Take That to Tour as Trio

Take That announced Friday they will tour as a trio for the first time next year, with Jason Orange having quit the British pop group and Robbie Williams not participating.

The remaining members Gary Barlow, Mark Owen and Howard Donald will perform 24 concerts in eight arenas in Britain and Ireland, starting in Glasgow on April 28.

The band will also play in Belfast, Dublin, Birmingham, Newcastle, Manchester, Sheffield, ending in London on June 9.

"Playing live is something we love the most about what we do and we're looking forward to putting on the most amazing show we can," the band said in a statement.

"It will have been four years since our last tour so we're really keen to get back out on the road to play some of our biggest songs from the last 20 years alongside our new ones."

Take That's seventh studio album "III" is to be released on December 1. Orange is not on the new album and his departure was announced in September, the singer having decided he did not want to carry on.

Take That formed as a boy band in 1990 in Manchester, northwest England, and soon began racking up huge album and singles sales with a string of pop hits.

Williams, who now lives in the United States after forging a highly successful solo career, left the band in 1995 but returned in 2010 for an album and tour.

The remaining foursome split a year later before returning as a "man band" in 2005.