Orange's 'How Did It Come To This' is even more barmy than on record - you can't help but grin when he asks for "every single pair of hands in the air" because "we're rock and rolling now with Take That". "I know it's a wordy verse", he adds, "But help me out if you know it. Please".

What really surprises is how a cavernous stadium show and one so wedded to a visual theme survives being committed to plastic. Songs that perhaps sounded a little too restrained and polished on record are in fact improved by the energy of the surroundings. Furthermore, the whole disc has been expertly mixed by Bob Clearmountain to offer clarity without dulling the live edges. The extended intro to 'What Is Love' is a case in point, sounding so intimate and hushed it's almost as if you're in the same room as the group. Talking of intimacy, to sweeten the deal the boys have bundled in a bonus disc of their recent Abbey Road session. Like the stadium gig, it's dominated by tracks from The Circus, but it too offers a new dimension, as the stripped-back arrangements unveil layers you didn't know the songs had first time around.

Back on the main disc from Wembley Stadium, the boys certainly missed a trick by failing to rope in Lady GaGa, support act at the gig, to do her thing on 'Relight My Fire' instead of an enthusiastic backing singer. Also, as the band's sole audio live document it may have been preferable for The Greatest Day to be a bit more representative of their whole career. That aside, as an of-the-moment snapshot of a group who have maintained their relevance and class against the odds, it's almost perfect.
http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music....ay.html