Gary Barlow

Gary Barlow

Gary Barlow is an English singer, songwriter, pianist, composer and record producer from Cheshire West and Chester, United Kingdom. Born in 1971 in Frodsham, Cheshire, he is the frontman and lead vocalist of Take That, the British pop group he performs with.

Songwriting and recording career

Barlow is one of Britain’s most successful songwriters, with fourteen number one singles and twenty-four top 10 hits to his name. With Take That, he has seventeen top 5 hits, twelve number one singles and seven number one albums. As a solo artist, he has three number one singles, six top 10 singles and two number one albums.

His solo singles include “Forever Love” and “Love Won’t Wait”, both of which reach number one in the UK. “Forever Love” also serves as the soundtrack to the film The Leading Man. His debut solo album, Open Road, reaches number one in the UK Albums Chart and sells 2 million copies worldwide. In the United States, his solo single “So Help Me Girl” reaches number 44 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.

He later releases Twelve Months, Eleven Days in 1999, preceded by the singles “Stronger” and “For All That You Want”. The album does not match the performance of his debut and leads to the cancellation of the planned single “Lie to Me” and the end of his association with BMG.

Later solo work and television

After a long gap between solo albums, Barlow releases Since I Saw You Last, preceded by the single “Let Me Go”. He also announces live dates for the album in the UK.

Barlow serves as head judge on series 8, 9 and 10 of The X Factor UK.

Recognition

He wins the Ivor Novello Award six times, sells over 50 million records worldwide, and receives an OBE in 2012 for services to music and charity.