HE hasn’t been on stage for a while, but that will soon be changing for Mark Owen – though not with Take That.
I can reveal he has been writing music with the prospect of releasing his first solo project in nine years.
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And Mark, whose last solo album The Art Of Doing Nothing came out in 2013, will take to the stage at Isle of Wight Festival in June.
He is expected to use the gig to debut some of the new tracks he has been working on.
And there are other shows potentially on the horizon, too.
A source close to the singer, who now lives in California, said: “Mark has had some free time during Covid while Take That have been on a break to think about what he wants to do next.
“He has been writing some songs and they are sounding pretty good.
“It is early days but he is dipping his toe back in with his set at Isle of Wight Festival and is toying with the idea of another solo record.
“Nothing is nailed down, but given he has done a solo album every ten years or so for the last two decades, now feels like a nice time to think about it again.”
Mark and his Take That buddies Gary Barlow and Howard Donald have been on a break from the band since 2019 so they can do their own things.
During that time, Gary has released two albums while Howard has been continuing his career as a DJ.
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But Mark has been lying low in the States after relocating there with his wife and three children.
Last week he celebrated his 50th birthday and said he was “overwhelmed” by the good wishes he received from fans.
In November, Gary teased that the trio are hoping to reunite next year.
He said: “It’s been a while since 2019. I’m ready to get back to my day job now
“That’s my thing — being in the group.
“We’ll have a nice planning year in 2022.
“I don’t think we’ll release anything or tour but the following year, 2023, will be a big year for Take That.”
You better get a move on then, Mark.
Adele’s army need answers
FOR a few months before Christmas, you couldn’t move for Adele.
Between striking photos unveiling her incredible new look and extraordinarily revealing interviews about her divorce, young son and new love interest, the superstar wore her heart firmly on her sleeve as she promoted her terrific latest album, 30.
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Coupled with a brace of TV specials, the media blitz proved highly successful in catapulting the record to the top of the charts around the world, while also landing critical acclaim – including from me.
But less than three months on she has gone notably quiet, bar her tearful apology to fans over the cancellation of her much-anticipated – and hugely lucrative – Las Vegas residency.
In fact, her silence is so striking that music insiders are beginning to wonder if it might be a while before we next see her.
It’s an open secret in showbiz that she was being lined up to be a major part of next week’s Brit Awards.
But with just seven days until the bash her involvement has yet to be formally confirmed.
And while it looks certain that she won’t appear at London’s O2 in person, plans for a performance shot remotely from Los Angeles and beamed in on the night have also now been shelved.
It isn’t entirely clear whether she will even be on the line to accept any gongs after being nominated for four of them.
Let’s not forget, it was the Brit Awards that catapulted Adele on to music’s top table, after she put in a memorable performance of Someone Like You more than a decade ago, in 2011.
She was also a student of The Brit School of performing arts.
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What has changed so dramatically since November, when she unveiled her meticulously planned comeback with the sort of point-perfect choreography of a ballet dancer at work?
Fans wonder what will become of their hugely expensive tickets for a Las Vegas show.
That has no chance of happening this year, if ever, with ticketholders left to rely on Press reports and snaps of the set being dismantled to give them a hint.
Surely it’s time she gave fans an update over what’s going on, even if that means telling them she can’t complete her commitments and wants some time away from the limelight.
After all, they were quick enough to support her latest album and buy tickets for her concerts.
And relationships between artists and their fans should go both ways.
George: It’s OK to veg out
GEORGE Ezra has revealed he’s finally started watching TV again – after banning himself from the box.
The Budapest singer said he used to beat himself up if he wanted to take time out from working on his third album, Gold Rush Kid, to slob out in front of the box.
But with the record now finished and scheduled for release on June 10, George has finally taken his foot off the pedal to take stock of his life.
He said: “I realised how much I loved the people in my life and how lucky I am to have them.
“The whole thing made me realise that the best thing to do was to remind myself regularly, ‘None of this lasts forever, George, so just go out and enjoy it’ – whether that’s touring and meeting people and seeing places, or whether it is being sat at home in front of the TV.
