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Gary Barlow
Gary performing with Take That on tour in 2009
Gary performing with Take That on tour in 2009
Background information
Birth nameGary Barlow
Born (1971-01-20) January 20, 1971 (age 53)
Frodsham, Cheshire, England
GenresPop, pop rock, soft rock
Occupation(s)Musician, singer-songwriter, record producer and programmer, pianist, composer
Instrument(s)Vocals, piano, keyboards
Years active1988–present
LabelsSony, Polydor, Universal Music,[1] Decca Records,[2] Future, San Remo[3]
Websitewww.garybarlow.com

Gary Barlow OBE (born 20 January 1971), is a British singer-songwriter, pianist and record producer. He is frontman and lead vocalist of Take That and head judge[4][5][6] on the The X Factor.[7][8][9] Barlow is one of Britain's most successful songwriters, having written twelve Number 1 singles.[10] He has had three Number 1 singles and two Number 1 albums as a solo artist,[11][12] and has had sixteen top 5 hits, eleven Number 1 singles and seven Number 1 albums with Take That.[13][14] He is also a six-time recipient of the Ivor Novello Award and has sold over 45 million records worldwide with Take That.[15][16][17] He was appointed OBE in 2012 for services to the music industry and charity.[18][19][20]

Early life and beginnings

Gary Barlow was born on January 20, 1971 in Frodsham, Cheshire, the second son to Colin and Marjorie Barlow.[21]

In Barlow's autobiography, he relates that his love of music began at an early age.

"I was one of those kids that's forever dancing in front of the TV looking at my reflection."[22]

He cites watching a performance of "Just Can't Get Enough" by Depeche Mode on Top of the Pops when he was ten years old as a main influence of his love of music, describing it as 'mesmerising'. Barlow subsequently asked for a keyboard for Christmas and for the next few years, he spent most of his spare time teaching himself to play his favourite songs.[23]

In 1986, when Barlow was fifteen 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 Barlow to perform on the northern club circuit, singing cover versions and his own songs. Barlow's first performance was at the Connah's Quay Labour Club in the late eighties and he was paid £18 per performance on Saturday evenings.[24][25]

In 1989 he 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 Michael Braham, who first took Gary's first professional head-shots. Nigel is a friend of Michael's, and introduced Gary to Nigel 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 will be built around Barlow's vocals and songwriting skills.

Musical career

Take That: 1990–1996, 2005–present

Main article: Take That

Barlow, who wrote the majority of the group's songs, is widely recognised as the musical talent behind Take That.[26][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 UK group were signed to RCA records, and after a number of top 40 hits, eventually secured their first Number 1 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. It reached number 2 on 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 1 in the UK Album Chart and spawned four number 1 singles, as well as "Why Can't I Wake Up With You" and "Love Ain't Here Anymore" hitting number 2 and 3 respectively.[28] Barlow received an Ivor Novello Award for Best Contemporary Song in 1994 for the number 1 hit song "Pray" included on the album.[29] In 1994 Barlow alongside Rick Astley did backing vocals for Elton John's version of Can You Feel the Love Tonight from The Lion King. Their third album Nobody Else, again based on Barlow's own material, went straight to number 1 and was to be their last studio album of the 90s. The album had three number 1 singles, including Barlow's "Back for Good" which peaked at number 7 on the US Billboard Hot 100[30] and was brought forward an unprecedented 6 weeks before its official release such was the demand for the single.[31] A Greatest Hits collection followed again reaching number 1. The album featured the band's eighth number 1 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.

Barlow returned to the limelight 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 stadium tour. The band released their comeback single "Patience" which went to number 1 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 for single of the year.[32] This was followed with "Shine" which became the band's tenth number 1 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 1 in the UK Album Chart selling over 2.8 million copies in the UK alone to date.[33] It was re-released as a tour edition with hit single "Rule the World" in 2007 and peaked again at number 1.

