Take That Prove Three IS The Magic Number At War Child Gig

Whoever said three's a crowd clearly never met Take That. Ahead of their performance at The BRIT Awards this week, the man band took over O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire (February 23) for an extra special show in aid of War Child... And MTV were there!

After a sultry set from rising star Ella Henderson (which reminded us just how much we love Ghost), it was Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen's moment to 'Shine' and take to the stage.

It's the first time we've seen them perform without Jason Orange and the first time we've witnessed the group in such an intimate setting - but one thing was sure from the outset, this was going to be no ordinary gig.

Kicking off proceedings with Greatest Day, Gazza and Co delivered hit after hit, as well as mixing up their set with tracks from their latest chart-topping album III.

Particular highlights included Shine, Patience, The Flood and of course, Relight My Fire (minus Lulu - but never fear, we filled in the gaps!) with Gary "taking it back to the nineties" for a saxophone heavy, twinkly version of A Million Love Songs, making us fall in love with the threesome all over again.

Bringing it back to the present day, new tunes Get Ready For It and Let In The Sun were not out of place alongside those old fan favourites, while These Days came complete with a more simplified TT dance routine compared to the Do What You Like days - but Gary still limbered up to show off his moves! 

Each three members then went on to perform solo, with Barlow obviously leading the way with Let Me Go (however, we did quite enjoy Owen's Four Minute Warning - yes he went there!), with Howard even showing off his silky smooth vocals - who knew!

But let's not forget, TT are better together, with epic ballad Back For Good, Rule The World and of course, Never Forget turning the London venue into a mass sing-a-long... and obvs, we knew every word.

One things for sure, while Take That may have lost Orange, the future is still bright for the trio...

Take That join an illustrious list of acts who have previously played War Child and O2’s show, including Coldplay, Muse, Ed Sheeran, Blur, The Killers, Calvin Harris and Mark Ronson.

The show raised funds for children effected by an unprecedented year of violence in war zones including Iraq, Syria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Afghanistan, Uganda and Central African Republic.