name	Take That
background	group_or_band
origin	Manchester, England
genre	Pop, pop rock, dance
years active	1990–96,2005–present
label	Sony BMG Universal Music Polydor
associated acts	Lulu
website
current members	Gary BarlowHoward DonaldJason OrangeMark OwenRobbie Williams }}

Take That are an English five-piece vocal pop group comprising Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Jason Orange, Mark Owen and Robbie Williams. Barlow acts as the lead singer and primary songwriter. In total, the group have had 27 top 40 singles and 16 top 5 singles in the United Kingdom alone, 11 of which have reached number 1, as well as having seven number 1 albums.

Take That's dance-oriented pop tunes and soulful ballads dominated the UK charts in the first half of the 1990s, winning multiple BRIT Awards while also spawning two of the best selling albums of the decade with ''Everything Changes'' (which was nominated for the 1994 Mercury Prize) and their ''Greatest Hits'' album. Williams left the band in 1995 while the four remaining members completed their world tour and released a final single before splitting up in 1996.

However, after filming a 2005 documentary and releasing a new greatest hits album, the four-piece Take That officially announced a 2006 reunion tour around the UK, entitled ''The Ultimate Tour''. On 9 May 2006, it was announced that the group were set to record new material together once again; their fourth studio album, ''Beautiful World'', was released in 2006 and was followed up with ''The Circus'', in 2008. The group achieved new success as a four-piece, scoring a string of chart hits across the UK and Europe while taking the number of records sold to over 40 million worldwide.

Williams rejoined Take That in 2010 for the band's sixth studio album, ''Progress''. It was released on 15 November of that year and became the fastest selling album of the 21st century thus far, the second fastest selling album in British history, whilst also making it the first album of new material to feature Take That's original line-up since their 1995 album, ''Nobody Else''. Since 2011, Take That have set the new record for the fastest selling tour of all time in the UK, beating the previous record set by their Circus Live Tour in 2009, won best British group, and have become Amazon's best-selling artist of all time.

History

1989–93: ''Take That & Party

In 1989, Nigel Martin-Smith sought to create a British male vocal singing group. Martin-Smith's vision, however, was a teen orientated group that would aim across more than one demographic segment of the music industry. Martin-Smith was introduced to young singer songwriter Gary Barlow and was so impressed with Barlow's catalogue of self-written material he decided to build his new look boyband around Barlow's musical abilities. A campaign to audition young men with abilities in dancing and singing followed and took place in Manchester and other surrounding cities in 1990. At twenty-two, Howard Donald was one of the oldest to audition, but he was chosen after he got time off work as a vehicle painter to continue the process. When asked to recruit other possible candidates, Donald recommended fellow street dancer Jason Orange, who had appeared as a dancer on The Hitman and Her. Mark Owen and Robbie Williams met on the day of their audition and interview. Barlow announced in later years that Martin-Smith's original name for the band was Kick It, however the members of the band did not like it and instead decided to switch it to ''Take That''. Gary Barlow later stated that the name ''Take That'' was the "worst of a bad bunch."

Take That's first TV appearance was on ''The Hitman & Her'' in 1990, where they performed Barlow's self written unreleased songs "Love" and "My Kind of Girl". They later appeared a second time to perform "Waiting Around", which would become the B-side for the first single, "Do What U Like". "Promises" and "Once You've Tasted Love" were also released as singles but were minor hits in the UK. Take That initially worked the same territory as their American counterparts, singing watered-down new jack R&B;, urban soul, and mainstream pop. However the group worked its way toward Hi-NRG dance music, while also pursuing an adult contemporary ballad direction. As they aimed to break into the mainstream music industry they worked a manner of small clubs, schools and events across the country building up a fanbase as they travelled to gigs constantly for months.