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 1 and became their eleventh number 1 single in the UK. The week after they released their second album since their reunion in 2006, The Circus which was the most preordered album of all time.[34] 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 across the country, going multi platinum within 4 days of its release.[35][36] In June and July Take That performed a record breaking tour named Take That Present: The Circus Live throughout the United Kingdom selling sold over 1 million tickets in just 5 hours.[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.[38] 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 will take place in 2011.[39] 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.[40] 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.[41][42] Due to unprecedented demand Take That added more dates to their tour, finishing in the UK with a record breaking 8 consecutive nights at Wembley Stadium after which the tour will then commence throughout Europe with an estimated 1.75 million people expected to attend the shows.[43]

The lead single from Progress was announced as "The Flood". The single debuted at number 2, selling over 500,000 copies since release. 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][45] On 21 November 2010, Progress debuted at number one in the United Kingdom, becoming the band's seventh number-one album.[13] 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.[46] To date Progress has sold 2.8 million copies in the UK[47] 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 1 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[48] and the new musical direction they have taken.[49]

Solo career: 1996–2000, 2010–present

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 1 in the UK Album Chart and went on to sell 2 million copies worldwide.[50] Barlow's first ever 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 1 on the US Billboard Adult Contemporary Chart. He then achieved another top ten hit in the UK with "Open Road" peaking at number 7[51] and a number 8 in the Netherlands with "Are You Ready Now".[51]

Twelve Months, Eleven Days

After the success of his first solo album he released his second LP Twelve Months, Eleven Days in 1999. Barlow released "Stronger" as the lead single preceding the album. However, due to an expected backlash against Barlow, it received minimal support and airplay and peaked at number 16.[51] The second single "For All That You Want" again was subjected to minimal radio play and peaked at number 24, however it peaked just outside the top 5 in Finland.[51] Twelve Months, Eleven Days was released soon after the second single to little promotion and peaked at a disappointing number 34, which led to Sony recalling Barlow's 'greatest' song according to critics, the scheduled third single from his second album "Lie to Me".[52] This resulted in both Barlow and BMG parting company. To date Barlow has sold 5 million records worldwide as a solo artist.[53]

"Shame" & the return to solo projects

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 begun to work together in L.A 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.[54] The single peaked at number 2 in the UK, being certified as Silver by the BPI, while also charting in 19 countries worldwide.[35]

Barlow's announced in January 2011 that he was to hold a solo concert entitled GB40 at the Shepherd's Bush Empire to celebrate his 40th birthday and his 20 years in the music industry with all money going to the Prince's Trust charity.[55] The concert received praise from critics[56] as Barlow was joined by guest appearances from Chris Martin, Ellie Goulding, Midge Ure and his bandmates from Take That, while also receiving recorded birthday messages from a number of celebrities such as Chris Moyles, Peter Kay, Elton John and Robbie Williams.

In September 2011, it was announced that Gary Barlow would be headlining BBC Radio 2 Live in Hyde Park.[57] Barlow's performance was praised by critics as he returned to Hyde Park as a solo artist for the first time since 1999.[58] On 24 October 2011 Barlow announced that he was to play his first two full solo concerts in 11 years at the Royal Albert Hall entitled Gary Barlow: In Concert, with all proceeds going to the Prince's Trust charity. These concerts sold out 'minutes' after going on sale[59] and were praised by fans and the media alike with Barlow playing the biggest hits from his 20 year career.[60][61]

In December 2011, Gary Barlow performed a duet with Michael Bublé singing "Rule the World" and Bublé's single, "Home". The performance gained great reception from fans, where it began trending worldwide on Twitter.[62] Soon after it was broadcast, a petition was set up for the collaboration to be made available for digital download to challenge for the Christmas Number 1 spot.[63]

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.

Sing

It was announced in January 2012 that Barlow and Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber would be working together to write the official Diamond Jubilee single. Barlow and Lloyd Webber aimed to write 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.[64] 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 1, becoming Barlow's second solo number 1 album and his first in 15 years.[65] 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.[66] The following week Sing rose to number 1 in the UK Singles Chart selling 142,000 copies and becoming the highest selling single of 2012.[67] The album of the same name remained at number 1, making Barlow the first artist in 2012 to have the number 1 album and number 1 single in the same week.[67]

Solo tour

Main article: Gary Barlow: In Concert

Gary Barlow announced on 19 October 2012 that he was to embark on his first full solo tour in thirteen years around the UK. 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!".


