Gary Barlow OBE (born 20 January 1971) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer and television personality. He is the lead singer of the British pop group Take That.
Barlow is one of the United Kingdom's most successful songwriters, having written thirteen number-one singles (ten with Take That, two solo, one with the Robbie Williams song "Candy") and twenty-four top-ten hits.[4] As a solo artist, he has had three number-one singles, six top-ten singles and three number-one albums,[5][6] and has additionally had seventeen top-five hits, twelve number-one singles and eight number-one albums with Take That.[7][8] Barlow has also established himself as a talent show judge and television personality.[9][10] He has judged on The X Factor UK (2011–2013), Let It Shine (2017) and Walk the Line (2021).[11]
Barlow has received six Ivor Novello Awards from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors, including the award for Outstanding Services to British Music. He has sold over 50 million records worldwide.[12][13][14] He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) at the 2012 Queen's Birthday Honours for his services to the entertainment industry and charity.
According to the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), Barlow as a solo artist has been certified for 1.1 million albums and 1.8 million singles in the UK.[15]
Early life and influences
Gary Barlow was born on 20 January 1971 in Frodsham, Cheshire, the second son of Colin (died 15 October 2009)[16] and Marjorie Barlow (née Cowan).[17] He attended Weaver Vale Primary School and moved on to Frodsham High School in 1982.[18] In Barlow's autobiography, he relates that his love of music began at an early age, and calls himself "one of those kids that's forever dancing in front of the TV looking at [his] reflection".[19] He was heavily influenced by late 1970s and 1980s pop music.[20] At age 10, after watching Depeche Mode perform on Top of the Pops, Barlow acquired his first keyboard; he practiced constantly thereafter.[21] Barlow has also identified Trevor Horn, and future collaborators Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), as important early influences.[20] He has credited Elton John with inspiring him to play the piano.[22] The first CD he bought was by the Pet Shop Boys, who later supported Take That on the Progress Live tour in 2011.[23]
In 1986, when Barlow was 15 years old, he entered a BBC Pebble Mill at One Christmas song competition with "Let's Pray for Christmas". After reaching the semi-finals, he was invited to London's West Heath Studios to record his song. This inspired him to perform on the northern club circuit, singing cover versions and his own songs. Barlow's first performance was in Wales, at the Connah's Quay Labour Club in the late 1980s, and he was paid £18 per performance on Saturday evenings where he performed songs such as Michael Jackson's "The Way You Make Me Feel"[24][25] and "The Power of Love" by Frankie Goes To Hollywood.[26]
In 1989, Barlow appointed Wigan show business agent Barry Woolley to be his manager and recorded a single ("Love Is in the Air") which was never released commercially. Barlow was eventually put in touch with casting agent Nigel Martin-Smith, by renowned celebrity photographer Doc Braham, who took Barlow's first professional head-shots. Graham-Smith was a friend of Braham, who introduced Barlow to Graham who was interested in starting a boyband. Martin-Smith decided to use Barlow as the lead singer after being impressed by his self-written material, including an early demo tape of Barlow's "A Million Love Songs", concluding that the band would be built around Barlow's vocals and songwriting skills.