The band's breakthrough single was a cover of the 1975s Tavares hit "It Only Takes a Minute", which peaked at number 7 on the UK Singles Chart. This success was followed by the track "I Found Heaven", then by the first Barlow ballad "A Million Love Songs" which again reached number 7. Their cover of the Barry Manilow disco hit "Could It Be Magic" gave them one of their biggest hits to date, peaking at number 3 in the UK. Their first album, ''Take That and Party'', was released in 1991, and included all the hit singles to date.

1993–95: ''Everything Changes'' and Superstardom

1993 saw the release of ''Everything Changes'', based on Barlow's original material. It peaked at number 1 in the UK and spawned four UK number one singles – their first number one "Pray", "Relight My Fire", "Babe" and the title track "Everything Changes". The fifth single "Love Ain't Here Anymore" reached number three on the UK charts. ''Everything Changes'' saw the band gain international success with the album being nominated for the 1994 Mercury Prize however it failed to crack the US market where an exclusive remix "Love Ain't Here Anymore" (U.S. Version) gained little success. By 1994, the band had become radio and television stars across Europe and Asia. But it was not until 1995 that the band would do their first World Tour.

It was during the years 1993–95 that the band fronted scores of magazine covers ranging from ''Smash Hits'' to ''GQ'', becoming mass merchandised on all sorts of paraphernalia ranging from picture books, to posters, stickers, their own dolls, jewellery, caps, T-shirts, toothbrushes and even had their own annuals released. The band had also developed a large female teenage fanbase at the time. During this time, they performed at numerous music awards shows and chart shows such as the BRIT Awards and ''Top of the Pops'', also winning the Best Live Act award in 1995 at the MTV Europe Music Awards, having been renowned for their breakdance routines, melodious harmonies, elaborate costumes and flamboyant stage props.

In 1995, Take That released their 3rd studio album ''Nobody Else'', again based on Barlow's own material which reached number 1 in the UK and across Europe, capturing new audiences annually, with Take That also able to make inroads in the adult audience in Britain through Barlow's melodic, sensitive ballads. For nearly five years, Take That's popularity was unsurpassed in Britain. The release of "Sure", their first single from the album, achieved yet another number one on the UK Charts. It was not until their second release from that album however, that they would experience what would become their biggest hit single, "Back for Good", which reached number one in 31 countries around the globe and to date has been covered 89 times the world over. It was also their first US hit, where it reached the Top 10. The song was initially unveiled for the first time via live performance while at the 1995 BRIT Awards, and based on the reception of that performance, the record pre-sold more records than expected and forced the record label to bring the release date forward by an unprecedented six weeks. The album was also noted for its cover which was a parody of the famed cover of The Beatles' ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' cover sleeve.

1995–96: The break-up and ''Greatest Hits''

Robbie Williams' drug abuse had escalated to a near drug overdose the night before the group was scheduled to perform at the MTV Europe Music Awards in 1994.

In July 1995, Williams was photographed by the press partying with fellow band Oasis at Glastonbury Festival. This led to the band offering him an ultimatum; where he was to adhere to the bands responsibilities or to leave before their scheduled world tour. Undaunted by the loss of Williams, Take That continued to promote ''Nobody Else'' as a four-piece, scoring a further hit single with Barlow's "Never Forget" and completing the Nobody Else Tour in Late 1995.

On 13 February 1996, Take That formally announced that they were disbanding. This was followed by the ''Greatest Hits'' compilation in 1996, which contained a new recording, a cover of The Bee Gees' "How Deep Is Your Love". The single went on to become what was to be the band's final UK number one until their 2006 comeback a decade later. Take That gave what was thought to be their final performance in April 1996 at Amsterdam. Following the band's announcement, millions of their fans were distraught around the world and in the UK alone, teenage girls threatened suicide and were seen lining streets in tears, to the point that telephone hotlines were set up by the government to deal with counselling them. After the band broke up, highly respected music figures such as Elton John noted that Take That were different to other boybands before and after them, in that they wrote their own material through Gary Barlow, the only boyband member who won an Ivor Novello award during his time in a boyband. Take That had also left a legacy of being immaculate performers with a very high work ethic, causing them to be voted in as the greatest boyband of all time.

