Mark Owen recorded his comeback album in his back garden.

The Take That singer recorded his first solo effort in eight years, 'The Art Of Doing Nothing' in a shed he calls ''the rabbit hutch'' at the back of his house.

A source told The Sun newspaper: ''Mark is really excited about the album - he sees it more as a collaborative work than a solo album, something he made with a collection of his friends.

''He's worked with some really interesting people on it including Ren Harvieu and Charlie Russell, the producer who has worked with Alt-J, as well as some brilliant illustrators, photographers and film makers.

''People will be surprised by the results - it's not what fans will expect.''

Mark was the first member of Take That to go solo, reaching number three in the UK singles charts with both his track 'Child' in 1996 and 'Clementine' in 1997. He also wrote all of the tracks on his debut album, 'Green Man', but was dropped by BMG Records after the album sell as well as they had hoped.

In 2003 Mark released second album, 'In Your Own Time', which saw him collaborate with old Take That bandmate Gary Barlow on lead single 'Four Minute Warning', which reached number four in the charts.

Mark's third album, 'How The Mighty Fall', was released on his own record label, Sedna, in 2005.

With his latest effort, Mark is said to be taking an electro-pop direction in a bid to appeal to a younger age group.

An insider said: ''Mark's excited about his new sound, it has a modern edge. People might not even think it's him.''