History
1989–1996: Take That
Barlow, who wrote the majority of the group's songs, is widely recognised as the lead singer of Take That.[27] After selecting Barlow as the group's lead singer, Nigel Martin-Smith introduced Howard Donald, Jason Orange, Mark Owen and finally Robbie Williams to the fold. The group were signed to RCA Records, and after a number of top-40 hits, eventually secured their first number-one with Barlow's "Pray". Previous hits included "A Million Love Songs", "It Only Takes a Minute" and "Could It Be Magic". The debut album Take That & Party was released on 17 August 1992 and reached number two in the UK Album Chart. The following year saw the release of their second album, Everything Changes based on Barlow's own material. It went straight in at number one in the UK Albums Chart and spawned four number-one singles, as well as "Why Can't I Wake Up with You" and "Love Ain't Here Anymore" hitting numbers two and three respectively.[28]
Barlow received an Ivor Novello Award for Best Contemporary Song in 1994 for the number-one hit song "Pray" included on the album.[29] In 1994, alongside Rick Astley, Barlow did backing vocals for Elton John's version of "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" from The Lion King. Take That's third album Nobody Else, again based on Barlow's own material, went straight to number one and was to be their last studio album of the 1990s. The album had three number-one singles, including Barlow's "Back for Good" which peaked at number seven on the US Billboard Hot 100[30] and was brought forward an unprecedented six weeks before its official release such was the demand for the single.[31] A Greatest Hits collection followed again reaching number one. The album featured the band's eighth number-one single "How Deep Is Your Love". This was to be the first single released by Take That as a four piece (without Robbie Williams) and it was their last single until they reformed in 2005.
1996–1998: Solo career and Open Road
Barlow's solo career was predicted to be very successful, being described as "the next George Michael". His first two solo singles, "Forever Love" (released July 1996) and "Love Won't Wait" (composed by Madonna and Shep Pettibone), both leapt to the number one spot in his home country. "Forever Love" was also used as the soundtrack to the film The Leading Man. His debut album Open Road reached number one in the UK Albums Chart and went on to sell 2 million copies worldwide. Barlow's first single to be released in the United States as a solo artist was "So Help Me Girl", which reached number 44 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and number one on the US Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. He then achieved another top-ten hit in the UK with "Open Road" peaking at number seven[32] and number eight in the Netherlands with "Are You Ready Now?".[32]
1999–2004: Twelve Months, Eleven Days, and producing career
After the success of his first solo album, Barlow released his second LP Twelve Months, Eleven Days in 1999. Barlow released "Stronger" as the lead single preceding the album. The single peaked at number 16. The album's second single, "For All That You Want", also received minimal radio play and peaked at number 24; however, it nearly reached the top five in Finland. Twelve Months, Eleven Days received little promotion and peaked at number 35, which led to Sony recalling the album's scheduled third single, "Lie to Me".[33] This decision resulted in Barlow and BMG parting company.[12]
In late 1999, Barlow quit his career as a singer, with his final single remaining unreleased. From 2000 to 2004, he was a producer for other artists, including bandmate Mark Owen's solo projects. In 2005, he resumed his singing career after a six-year hiatus.[34]
2005–2011: Take That reunion and Shame
Barlow returned to the spotlight in a successful TV documentary, Take That: For the Record in 2005. Following this success and renewed interest, Take That experienced a career renaissance in 2005 when the post-Williams line-up reformed for a sell-out arena/stadium tour. The band released their comeback single "Patience" which went to number one for four weeks while also topping the charts across Europe. Patience was also voted the Record of the Year in 2006 and won a Brit Award for single of the year.[35] This was followed with "Shine" which became the band's tenth number-one single. Take That's first album of new material in over ten years, Beautiful World was released on 24 November 2006. The album peaked at number one in the UK Album Chart selling over 2.8 million copies in the UK alone as of 2012.[36] It was re-released as a tour edition with hit single "Rule the World" in 2007 and peaked again at number one.