2005–06: ''Never Forget'' and ''The Ultimate Tour''

On 14 November 2005, ''Never Forget - The Ultimate Collection'', a new compilation of their hit singles including a new previously unreleased song, also achieved great success and peaked at number 2 on UK charts selling over 2.1 million copies in the UK alone. The new song "Today I've Lost You" (recorded in September 2005) was originally written by Gary Barlow as the follow up to "Back for Good" but was never recorded. On 16 November 2005, the group got back together for the ITV documentary ''Take That: For the Record'', in which they aired their views over their fame, success, the split and what the post-Williams line up had done since. On 25 November 2005, there was an official press conference by the band announcing that the post Robbie Williams line-up were going to tour in 2006. The tour, entitled ''Ultimate Tour'', ran from April to June 2006. The tour featured a guest appearance by British soul singer Beverley Knight, who replaced Lulu's vocals on the song "Relight My Fire"; although Lulu did appear during the stadium shows on "Relight My Fire" and "Never Forget". The American female ensemble Pussycat Dolls supported the group at their Dublin concert, and the Sugababes supported the group on the final five dates of the stadium leg.

2006–08: ''Beautiful World''

On 9 May 2006, Take That returned to the recorded music scene after more than ten years of absence, signing with Polydor Records in a deal reportedly worth £3 million. The band's comeback album, ''Beautiful World'', entered the UK album chart at no. 1 and, as of June 2009, had sold over 2.8 million copies in the UK. It is currently the 35th best selling album in UK music history.

In the album ''Beautiful World'' all four members of the band had the opportunity to sing lead vocals. Unlike the band's earlier works, where the majority of their material was written by Gary Barlow who received a sole credit, all four band members are credited as co-writers, regardless of whether they contributed to the writing process or not. The comeback single, "Patience", was released on 20 November 2006, with a special event launching it on 5 November. On 26 November "Patience" hit number 1 in the UK in its second week of chart entry making it the group's ninth No. 1 and stayed there for 4 weeks. Take That also accompanied eventual winner Leona Lewis in a live version of "A Million Love Songs" in the final of ''The X Factor'' on 16 December 2006.

The week after Take That's comeback album Beautiful World was released it was announced that Take That had become the first artists ever to top the UK official single and album charts along with the download single, download album and DVD charts in the same week, as well as topping the radio charts.

The video for the number 1 hit single "Shine", the follow-up to "Patience", premiered on 25 January 2007 on Channel 4, ahead of its release on 26 February 2007. The band's success continued on 14 February 2007 when Take That performed live at the BRIT Awards ceremony at Earl's Court. Their single "Patience" won the Best British Single category. The third single taken from ''Beautiful World'' was "I'd Wait For Life", released on 18 June 2007 in the UK. The single reached 17 in the UK Singles Chart. This was due to lack of promotion, as the band decided to take a pre-tour break rather than do any promotion for the single.

During 2007, Take That also wrote a song for the motion picture ''Stardust'' titled "Rule the World", which reached number 2 in the UK charts and went on to be the 5th biggest selling single of 2007. Meanwhile, the album ''Beautiful World'' was the fourth biggest-selling album of 2007. It was announced at the start of 2007 that Take That signed a record deal with American label Interscope, and would also release their album in Canada. Starting on 11 October 2007, Take That began their ''Beautiful World Tour 2007'' in Belfast. The tour included 49 shows throughout Europe and the UK and ended in Manchester on 23 December 2007. The band received four nominations at the 2008 BRIT Awards. Nominated for Best British Group, Best British Single ("Shine"), Best British Album (''Beautiful World'') and Best Live Act, they took home the Best Live Act and the Best British Single awards.

