Gary Barlow’s songs have accompanied two distinct eras of Take That: the group’s rise in the 1990s and its return to the charts after reforming in 2005. He wrote the majority of the band’s material, including “Pray” and “Back for Good”, and later returned to the group’s original line-up for the album Progress. Between those chapters he pursued a solo career, wrote and produced for other artists, and took on work in television and musical theatre. His story is not simply one of uninterrupted chart success; it is also a career repeatedly redirected by changes in the music business and by his own choice to move between performing, writing and producing.

From Frodsham to the club circuit

Barlow was born in Frodsham, Cheshire, on 20 January 1971, the second son of Colin and Marjorie Barlow. He attended Weaver Vale Primary School and then Frodsham High School. Music took hold early. After watching Depeche Mode on Top of the Pops when he was ten, he acquired his first keyboard and practised regularly. He has cited Elton John, Trevor Horn and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark among his influences.

At 15, Barlow entered a BBC Pebble Mill at One Christmas song competition with “Let’s Pray for Christmas”. He reached the semi-finals and was invited to record the song at West Heath Studios in London. The experience encouraged him to perform on the northern club circuit, singing covers as well as songs of his own. In 1989 he recorded “Love Is in the Air” under the name Kurtis Rush and appointed Wigan agent Barry Woolley as his manager.

It was Barlow’s own songwriting that brought him to the attention of casting agent Nigel Martin-Smith. After hearing a demo of “A Million Love Songs”, Martin-Smith decided that the group he was assembling should be built around Barlow’s voice and songs. Howard Donald, Jason Orange, Mark Owen and Robbie Williams joined him in Take That. The group signed to RCA Records and, after several top-40 hits, reached number one with Barlow’s “Pray”.

Take That’s first run and a solo turn

Take That’s early albums established Barlow as a central writer in British pop. Take That & Party, released in 1992, reached number two in the UK album chart. Its follow-up, Everything Changes, was based on his material, went straight to number one and produced four number-one singles. Barlow received the Ivor Novello Award for Best Contemporary Song in 1994 for “Pray”. In the same year, he sang backing vocals with Rick Astley on Elton John’s version of “Can You Feel the Love Tonight”.

The group’s third album, Nobody Else, also reached number one. Its best-known single, “Back for Good”, was written by Barlow and reached number one in 31 countries; in the United States it peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100. The song’s international reach helped define the scale of Take That’s success, while its construction remained rooted in Barlow’s songwriting. He received an Ivor Novello Award for the song in 1995.

After the original group’s run ended, Barlow turned to solo work. “Forever Love” and “Love Won’t Wait” both reached number one in the UK, and his debut album, Open Road, topped the UK album chart and sold two million copies worldwide. “So Help Me Girl” reached number one on the US Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. His second album, Twelve Months, Eleven Days, had a more difficult release: its singles received limited radio play, the album peaked at number 35 in the UK, and its planned third single was withdrawn. Barlow and BMG then parted company.

In 1999 he stopped pursuing a career as a singer and concentrated on writing and producing. He worked with artists including Shirley Bassey and Charlotte Church, and set up True North Productions with Eliot Kennedy and Tim Woodcock. The shift meant several years away from the spotlight as a performer, but not from music-making. It also gave his subsequent return to singing a different starting point from the solo career he had first attempted.

A reunion, and work beyond the band

Renewed public interest followed the 2005 television documentary Take That: For the Record. The group reunited without Williams at first, returning with a sell-out arena and stadium tour. “Patience” spent four weeks at number one in the UK and topped charts elsewhere in Europe. It was voted Record of the Year in 2006 and won the Brit Award for British Single of the Year. The group followed it with “Shine” and Beautiful World, its first album of new material in more than a decade.

The reunion developed into another period of large-scale success. The Circus reached number one, and the band’s 2009 tour sold more than a million tickets in five hours. Williams later returned to the group; the original line-up recorded Progress in 2010. Its lead single, “The Flood”, debuted at number two, while the album became the band’s seventh UK number-one album. The subsequent Progress Live tour sold a reported 623,737 tickets across eight nights at Wembley Stadium. Barlow also recorded “Shame” with Williams, a duet that reached number two in the UK.

Alongside Take That, Barlow continued to write for himself and others. He co-wrote “Sing” with Andrew Lloyd Webber as the official single for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. The song’s recording brought together musicians and singers from across the Commonwealth; the accompanying album also reached number one in the UK. Barlow performed the song at the Jubilee concert outside Buckingham Palace with Lloyd Webber and the Commonwealth Band.

His other projects have included the musical Finding Neverland, for which he co-wrote the score, and The Girls, later retitled Calendar Girls The Musical, co-written with Tim Firth. Barlow also created the BBC talent show Let It Shine, which sought performers for a touring musical featuring Take That songs. On television, he served as a judge on The X Factor from 2011 to 2013 and later on Let It Shine and Walk the Line. These roles extended his work from making songs to helping shape performances and productions for other artists.

Charity, honours and public work

Barlow has combined his entertainment work with charity events. In 2009 he organised the Comic Relief climb of Mount Kilimanjaro, which he undertook with eight other well-known participants. That year he also organised Children in Need Rocks the Royal Albert Hall. In 2010 he appeared on the charity recording of “Everybody Hurts”, released in response to the Haiti earthquake. His charity work has included further concerts and fundraising events, as well as the donation of the handwritten lyrics to “Back for Good” for a Teenage Cancer Trust auction.

In 2012, Barlow was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for services to the entertainment industry and charity. He received six Ivor Novello Awards, including one for outstanding services to British music. The recognition sits alongside the measurable reach of his work: a catalogue of songs recorded by Take That and other performers, and years of performances and productions across music, television and theatre.

His career has also included a public tax controversy. In 2012, it emerged that Barlow and Take That bandmates Howard Donald and Mark Owen had invested in music-industry schemes that could be used as tax shelters. A judge ruled in 2014 that the scheme had been set up for tax avoidance; in 2016 Barlow and the others said they would not appeal the ruling that they were liable to repay the tax. Barlow apologised to people offended by the tax stories. Including this episode gives a fuller account of a public career that has involved both honours and scrutiny.

Why Gary Barlow deserves a place in British Legacy

Barlow’s place in British music is grounded in specific work as a songwriter and performer. “Pray” helped Take That secure its first number-one single; “Back for Good” became an international hit, reaching number one in 31 countries. The group’s successive albums and its later reunion show how songs written at one stage of a career can continue to find audiences in another. Barlow’s contribution is not limited to singing: his writing shaped Take That’s early records, their 2005 return and the group’s later work with its original line-up. His solo number-one singles and albums add a separate body of work, while his writing and producing for other artists show how he continued contributing when he stepped away from performance.

His wider career also connects British popular music with public life and other forms of entertainment. The Diamond Jubilee single he co-wrote with Andrew Lloyd Webber brought together voices from across the Commonwealth, while his charity concerts and fundraising projects used his position in music to support causes including Comic Relief and Children in Need. His work in musical theatre, talent television and record production demonstrates the range of roles involved in sustaining a music career beyond the release of hit records. Together, these achievements make Barlow a useful subject for British Legacy: a songwriter whose work helped define two periods of Take That’s history, and a British entertainer whose contributions have extended into production, theatre, television and charity.

Sources

Gary Barlow — Wikipedia revision 1378864262

Adapted in part from Gary Barlow by Wikipedia contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Text has been edited and combined with the existing article; this adapted text is shared under the same licence. Contributor history.