Other musical projects

Songwriting, producing & publishing

After leaving his career as a solo artist Barlow returned to his first love of writing music. He soon signed a song writing publishing deal with Sony and went to the U.S. on a six-month songwriting project, residing in Nashville, Los Angeles and New York with his wife, Dawn and first child, Daniel. Upon his return he set up True North Productions with Elliot Kennedy and Tim Woodcock. In his autobiography 'My Take' Barlow partly blames his fall as a solo artist on his commitments to being a star in the United States. After his disappointing second album, Barlow remained out of the public eye for half a decade, choosing to continue to write and produce songs for other artists such as Shirley Bassey and Charlotte Church In October 2007, Barlow founded San Remo Live Publishings as an independently run management company to establish and support artists and songwriters.[68]

In 2010 Barlow signed a new 5 year song writing publishing deal with Sony music.[69] He has been voted as the greatest British songwriter of all time in a 2009 OnePoll, who surveyed 3000 people[70][71] John Lennon was second and Paul McCartney of The Beatles was third.[70]

In 2011, Barlow wrote the song "Run for Your Life" for The X Factor series 7 winner Matt Cardle's debut album. Cardle told The Sun: "We had 99% of the album finished then the track came through from Gary. I'd been trying to write a song like that for a long, long time, probably five or six years. As soon as I heard it I just felt the song was mine. Lyrically it's about not being good enough for the person you're with. I was nearly in tears recording the vocals. I'm proud that I've written a lot of the album but Gary is a genius as a writer - I couldn't pass it up."[72] He has also written for the likes of Robbie Williams, Westlife, Lily Allen, Blue, Elton John, Matt Cardle, T-Pain, N-Dubz, Lawson,[73] Dame Shirley Bassey, Donny Osmond, Elaine Page and many more while also being commissioned by the Queen to write the official single for her Diamond Jubilee which saw Barlow collaborate with Andrew Lloyd Webber.

To date Barlow has written 12 number 1 singles in the UK,[10] and 2 Billboard Hot 100 top 10 singles in the United States[74] including Back for Good which went to number 1 in 31 countries across the world.[75]

Ceremonial work

At the beginning of May 2010, it was announced that Queen Elizabeth II had asked Barlow to organise her 86th birthday and her Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 2012. A source said: "Her Majesty has been made well aware of his charity work and the events he has put together. She knows that Gary has got the power to pull in the big names across the music industry and to ensure it's a party to match the occasion".[76][77] This was confirmed on February 2012 with Gary Barlow being named as the lead organiser and producer of a concert that took place outside of Buckingham Palace and featuring globally recognised superstar artists.[78][79][80][81] Barlow said "The Diamond Jubilee concert will celebrate the 60 years of The Queen's reign with an amazing lineup of world-class artists coming together to play at one of the biggest and most exciting live music shows in recent years."[79] This concert began to take shape with Barlow at the centre of the arrangements and the force behind the staging, artists and the eventual ideas that would be used in the concert. On 4 June 2012 the Diamond Jubilee concert was held outside Buckingham Palace with it acting as a backdrop to a stage built upon the Victoria Memorial featuring artists from all across the world. The concert included music stemming from the 50's to the 00's with each decade of her reign reflected in the music performed. Barlow himself appeared alongside Andrew Lloyd Webber and his own Commonwealth Band to perform the self written official jubilee single "Sing" while also dueting with Cheryl Cole on the night which won praise from critics who called "the performance as [two of] the best of Britain [who] proved their pop credentials with a dazzling duet."[82] The reception from the concert was universal in praise for the efforts of Barlow with Prince Charles himself personally thanking him for putting together the concert.

Future Records

In 2009 Barlow began work on his own record label Future Records, a branch from Universal Music, and signed his first artist, classical singer Camilla Kerslake.[83] Since then Barlow has also signed UK rapper Aggro Santos to his label[84] who scored two top 10 UK hits and a further top 20 single,[85] and the winner of Sky 1's Must Be The Music, Emma's Imagination who also achieved two top 10 UK singles and a top 15 charting debut album.[86]

The X Factor

On 7 May 2011, it was announced that Barlow was in advanced talks to replace Simon Cowell as a judge on The X Factor.[7][8][9] He was officially confirmed as a judge on 30 May alongside the returning Louis Walsh, and fellow new judges Kelly Rowland and Tulisa Contostavlos, who replaced Dannii Minogue and Cheryl Cole.[87][88] Barlow was given the Boys category for the live shows and mentored Marcus Collins to the final of the X Factor where he became runner up.