2008–09: ''The Circus''

"Greatest Day", the first single from the album ''The Circus'', made its radio premiere on 13 October 2008 and it was released on 24 November. It debuted at Number 1 in the UK Singles Chart on 30 November 2008. An album launch party for ''The Circus'' was held in Paris on the 2 December. Prior to the official release of Take That's upcoming album ''The Circus'' it was revealed that the album had broken all pre-order records and had become the most pre-ordered album of all time. On its first day of release ''The Circus'' sold 133,000 copies, and after four days on sale it sold 306,000 copies (going platinum) making ''The Circus'' the fastest selling album of the year. The album reached number 1 on the UK album charts on 7 December 2008 with total first-week sales of 432,490, the third highest opening sales week in UK history.

On 28 October 2008, on the Radio 1 Chris Moyles show, it was announced that Take That would be touring again in June/July 2009, covering the UK and Ireland. Tickets for the ''Take That Present: The Circus Live'' tour went on sale on 31 October. The promoters, SJM, have said that the band's tour is "the fastest selling in UK history".

On 22 May 2008, Barlow and Donald attended the 2008 Ivor Novello Awards where Take That won the award for Most Performed Work with their single "Shine". Take That won the Sony Ericsson Tour of the Year award at the Vodafone music awards on 18 September 2008. They were unable to attend as they were in LA finishing off ''The Circus''. They did send a video link message, which was shown at the awards. On 22 November 2008, Take That appeared on TV show ''The X Factor'' where the finalists performed some of their greatest hits. The band also performed on Children in Need 2008, singing their new single, "Greatest Day", before donating £250,000 to the charity from their Marks and Spencer fee. The band were also voted the Greatest Boyband of All Time, reflecting their ongoing marketability and success in the pop arena, even after two decades.

The band were nominated for one Brit Award in the category Best Group and performed "Greatest Day" at the 2009 BRIT Awards ceremony.

"Up All Night", the second single from ''The Circus'', was released on 2 March 2009, and peaked at number 14 on the UK Singles Chart, despite heavy airplay. In Germany and Australia, "The Garden" was released as the second single instead. On 7 May 2009, Take That's official website confirmed that the third single from ''The Circus'' would be "Said It All" which was released on 15 June 2009, peaking at number 9 on the UK Singles chart. The video premiered on GMTV on 8 May 2009. It features all four band members dressed up as vintage circus clowns, which tied in with their forthcoming ''Take That Present: The Circus Live'' tour.

Take That started their ''Circus Live'' tour at the Stadium of Light on 5 June 2009 in Sunderland and ended at the Wembley Stadium in London on the 5 July 2009, which over 80,000 people attended. This tour quickly became the fastest-selling of all time, breaking all records by selling all of their 650,000 tickets in less than four and a half hours.

In November 2009 Take That released the official DVD of their ''Circus'' tour, which became the fastest-selling music DVD of all time in the UK on its first day of release and has not left the top 10 since its release. This overtook the previous record sales holder, which was Take That's ''Beautiful World Live'' tour and stayed at the number 1 spot for 8 weeks.

The following week Take That released their first live album, ''The Greatest Day – Take That Present: The Circus Live'', which sold 98,000 copies on its first day of release and was certified Platinum in December 2009. "Hold up a Light" was released as the fifth and final single from ''The Circus'' to radio stations and as a digital download to promote the release of the live album.

2010–present: ''Progress'' and Robbie Williams' return

On 7 June 2010, the news broke of a single called "Shame" which had been written by Barlow and Williams and would feature the vocals of both artists. This was the first time the pair had worked together since 1995 and would appear on the second greatest hits collection of Williams. Heart and I, another track from the same album, was also co-written by Williams and Barlow. The single Shame peaked at number 2 on the UK singles chart while also achieving success throughout Europe.

After working with the band on new material in Los Angeles, on 15 July 2010 Robbie Williams announced he was returning to Take That. After months of working together, assembling new songs for a new album and even debating a band-name change to "The English", a joint statement between Williams and the group read, "The rumours are true... Take That: the original lineup, have written and recorded a new album for release later this year." The statement went on to say, "Following months of speculation Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Jason Orange, Mark Owen and Robbie Williams confirmed they have been recording a new studio album as a five-piece, which they will release in November."

