III

Recording for the album began in January 2014, with Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, and Mark Owen entering the studio as a trio, with the consent of Jason Orange, who was undecided at the time whether or not he wished to continue with the band. Barlow claims that the album was recorded with "a big space" for Orange, as they had hoped he would change his mind and return to the band. At the time, Robbie Williams had stated that he may not be able to record as part of the group due to his tour commitments and the upcoming birth of his second child. In the end, Williams was not present during the recording sessions. In September 2014, Orange officially announced his departure from the band, and the band re-entered the studio to record the remaining parts that had been left for Orange. Donald claimed that the band did consider splitting up following Orange's departure, but decided against this and instead pressed on with recording the album. Owen said of the album, "It was quite downbeat, and we needed to change it to bring more energy to it. Then around May the three of us locked ourselves down for two or three weeks and started to play with sounds and for me, that’s when we started for r…