Jason Thomas Orange (born 10 July 1970) is an English former singer and dancer, known for being a member of

Take That Take That are an English pop group formed in Manchester in 1990. The group currently consists of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen. The original line-up also featured Jason Orange and Robbie Williams. Barlow is the group's lead singe ...

. He departed from the group in September 2014.

Early life

Jason Thomas Orange was born on 10 July 1970 in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, Lancashire to Tony and Jenny Orange a few minutes before his twin brother Justin. He attended

South Trafford College Trafford College is a further education college in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. It was formed with the merger of North Trafford College (formerly, Stretford Technical College) and South Trafford College in 2007. Campuses and facilitie ...

for two years beginning in 2001 and studied

A-level The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, and an

access course The Access to Higher Education (HE) Diploma is a U.K. qualification which prepares students — usually 19+ — for study as an undergraduate at university. The diploma is designed for people who would like to study in higher education but who le ...

including

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

and history though he did not progress on to higher education. He was part of the Manchester-based breakdance crew Street Machine in the mid 1980s. They won the Manchester round of the UK Breakdancing Championship in 1985. He also appeared in the show ''

The Hit Man and Her ''The Hitman and Her'' is a British television dance music programme hosted by Pete Waterman and Michaela Strachan. The programme was produced for Granada Television and ran from September 1988 until December 1992 on ITV's Night Network. The ...

'' as one of the featured dancers on the show (and in a duo called Look Twice) in the late 1980s.

Take That

Orange joined the boy band

in September 1989 and stayed with the group until their hiatus in February 1996. In 2005, Take That reformed as a four-piece and released a new greatest hits album, followed in 2006 by their first studio album since 1995, '' Beautiful World''. Orange contributed both songwriting and lead vocals on the album. In 2008, they released another studio album, '' The Circus.'' In 2010, the album ''

Progress Progress is the movement towards a refined, improved, or otherwise desired state. In the context of progressivism, it refers to the proposition that advancements in technology, science, and social organization have resulted, and by extension wi ...

'' was released by the band as a five-piece. On 24 September 2014, it was announced that Orange had left Take That, stating that he did not wish to continue recording music and touring.

Acting

Orange appeared in the 1998

Lynda La Plante Lynda La Plante, CBE (born Lynda Titchmarsh; 15 March 1943) is an English author, screenwriter and former actress, best known for writing the ''Prime Suspect'' television crime series. Early life Lynda La Plante was born Lynda Titchmarsh on ...

television crime drama ''

Killer Net ''Killer Net'' is a British television crime drama mini series, first broadcast on Channel 4 in May 1998. The drama was written and produced by Lynda La Plante, directed by Geoffrey Sax and featured a cast of up and coming actors. One of the ma ...

'' in 1998, for which his appearance was a major selling point. The following year he was in the London stage production of ''Gob'' in 1999. He was the lead actor together with Tom Hayes in the play, which was written by

Jim Kenworth Jim Kenworth is an English playwright. Career Kenworth made his debut as a playwright with the premiere of ''Johnny Song'' at the Warehouse Theatre, Croydon in 1998. His second play, ''Gob'', was presented at The King's Head Theatre, Isling ...

, and directed by

James Martin Charlton James Martin Charlton (born 29 July 1966) is an English playwright, theatre director and filmmaker. He was born in Romford, Greater London, United Kingdom in 1966. Career His play ''Fat Souls'' won the 1992 International Playwriting Festival at ...

. Orange appeared in a cameo role in the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

comedy '' Shameless'', which aired in April 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orange, Jason 1970 births Living people Musicians from Manchester English male singers English songwriters Take That members English twins