The lead single from Take That's album ''Progress'' was announced as "The Flood" and was released 7 November as a digital download, and on 8 November as a physical copy, with the album released a week later on 15 November. The single peaked at number 2 in the UK Singles Charts and to date has sold over 500,000 copies in the UK alone. The single also achieved success across Europe charting inside the top 10 in ten countries while also charting in another nine countries to date.

On 26 October the band announced that they would be embarking on a huge UK stadium tour entitled Progress Live starting in Sunderland on 27 May, and finishing with a record breaking 8 nights at London's Wembley Stadium in July 2011. Williams will also perform hit singles from his solo career. They will then play at some of the biggest venues across Europe for the second leg of the tour. The phenomenal demand for tickets across the country led to the web sites of all the major UK ticket suppliers either crashing or considerably slowing for hours on end. The demand and sheer volume of fans also created problems for the UK telephone network. Take That's Progress Live has also broken all records for ticket sales selling over 1.1 million tickets in one day smashing the previous box office record set by Take That's Circus tour in 2008.

On the first day of release ''Progress'' became the fastest selling album of the century, with 235,000 copies sold in just one day. The album reached number 1 in the UK, selling around 520,000 copies in its first week, becoming the second fastest-selling album in history. After the release of ''Progress'' it was announced that Take That have become Amazon's top-selling music artist of all time. The album, to date, has retained the number one spot for six consecutive weeks in the UK since its release, selling 2 million copies in the UK alone and becoming the best selling album of 2010 ''Progress'' also achieved success across Europe where it debuted at number one in Ireland, Greece, Germany and Denmark. and the European Top 100 Albums chart. It also debuted inside the top 10 of the charts in Austria, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland.

"Kidz" was announced as the second single from Progress, it was released 21 February 2011 and charted well across Europe. The band performed the song live at the 2011 Brit Awards hosted at the 02 Arena where they won a Brit for Best British Group and were nominated for Best British Album. Their performance of ''Kidz'' was praised by critics which involved a highly choreographed routine featuring dancers dressed in police-styled riot gear bearing the Take That symbol on the uniform and shields.

On 29 April, it was announced that Take That had recorded the official single for the upcoming blockbuster, X-Men: First Class. The song, entitled "Love Love" was released worldwide for digital download on 11 May 2011. It was performed for the first time on 11 May live on ITV for the National Movie Awards 2011.

On 19 May 2011, Take That announced a new EP entitled ''Progressed'' which contained eight tracks that were written by the band since they reunited as a five piece. It was packaged alongside the record breaking album ''Progress'' and returned the band to number 1 in the UK Album Chart the week after it was released on 13 June 2011.

Solo careers

In other media

In April 2006, EMI licensed the band's songs to be used in the musical ''Never Forget'', a musical based on songs of the band from the 1990s. Take That posted and then later removed a statement on their website distancing themselves from it.

Take That wrote and recorded the theme song "Rule the World" for the film ''Stardust'' directed by Matthew Vaughn, which was released in cinemas across the globe in October 2007.

In 2007, their song "Back for Good" was used as part of the soundtrack for popular Korean drama The 1st Shop of Coffee Prince.

Take That presented their own TV show ''Take That Come to Town'', a variety show in which they performed some of their biggest hits. The show also featured comedy sketches with one of Peter Kay's alter egos Geraldine McQueen. It aired on 7 December 2008 on ITV1.

In November 2010 ITV aired ''Take That: Look Back, Don't Stare'', a black and white documentary which focused on the band working together for the first time in 15 years. Through a series of interviews the band look back at their achievements while also looking forward to what the future holds for them. On 18 November 2010 Robbie Williams and Gary Barlow appeared together live for the first time on the "Popstars" program in Germany singing their hit "Shame".

