Listen to Take That's first single as a trio 'These Days' from forthcoming album III

The single harks back to the band's original 'feel-good' sound

And then there were three: Howard Donald, Mark Owen and Gary Barlow (Rex)

Take That have released the first single from their forthcoming album – the new offering from the now-trio following Jason Orange’s departure.

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“These Days” is an upbeat and energetic dance track with the carpe diem theme rolled out by many an artist: “Tonight we gotta live for/ We gotta live for these days/ Tonight, tonight, we'll remember/ We'll remember these days.”

There is also perhaps a sense of nostalgia in the song, as the originally five-strong band sings: “Take me back/ To where it all began.”

But the lyrics also express a desire to rejuvenate the sound of their heady Nineties heyday. All three - Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen - share vocal duties on the song, which is described as “a nod to the sound that defined their early years” and “out-and-out feel-good pop”.

The band teamed up with ELO frontman Jeff Lynne for their new album, which is fittingly titled III. They have been working on it since the start of the year after signing up a team of producers including Lynne and Stuart Price, who worked on their 2010 Progress album.

Lynne, who scored dozens of hits with ELO and recently headlined a Radio 2 gig in Hyde Park, has produced acts including Paul McCartney, Brian Wilson and Tom Petty.

Orange was not involved but is said to have granted his former bandmates his “blessing”. He revealed that he had left the band last month, insisting there had been “no fallings-out” with his bandmates. Orange joins fellow ex-Take That star Robbie Williams, who briefly retuned for Progress but has since said he will not be reuniting with the band for their next tour.

III will be released on 1 December

Additional reporting by Press Association