After a successful debut as a judge on the The X Factor in 2011, ITV producers opened talked with Barlow to return for a second series. ITV sources believe that 'while viewing figures were down a few million [during series 8], the feeling is it would have been worse without Gary' and so have offered Barlow a substantial increase on his £1.5 million salary from last year to ensure that he returns to the panel. On 17 April 2012 it was announced that Barlow will return to The X Factor for a second year, he was the first judge to be announced to be returning. He was later rejoined by Tulisa and Louis Walsh on the judging panel, alongside new judge Nicole Scherzinger.[89] For his second year as a mentor, he has been given the "overs" category. Which features both male and female artists over the age of 28. He became the only judge to have four acts in the finals after singer Christopher Maloney was voted into the show by the public and became the 13th finalist. The live shows have so far proved troublesome for Barlow with the first 2 acts being voted off both from his category, with him walking off as a result on one occasion.

Honours

After 20 years within the music industry in which Barlow has achieved phenomenal success across the world; coupled with his efforts to raise money and awareness for various charities he was honoured in the 2012 Queen's Birthday Honours. He was appointed an OBE by Queen Elizabeth II on 16 June 2012 for "services to the Entertainment Industry and to Charity".[90] In a statement, Barlow said: "I'm absolutely thrilled and feel very privileged to be in the company of so many brilliant people who I know have received an OBE." He continued by stating that he enjoys "every minute of the work I do, with a lot of it being a reward in itself, so for somebody to decide I should get recognized for that is just amazing. My family are very proud."[20][91]

In July 2012 Barlow was announced as the recipient of the prestigious Music Industry Trusts Award which he will be presented with in November 2012 in recognition of his services to British music and charity. David Munns, chairman of the award committee, said of Barlow: "He is one of the UK's most accomplished artists - a unique musician, songwriter and producer who embodies both success and distinction, and who serves as a dedicated ambassador for many charities."[92][93]

Outside music

Acting career

In 2000, Barlow made his acting debut in the ITV1 drama Heartbeat. This was the 150th edition of the show. He played hitch-hiker Micky Shannon.[94]

In 2012, Barlow had a cameo in the film Keith Lemon: The Film which focuses on Keith Lemon's rags to riches story.

Social media

In October 2011 Barlow joined Twitter live on The Xtra Factor to build support for the contestants he mentored during series 8 of the X Factor. Almost immediately after he joined Twitter his following totalled at over 300,000 people.[95] Within two months of joining Twitter, Barlow reached over 1 million followers.[96] Less than a year later he passed the 2 million followers mark.

Charity work

Barlow organised a sponsored climb to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro to raise money for Comic Relief. Barlow and eight other celebrities: Cheryl Cole, Ben Shephard, Alesha Dixon, Kimberley Walsh, Fearne Cotton, Chris Moyles, Denise Van Outen and Ronan Keating, made it to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro safely on 7 March 2009, raising millions for Comic Relief.[97]

Barlow's charity efforts in 2009, including his organising of the BT Comic Relief Kilimanjaro Climb and his organising of 'Children In Need Rocks', raised in excess £6 million. In addition to the charity events organised by Barlow, he has also shown support for fellow artists' charity efforts including that of Ronan Keating. The pair sang Take That's Back for Good written by Barlow at Ronan's Emerald and Ivy Ball[98] in Battersea, South London, on Saturday. The starry bash raised £650,000 for Cancer Research UK.

His organisation of a very special event at the Royal Albert Hall went ahead in November 2009 and was broadcast the following week. This saw a meeting of Take That with Robbie Williams on stage and a number of unusual duets (including Dame Shirley Bassey with Dizzy Rascal and Take That with Lily Allen). Barlow dedicated the band's song "Rule the World" to "everyone whose lost someone – Dad, this is for you". It was a very special night raising £2M and ending with Barlow seeming to promise it could be an annual event.

It was announced in December 2009 that Barlow had been awarded the prestigious Blue Peter Gold Badge, awarded for outstanding achievements and inspiring children to realise their talents and achieve.[99]

To celebrate his 10th wedding anniversary Barlow invited family and many friends to a special event in London. It was a rare event that Barlow allowed a popular magazine to photograph the event. A highlight was a special Bingo session hosted by Barlow. Money raised at the event was donated to Barnardo's.

Towards the end of 2009, there has been a huge Twitter campaign to 'Get Gary Knighted' for all of his charity work over the years.[100][101] The campaign has been mentioned and endorsed by many celebrities, including Chris Moyles of Radio 1.