In 2011, Take That's song Love Love was chosen as the theme song for the film X-Men: First Class and later, When We Were Young was chosen as the main theme for The Three Musketeers movie. Both tracks come off the album Progressed

Gary Barlow has been confirmed as a judge on The X Factor starting with the 2011 series.

Awards and nominations

|- | rowspan="7" style="text-align:center;"|2011 | ''Take That'' |Phonographic Performance Limited Award for most played UK artist | |- | ''Kidz'' |Spex German Entertainment for Best Music Video | |- |''The Circus Live Tour'' | Greatest Event ever at Wembley Stadium | |- | ''Take That'' |ECHO Award for Best International Group | |- | ''Take That'' |BRIT Award for Best British Group | |- |''Progress'' | BRIT Award for Mastercard Album of the Year | |- | ''Take That'' |Virgin Media for Best Group | |- | rowspan="5" style="text-align:center;"|2010 |- | ''The Flood'' |iTunes for Best Single | |- |''Progress'' | iTunes for Best Album | |- |''Take That'' |Q Award Hall of Fame | |- |''Take That'' |BRIT Award for Best Live Performance of the past 30 Years | |- | rowspan="4" style="text-align:center;"|2009 |''Take That'' |GQ Men Of The Year Awards for Best Band | |- |''Take That'' |Q Award for Best Live Act | |- |''Greatest Day'' |Q Award for Best Single | |- |''Take That'' |BRIT Award for Best British Group | |- | rowspan="7" style="text-align:center;"|2008 |''Shine'' |Ivor Novello Award for PRS Most Performed Work | |- |''Rule The World'' |Virgin for Best Single | |- |''Take That'' |Sony Ericsson Tour Of The Year Award for Take That Arena Tour | |- |''Shine'' |BRIT Award for Best British Single | |- |''Take That'' |BRIT Award for Best British Live Act | |- |''Beautiful World'' |BRIT Award for Best British Album | |- |''Take That'' |BRIT Award for Best British Group | |- | style="text-align:center;"|2007 |''Patience'' |BRIT Award for Best British Single | |- | style="text-align:center;"|2006 |''Take That'' |Q Idol Award | |- | style="text-align:center;"|1996 |''Back for Good'' |BRIT Award for Best British Single | |- | style="text-align:center;"|1995 |''Take That'' |MTV Europe Music Awards for Best Live Act | |- | rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;"|1994 |''Pray'' |BRIT Award for Best British Single | |- |''Pray'' |BRIT Award for Best British Video | |- |''Take That'' |MTV Europe Music Awards for Best Group | |- | rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;"|1993 |''Could it be Magic'' |BRIT Award for Best British Single | |- |''A Million Love Songs'' |BRIT Award for Best British Single | |- |''It Only Takes a Minute'' |BRIT Award for Best British Single | |}

Live band

Mike Stevens – musical director, keys, guitar, saxophone

Michael "Milton" McDonald – guitar, vocals

Lee Pomeroy – bass guitar, guitar vocals

Karlos Edwards – percussion

Donavan Hepburn – drums

Jamie Norton – keyboard

David Tench – keyboard

Ben Mark – bass guitar

Discography

''Take That and Party'' (1992)

''Everything Changes'' (1993)

''Nobody Else'' (1995)

''Beautiful World'' (2006)

''The Circus'' (2008)

''Progress'' (2010)

''Progressed'' (2011)

References

External links

Category:English dance music groups Category:English pop music groups Category:British boy bands Category:Eurodance groups Category:Musical groups from Manchester Category:Musical groups from Cheshire Category:Musical groups established in 1989 Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1996 Category:Musical groups reestablished in 2005 Category:BRIT Award winners Category:Ivor Novello Award winners

ast:Take That bg:Take That ca:Take That cs:Take That cy:Take That da:Take That de:Take That es:Take That fa:تیک دت fr:Take That is:Take That it:Take That he:טייק דאת ka:Take That lv:Take That lb:Take That hu:Take That mk:Take That arz:تيك ذات ms:Take That mn:Take That my:Take That nl:Take That ja:テイク・ザット no:Take That pl:Take That pt:Take That ro:Take That ru:Take That simple:Take That sk:Take That fi:Take That sv:Take That th:เทกแดต tr:Take That uk:Take That yi:טייק דעט zh:接招

Chew Fu is a New York based electronic record producer, remixer and DJ, born in the Netherlands.