In 2008, the band were nominated for four Brit Awards (Best British Group, Best British Album, Best British Single and Best British Live Act). They won Best British Single and Best British Live Act. After great success in 2006, Take That released the single "Greatest Day" which went straight to number one and became their eleventh number-one single in the UK. The week after they released their second album since their reunion in 2006, The Circus. The Circus album was also a great success for Take That going straight to the top of the UK album chart and selling over 2.2 million copies in the country, going multi-platinum within four days of its release.[37] In June and July 2009, Take That performed a record-breaking tour named Take That Present: The Circus Live throughout the United Kingdom and it sold over one million tickets in just five hours.[38]
Barlow's first solo release since 1999 was a duet with reconciled Take That bandmate Robbie Williams on a single entitled "Shame". The single was written by both Barlow and Williams after they began to work together in Los Angeles on new material for a new Take That album following Williams' return to the band. On the first day of the song being released to the radio and the media, "Shame" received an unprecedented 694 plays on the radio and 153 plays on TV. The single peaked at number 2 in the UK, selling 224,000 copies[39] and being certified as Silver by the BPI, while also charting in 21 countries worldwide.[37]
It was announced that Barlow was in the process of writing Take That's much-anticipated sixth studio album, set for release in late 2010.[40] The album, Progress, was the first to feature the original line-up since their 1995 album, Nobody Else. The band also announced a stadium tour entitled Progress Live which took place in 2011.[41] The tickets for the tour went on sale on 29 October 2010. Due to unprecedented high public demand for tickets, Ticketmaster websites across the UK and Ireland crashed and all initial tour dates sold out in under 15 minutes.[42] It was reported that a record breaking one million tickets were snapped up on the first day of sale, resulting in Take That smashing the previous box office record of tickets sold which was set in 2008 by Take That Present: The Circus Live.[43] Due to unprecedented demand Take That added more dates to their tour, finishing in the UK with a record breaking eight consecutive nights at Wembley Stadium after which the tour would then commence throughout Europe with an estimated 1.75 million people expected to attend the shows.
The lead single from Progress was announced as "The Flood". The single debuted at number two, selling over 500,000 copies. On the first day of the release of Progress, the album sold over 235,000 copies across the UK, making it the fastest selling record of the century.[44] On 21 November 2010, Progress debuted at number one in the United Kingdom, becoming the band's seventh number-one album.[7] By the end of its first week on sale the album sold over 520,000, making it the second fastest-selling album of all-time in UK chart history.[45] To date Progress has sold 2.8 million copies in the UK[46] and has achieved similar chart success across Europe. In June 2011, Take That released their first extended play collection entitled Progressed which returned the band to number one in the UK on its first week of release as well as charting across Europe.
The media have widely acknowledged Barlow's talent and labelled him as the mastermind behind the unprecedented success of Take That's comeback and the new musical direction they have taken.[47]
2012–2014: Return to solo projects, Sing and Since I Saw You Last
In April 2012, Barlow recorded a cover of "Here Comes the Sun" that was used in the 2012 summer promotion advertisement for Marks and Spencer with him appearing in the advert at the end performing the song.
Barlow was featured in a duet with Agnetha Fältskog (from ABBA) on her 2013 album A, released in May 2013. Barlow co-wrote the song, "I Should've Followed You Home" with album producer Jörgen Elofsson.[48] Early press reports tagged the song as a likely single with strong chart potential leading to Universal Music scheduling it to be released as the third single from the album in November 2013. The single become a top 5 hit in Sweden on the week of its release as well as charting in the UK.[49]
It was announced in January 2012 that Barlow and Andrew Lloyd Webber would be working together to write the official Diamond Jubilee single. Barlow and Lord Lloyd Webber composed the music to the song; with Barlow then taking this music to musicians and singers around the Commonwealth with the aim to incorporate sounds from around the world onto the single.[50] The song entitled "Sing" was released as the lead single from the album of the same name, Sing. It debuted in the UK Singles Chart at number 11 with the album released on the same day entering the UK Album Chart at number one, becoming Barlow's second solo number-one album and his first in 15 years.[51] After the airing of Gary Barlow's documentary Gary Barlow: On Her Majesty's Service which told the story of how Sing was written; the single climbed up to number one in the iTunes chart.[52] The following week Sing rose to number one in the UK Singles Chart selling 142,000 copies and becoming among the highest selling singles of 2012.[53] The album of the same name remained at number one, making Barlow the first artist in 2012 to have the number-one album and number-one single in the same week.[53]
Barlow announced on 15 October 2012 that he was to embark on his first full solo tour in thirteen years around the UK and Ireland. In a statement, he said, "I'm really excited about these dates. Playing live is my favourite thing and I haven't played a solo show for over a year now. Last year playing two London shows was brilliant, we all had such a good time, so I thought right let's get out and see the rest of the country!"