In February 2010 a project named 'Helping Haiti' was formed by Simon Cowell in response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake. The aim was to bring some of the most recognised music stars across the world together to record a charity single with all proceeds going to the cause. Barlow, along with an array of stars were asked to appear on the cover of Everybody Hurts which sold 453,000 copies in its first week, making it the fastest-selling charity record of the 21st century in Britain.[102] Barlow appeared at Twickenham Stadium to perform the hit single "Shame" alongside Robbie Williams in aid of the Help for Heroes charity on 12 September 2010.[103]

Barlow has also donated the original handwritten lyrics to his number 1 hit single Back for Good to help raise money for the Teenage Cancer Trust. Barlow wrote the song in 1995 and it went on to top the charts in 31 countries across the world as well as becoming a top ten hit in America.[104]

In January 2011 Barlow held a special show, named GB40, at Shepherd's Bush Empire to celebrate his 40th birthday. This event saw him take to the stage on his own for the first time in over eleven years as he performs songs that span a his 20 year career in music. He has also announced that all of the profits from the show went to charity.[105]

It has been announced that Barlow is planning to organise a charity walk to the North Pole to raise money for BBC Sport Relief.[106]

After the phenomenal success of 'Children In Need Rocks' in 2009, it was announced by Barlow that he is to organise it once again this time in Manchester, with some of the biggest acts in the music industry scheduled to appear. Barlow also confirmed that all proceeds will go to Children in Need.[107] The concert was received positively by the media, with them praising the involvement of Gary Barlow in the Children in Need project.[108][109]

As well as organising the Children in Need concert, Barlow announced he was to helm the official single for the charity, a cover of 'Teardrop' accompanied by a number of artists known as 'The Collective'.[110] The CIN Rocks concert, single and gala contributed to £26 million raised for Children In Need that year.[111]

During the week of Children in Need 2011, Barlow organised a celebrity gala with all proceeds going to the charities associated with Children In Need.[112]

Barlow also donated all proceeds from his Gary Barlow: In Concert event to The Prince's Trust charity. He said: "I hope the money raised through these concerts will make a real difference to young lives. It's really important to me that disadvantaged young people get the support they need, especially at the moment."[113]

Personal life

In 2000 Barlow married Dawn Andrews, who was a dancer on their 1995 Nobody Else Tour. They have three children, Daniel (born 2000), Emily (born 2002) and Daisy (born 2009). On 19 February 2012, Barlow announced that he and his wife Dawn were expecting their fourth child.[114] It was announced by Barlow that their daughter, named Poppy, had been delivered stillborn on 4 August 2012.[115]

Barlow released a short statement reading "Dawn and I are devastated to announce that we’ve lost our baby. Our focus now is giving [Poppy] a beautiful funeral and loving our three children with all our hearts. We’d ask at this painful time that our privacy be respected".[116] Despite the loss of his daughter one week previous, Barlow performed at the London 2012 Olympic Games Closing Ceremony singing the hit "Rule the World" which drew praise internationally for the strength and determination of Barlow to take to the stage so soon after his tragedy.[117][118] Due to his family tragedy, it was announced that Barlow would not attend the X Factor press launch.[119]

He revealed in his autobiography that he is a supporter of Liverpool FC, with their anthem "You'll Never Walk Alone" being one of the first songs he learned to play on piano.[120] He is also a supporter of rugby league team, Warrington Wolves.

In his autobiography My Take, Barlow mentions he was on the Edgware Road tube train that was one of the targets of the 7 July 2005 London bombings.

In 2009, Barlow named "Don't Give Up", the 1986 duet between Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush, as the song that had most inspired him. He said: "I don't think you can listen to this song without feeling inspired, it could save anybody. The lyrics are so inspirational. Specifically I was having a very low moment in the 1990s and the song came on the radio. There have only been a very few times when I've had to pull the car over to listen to a song – this was one of them."[121]

Barlow's father Colin died aged 71 on 15 October 2009.[122] The singer rushed back to his parents' home in Frodsham, Cheshire, and cancelled an engagement to launch his celebrity-packed Children in Need show,[123] while also postponing the launch of the Take That edition of Singstar.