He is best known for his official refixes for pop artists including Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Timbaland, Mariah Carey, Far East Movement and Robyn and his distinctive style of production which features a fusion of electro house and hip hop music.

Instead of using the term remix, Chew Fu coined the term "refix" because his "remixes are like a completely new productions." When DJ-ing Chew Fu only plays his own original productions and refixes.

Chew Fu got his start in the industry working for Diddy and Quincy Jones's record label Qwest. as well as well as utilizing a worldwide network of dance music bloggers.

Chew Fu began "producing hip hop with house music back in 2005, because he wanted to play it in the clubs but no-one was making it." He is also a classically trained jazz musician who holds a Masters Degree in Music.

As a producer, Chew Fu has created original productions with Wiley, Beanie Man, Donna Summer, Kerli and Doug E Fresh, to be included on his debut album slated for release in July 2011.

On where his name came from: "My crew came up with it when I was producing tracks for Bad Boy Records to describe my production process and style. Chew Fu is the sound made during and after I’ve consumed a track and spit out a hot refix."

References

nl:Peter Kardolus

Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Living people Category:American people of Dutch descent Category:American record producers

name	Gary Barlow
background	solo_singer
birth name	Gary Barlow
born	January 20, 1971Frodsham, Cheshire, England
instrument	Vocals, piano, keyboards
occupation	Singer-songwriter, pianist, record producer
genre	Pop
years active	1988–present
label	Sony Music, Polydor,San Remo, Future Records
website
associated acts	Take That }}

Gary Barlow (born 20 January 1971) is an English singer-songwriter, pianist and record producer. He is the lead vocalist of British pop group Take That and is the head judge on The X Factor. Barlow is one of Britain's most successful songwriters. He has had two Number 1 singles and a Number 1 album as a solo artist, and has had sixteen top 5 hits, eleven Number 1 singles and seven Number 1 albums with Take That. He is a five-time recipient of the Ivor Novello Award and was voted the greatest British songwriter of all time in a national 2009 poll organised by OnePoll.

Life and career

1971–1989: Early career

Gary "Barlow" formed his stage name by condensing the name of his musical hero Barry Manilow. 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."

He said he enjoyed watching ''Top of the Pops'' on television, and when he was ten years old, he watched an episode of the programme in which Depeche Mode were performing their new single "Just Can't Get Enough". Barlow was mesmerised by the sound and decided he wanted a keyboard for Christmas. For the next few years, he spent most of his spare time teaching himself to play his favourite songs.

In 1986 Barlow entered a BBC Pebble Mill at One competition called ''A Song For Christmas'' with a song called "Let's Pray For Christmas". After getting through to 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 Cub in the late eighties and he was paid £18 per performance on Saturday evenings.

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 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.

1990–2011: Take That

Barlow, who wrote the majority of the group's songs, is generally recognised as the musical talent behind Take That. After choosing 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. Barlow received an Ivor Novello Award for Best Contemporary Song in 1994 for the number 1 hit song "Pray" included on the album. 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 and was brought forward an unprecedented 6 weeks before its official release such was the demand for the single. 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. 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.

1996–2000: Solo Career

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" 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. 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 and a number 8 in the Netherlands with "Are You Ready Now".

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. 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. ''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". This resulted in both Barlow and BMG parting company. To date Barlow has sold 4 million records worldwide as a solo artist.

2005–present: Reformation of Take That

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 whilst 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. 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 2.7 million copies in the UK alone to date. 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. ''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. 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.

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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

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. On 21 November 2010, ''Progress'' debuted at number one in the United Kingdom, becoming the band's seventh number-one album. 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. To date ''Progress'' has sold 2.8 million copies in the UK and has achieved similar chart success 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.

