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6 Take That moments when Jason Orange was allowed to shine

Every boyband has at least one member whose sole job is to stand in the background looking pretty. In Take That’s case it was Jason Orange, who played fifth fiddle to Gary, Robbie, Mark and even Howard for nearly a quarter of a century before announcing his departure from the group last night.

But although it’s unlikely that many fans will need the support of a telephone hotline to deal with the news, the 44-year-old wasn’t always just a spare part. Here are six moments when Orange was allowed to take centre stage.

The Smash Hits Dance-Off

With four Grammys, five MTV VMAs and two Oscar nominations to his name, Will Smith probably isn’t too distraught about losing a spontaneous dance-off at the 1993 Smash Hits Poll Winners Party.

But still, Orange is mightily impressive as he shows the Fresh Prince of Bel Air a thing or two with the kind of ‘spins and turns’ that he first perfected on The Hit Man and Her.

Fast forward to seven minutes on the clip above for Jason’s spins and turns.

Smells Like Teen Spirit

Gary Barlow wasn’t the only musical maestro in the band. After picking up the guitar during the recording of Babe, Orange was first seen strumming the old six string in the video for Back For Good.

However, it’s this unintentionally hilarious cover version of Nirvana’s signature hit, Smells Like Teen Spirit, during the group’s 1995 Nobody Else tour where Orange truly attempts guitar hero status. It’s still hard to believe this actually happened.

MORE: Jason Orange quits Take That: Gary, Mark and Howard vow to continue as a trio

Wooden Boat

Sixteen years and four albums into Take That’s career, Orange finally got the chance to sing a solo note when he took the lead on the closing track from 2006’s Beautiful World.

A simple but sweet acoustic folk number which proved that he could hold a tune, Wooden Boat only made you wonder why it took him so long to step up to the mic.

How Did It Come To This?

Having played the sensitive balladeer, Orange was then allowed to let loose on this rousing Keane-esque number from 2008’s The Circus.

He might not have the most distinctive tones, but they’re certainly far easier on the ear than Mark Owen’s.

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Allowing his natural Manc accent to shine through, Orange goes slightly political on this B-side to 2009 single Up All Night, referencing the Miners’ Strike, Margaret Thatcher and the ‘10,000 troops out in Iraq.’

But it’s his first sexual experience which takes most of the attention on a ska-tinged semi-autobiographical tale of life before joining one of the UK’s biggest ever pop groups.

Flowerbed

One of the oddities in Take That’s catalogue, this hidden track from 2010’s Progress initially turns Orange into some kind of robotic figure, before all the vocal effects give way to an ethereal slice of dream-pop which recalls 10CC, eventually building up to a stirring dramatic crescendo.

Once again, Orange acquits himself well but it’s the woozy production here which makes the most impact.