“I used to beat myself up for even doing that but I’ve learned to love it because that’s where the people you love are.”
Rege’s teed up for 007 gig
HE left Bridgerton to pursue other projects, but Rege Jean-Page is still raking it in as he has been signed up for a deal with Armani.
The actor wore a tight black T-shirt as he shot an ad for the fashion brand at the weekend in Buenos Aires – being joined on set by his copywriter girlfriend Emily Brown.
The screen hunk is now the bookies’ favourite to succeed Daniel Craig as James Bond, with odds of 11-4, ahead of Tom Hardy at 7-2 and Henry Cavill at 5-1.
I thought he was mad for not returning as the Duke of Hastings in the second series of Netflix hit Bridgerton.
But if he lands 007, it will have been the best decision of his life.
Don up for No1
ROCKERS Don Bronco are on track for their first No1 album this Friday with Amazing Things.
The Bedford band’s fourth record originally came out in October but is now flying high after finally being released on vinyl, CD and cassette.
Liverpudlian singer-songwriter Jamie Webster is currently at No2 with his second record Moments, while Jethro Tull’s The Zealot Gene – the prog rock veterans’ first new album in 20 years – is expected to go to No4.
But it’s bad news for last week’s No1, Night Call by Years & Years, which has slipped to No9.
Doja’s out of this world
DOJA Cat jets into the UK soon ahead of her performance at the Brit Awards next Tuesday – and if this Outer Space-themed video is anything to go by, it promises to be quite a show.
The US rapper yesterday released the clip for latest single Get Into It (Yuh), which is on her 2021 album Planet Her.
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Sci-fi visuals show her aboard a spaceship in a series of other-worldly costumes.
The action sees her trying to rescue her moggie, Starscream, from a villainous alien.
Thankfully, her backing dancer soldiers distract the baddie by twerking and then she kills him with a single slap, to get her kitten back.
Of course.
Doja decided to make a video for the song after it went viral on TikTok – where it has been used to soundtrack more than two million clips.
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I felt Lo but now I’m back
TOVE LO will release a new album this year, but it’s a wonder she has any songs to put on it.
Plenty of people lost all motivation when the world was plunged into a series of lockdowns – and the Swedish singer was no different.
In an exclusive chat, she revealed: “I had no inspiration whatsoever. I didn’t want to write at all.
“I just didn’t feel inspired.
“I didn’t have anything bad happen to me or any of my loved ones but for everyone it was a weird time.”
However, shooting her first film, a Swedish movie called The Emigrants, got her creative juices flowing.
Tove said: “After that, I started feeling this itch in my fingers to start writing again.
“I’ve made music I’ve been longing to hear.
“There’s a lot of dance tracks on this next record but the subjects aren’t really about partying.
“It’s about the future, my dreams and love.”
Tove, who got married in 2020, added: “It’s funny, I’m in a really good relationship but I still write about what my worst nightmare would be.”
Last week she released new single How Long but resorted to her diaries to inspire that one.
She said: “The story is based on my first love when I was about 14 and he just really ruined my heart. It was a very intense first experience of being in love.
“I have my journals from when I was like 13 and I wrote a few songs as memories from them.”
Ash still Dolls up just fine
The Pussycat Dolls reunion may be off the cards, but it looks like Ashley Roberts dug out one of the group’s old stage outfits as she posed in Instagram in this cutaway black frock.
The US girl group singer later looked unrecognisable as she arrived at Heart Radio studios in London yesterday, wrapped up against the cold and with her hair being blown about by the wind.
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Despite the recent bad weather and storms, Ashley says she is planning to stay in the UK for good.
Asked if she misses America, she told Made In Chelsea star Jamie Laing’s Private Parts podcast: “Not a lot.
“My community and my work is thriving over here and I’ve got such a great group of friends. Great things are happening over here.
“I’ve still got my home in LA, although I think I might sell it.
“I miss my mom and I miss the lifestyle in LA because it’s nice to go out and go hiking in the sunshine and all that.
“But I don’t know. The UK’s been good to me.”
