Home

Take That lead singer Gary Barlow turns 50

Gary Barlow
Reading Time: 2 minutes

British singer Gary Barlow OBE turns 50 on Wednesday.

The Take That lead singer was born in Cheshire, England in 1971 and according to his 2006 autobiography, his love for music started at a young age.

Take That, comprised originally of Barlow, Howard Donald, Jason Orange, Mark Owen and Robbie Williams, was formed in 1990 and was built around Barlow’s vocals and songwriting skills.

Barlow wrote the majority of the group’s songs, including “Back For Good” and “Pray”, for which he received an Ivor Novello Award.

After Take That split in 1996 Barlow launched a successful solo career with both of his first singles reaching number one in the UK charts. The band reunited in 2005 and Barlow continued to release solo work, including a collaboration with Andrew Lloyd Webber for the official Diamond Jubilee single, “Sing”.

Away from recording music, Barlow was a judge on British singing competition show “The X Factor” from 2011 until 2013.

He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2012 Queen’s Birthday Honours for his services to the entertainment industry and to charity.

In 2014, Barlow and bandmates Mark Owen and Howard Donald were caught up in a tax avoidance dispute. Prime Minister at the time, David Cameron, refused to back a call for him to hand back his OBE.

Barlow married wife Dawn Andrews in 2000. The couple have three children: Daniel, Emily and Daisy.

In 2012, the singer announced that he and his wife were expecting a fourth child but later that year he shared the “devastating” news that the baby had been delivered stillborn

Author

MOST READ
RELATED STORIES