During the 2010 General Election campaign, when the Conservative party announced their intention to encourage musical achievement amongst young people in schools with a competition called School Stars. Barlow appeared at a school staged campaign event and sang "Greatest Day", backing the introduction of the programme by Conservative Party leader, David Cameron.[124]

In June 2012, it was revealed that along with Take That band-mates Howard Donald, Mark Owen and over 1,100 other people; Barlow had invested £26 million in music industry investment schemes.[125] The news attracted controversy when it was understood that the schemes could serve as tax shelters for high net worth people. Barlow was accused of tax avoidance, not tax evasion, however, as the scheme itself is not illegal. Barlow's lawyer responded to the claims, stating he "paid significant tax, and that they believed the schemes were not for tax avoidance purposes but were legitimate commercial enterprises" and that there is no evidence to prove he avoided tax.

Discography

Main article: Gary Barlow discography
See also: Take That discography

Songs written by Barlow

Main article: List of songs written by Gary Barlow

Awards and nominations

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2012 Gary Barlow GQ Award for Outstanding Achievement [126] Won
Gary Barlow Music Industry Trusts Award Honorary Recognition for Barlow's contribution to music over the past two decades.[127] Won
Gary Barlow National Reality Television Award for Best Reality TV Judge[128] Nominated
Gary Barlow OBE for services to Music and Charity.[19] Won
Take That Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music[129] Won
The Flood Ivor Novello Award for PRS Most Performed Work Nominated
Gary Barlow NT Awards for Outstanding Contribution to Charity[130] Won
X Factor NT Awards Best Television Talent Show[131] Won
2011 Gary Barlow Q Award for Classic Songwriter[132] Won
Shame Q Award for Best Collaboration Won
Shame Virgin Media for Music Video[133] Nominated
Shame Virgin Media for Best Collaboration[134] Nominated
2010 Gary Barlow Blue Peter Gold Badge[99] Won
2009 Gary Barlow The Sun Newspaper's Lord of the Year[135] Won
2008 Shine Ivor Novello Award for Most Performed Song Won
2007 Gary Barlow GQ Awards for Man of the Year[136] Won
1998 Gary Barlow BRIT Award for Best British Male[137] Nominated
Open Road The London Awards for Best Album Nominated
Love Won't Wait Top of the Pops for Best Single Nominated
1997 Forever Love FMQ Awards [Finland] for Best Single[138] Won
Forever Love TMF Awards [Netherlands] for Best Single Nominated
Open Road GQ Awards for Best Album Nominated
Forever Love Echo Awards for Best Single Won
1996 Never Forget Ivor Novello Award Won
1995 Back for Good Ivor Novello Award for the Song of the year Won
1994 Pray Ivor Novello Award for Best Contemporary Song[20] Won
1993 Gary Barlow Ivor Novello Award for Songwriter of The Year Award 1993[29] Won

Books

  • Gary Barlow: My Take. Bloomsbury Publishing 2006, ISBN 978-0-7475-8764-4
  • Gary Barlow: My Take. Bloomsbury Publishing 2007, ISBN 978-0-7475-8806-1 (paperback edition, updated to include Take That's comeback)

References

  1. ^ The Mirror, Mark Jefferies 7 Jun 2012 00:00 -'Get Gary Barlow': BBC bosses plan to steal Take That star from X Factor
  2. ^ Decca Records About Page - Gary Barlow, Retrieved 27 July 2012
  3. ^ "San Remo Publishing About Us page". Sanremo-live.com. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  4. ^ "The Sun 21.Aug.11". Thesun.co.uk. 26 August 2011. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  5. ^ "Metro 11 Sept 11". Nowmagazine.co.uk. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  6. ^ "RECENT EVENTS - GARY BARLOW Royal Albert Hall Concert". Royalalberthall.com. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  7. ^ a b Trombetta, Natalie; Johnson, Chris (9 May 2011). "Simon Cowell confirms Gary Barlow as new UK X Factor judge". Daily Mail. London.
  8. ^ a b "Gary is a judge onbr X Factor". The Sun. London. 7 May 2011.
  9. ^ a b "Digital Spy 07-05-11". Digitalspy.co.uk. 7 May 2011. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  10. ^ a b http://www.musicweek.com/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=1049854&c=1 Official Charts Analysis: Gary Barlow tops Album and Singles lists 10:02 | Monday June 11, 2012 By Alan Jones
  11. ^ BBC 16 June 2012 Gary Barlow: Career
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