Take That topple Band Aid 30 to score 12th UK number one single

The band are now releasing music as a trio after Jason Orange's departure

Take That have shot straight to number one on the UK Official Singles Chart with their first track as a trio, “These Days”.

Gary Barlow, Mark Owen and Howard Donald overtook Bob Geldof’s Band Aid 30 by just 2,500 copies to claim the top spot and score their first chart-topper in six years after 2008’s “Greatest Day”, according to the Official Charts Company.

Take That’s seventh studio album III is due out on Monday – the same day as former bandmate Robbie Williams releases his surprise solo album, Under The Rader: Volume 1.

Fifth band member Jason Orange quit Take That in September after deciding he no longer wanted to commit to recording and promoting new music.

The group released a statement saying that there had been “no fallings out” and that they “fully respected” his decision to leave.

Orange said he was “proud” of what Take That had achieved since forming in 1990, including their hugely successful comeback in 2005.

Elsewhere, Hunger Games actress Jennifer Lawrence scored her first UK Top 40 single with “The Hanging Tree” while Olly Murs topped the Official Albums Chart for the third time with Never Been Better.

The latest instalment of the Now That’s What I Call Music! Franchise, Now 89, has become the fastest-selling album of 2014 after shifting 283,000 copies in its first week of sale, while Ed Sheeran’s X remains the fastest-selling artist album of the year.