The tickets to Barlow's solo concerts sold out "instantly" after going on sale on 19 October, with tickets selling faster than those of the Rolling Stones for their comeback dates.[54] Demand was so high for tickets that Barlow added more dates, which also sold out instantly. It was also revealed by ticket marketplace SeatWave, that Gary Barlow's solo shows had sold six times more tickets than Robbie Williams' solo concerts, despite being on sale for a week less.[55]
In September 2013, Barlow announced via his Twitter account that he would be releasing his first full-length solo album in 14 years, on 25 November 2013.[56] Barlow encouraged his followers and fans to tweet #GBSOLO to reveal the album artwork and title, with their profile pictures being used to create a collage of the album cover. On 4 October 2013, Barlow revealed his new album would be called Since I Saw You Last, and would be preceded by his first single from the LP, titled "Let Me Go", released worldwide on 17 November 2013. He also announced that he would be touring the album in April 2014, playing some of the biggest arenas in the UK.[57]
"Let Me Go" entered the UK Singles Chart at No. 3 with 72,423 copies sold in its first week on sale, giving Barlow his 21st top 3 UK single. The following week it rose to No. 2[58] selling a further 60,422 copies.[59] One month after release, "Let Me Go" was certified Silver by the BPI for selling over 200,000 copies in the UK. In early 2014, Let Me Go surpassed 400,000 sales in the UK and was certified Gold.[60] The week after the release of Let Me Go, the album debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart, behind One Direction's third album Midnight Memories. The album sold 116,000 copies, becoming the fastest selling album of 2013 to miss out on the top spot, whilst also selling more copies in his first week than his Take That bandmate Robbie Williams, whose album Swings Both Ways sold 109,000 copies the previous week to claim the top spot.[61] The album was certified Platinum by the BPI less than a month after being released, becoming Barlow's second solo album to reach Platinum certification.[60] The album went 2× Platinum a month later, spending 11 weeks in the top 5 of the UK Album Charts, becoming Barlow's most successful solo album in the UK to date.[62]
2017–present: A Better Me, Music Played by Humans, The Dream of Christmas and A Different Stage
On 12 October 2017, whilst appearing on BBC Radio 2, Barlow announced that he would be embarking on a solo tour again around UK and Ireland to celebrate the release of his new book, A Better Me. The tour was to visit smaller and more intimate venues rather than the huge arenas and stadiums that Barlow was so familiar to playing, be it solo or alongside his Take That bandmates.
On 14 August 2019, Barlow announced that he had been working on a new solo record due for release in Autumn 2020, stating that "[he has] never recorded with an orchestra" and wanted to create "original songs with big contemporary orchestral arrangements."[63] In July 2020, Barlow confirmed that the album will release in November, adding that "[the album is] very positive and [composed] with a 60-piece orchestra."[64]
On 30 September 2020, Barlow revealed that his upcoming album would be called Music Played by Humans, set to be released on 27 November 2020. Its lead single, "Elita", featuring Michael Bublé and Sebastián Yatra, was released on the same day after it premiered on BBC Radio 2. A tour to promote the record in 2021 has also been announced with Leona Lewis as special guest.
Barlow announced in early 2021 that he would release a new solo record by the end of the year, which was revealed on 28 October to be The Dream of Christmas, his first Christmas album.[65] The project features a collection of both new songs and covers of Christmas classics, including the two singles "Sleigh Ride" and "The Dream of Christmas", both released on 29 October. The album was released on 26 November.
On 20 January 2022, Barlow announced a brand new one-man stage show A Different Stage. The show premiered in Runcorn at The Brindley on 10 February 2022[66] before then touring to Salford, Liverpool, and Edinburgh.[67] The show will also play in London's West End at the Duke of York's Theatre from 30 August until 25 September 2022.[68]