Other Projects

Songwriting and 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 USA on a 6 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 songs for other artists such as Shirley Bassey, Charlotte Church and Will Young.

In October 2007, Barlow founded San Remo Live Publishings as an independently run management company to establish and support artists and songwriters.

Gary Barlow has recently signed a new 5 year song writing publishing deal with Sony music. He has also been voted as the greatest British songwriter of all time, ahead of Paul McCartney and John Lennon of The Beatles.

Future Records

In 2009 Barlow began work on his own record label Future Records, under the umbrella of Universal Music, and signed his first artist, classical singer Camilla Kerslake. Since then Barlow has also signed UK rapper Aggro Santos to his label and the winner of Sky 1s Must Be The Music, Emma's Imagination.

The X Factor

It was announced on 7 May 2011 that Gary Barlow was in advanced talks to replace Simon Cowell as a judge on ''The X Factor''. He was officially confirmed as a judge on 30 May alongside the returning Louis Walsh, Kelly Rowland of Destinys Child and N-Dubz' Tulisa Contostavlos.

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.

Charity work

Gary 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 Sunday 7 March 2009, raising millions for Comic Relief.

Gary'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 Gary, the pop star has also shown support for fellow artists' charity efforts including that of Ronan Keating. The pair belted out Take That's Back for Good written by Barlow at Ronan's Emerald and Ivy Ball 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). Gary 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 Gary 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.

To celebrate his 10th wedding anniversary Gary invited family and many friends to a special event in London. It was a rare event that Gary allowed a popular magazine to photograph the event. A highlight was a special Bingo session hosted by Gary. 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. The campaign has been mentioned and endorsed by many celebrities, including Chris Moyles of Radio 1.

At the beginning of May 2010, it was announced that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II had asked Gary Barlow to organise her 85th 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".

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.

Gary 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 across the world as well as becoming a top ten hit in America.

It was announced in December that Gary Barlow would be organising a special show, named GB40, at Shepherd's Bush Empire to celebrate his 40th birthday. This event will see 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 will go to charity.

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

Personal life

Barlow's first love was actress Nicky Ladanowski also from Frodsham in Cheshire. Their four year relationship ended when Nicky Moved to London to attend drama school. Gary married Dawn in 2000, who was a dancer on their 1995 Nobody Else Tour. They have three children, Daniel (born 2000), Emily (born 2002) and Daisy (born 2009). Barlow is a popular believer in the law of attraction and credits this theory of thought with much of his success. 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. 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."

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

During the 2010 General Election 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.

Discography

Songs written by Barlow

Awards and nominations

|- | rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;"|2011 |''Shame'' |Q Award for Best Collaboration | |- |''Shame'' |Virgin Media for Music Video | |- |''Shame'' |Virgin Media for Best Collaboration | |- | style="text-align:center;"|2010 |''Gary Barlow'' |Blue Peter Gold Badge | |- | style="text-align:center;"|2009 |''Gary Barlow'' |The Sun Newspaper's Lord of the Year | |- | style="text-align:center;"|2008 |''Shine'' |Ivor Novello Award for most Performed Song | |- | style="text-align:center;"|2007 |''Gary Barlow'' |GQ Awards for Man of the Year | |- | rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;"|1998 |''Gary Barlow'' |BRIT Award for Best British Male | |- |''Open Road'' | The London Awards for Best Album | |- |''Love Won't Wait'' |Top of the Pops for Best Single | |- | rowspan="4" style="text-align:center;"|1997 |''Forever Love'' |FMQ Awards [Finland] for Best Single | |- |''Forever Love'' |TMF Awards [Netherlands] for Best Single | |- |''Open Road'' |GQ Awards for Best Album | |- |''Forever Love'' |Echo Awards for Best Single | |- | style="text-align:center;"|1996 |''Never Forget'' |Ivor Novello Award | |- | style="text-align:center;"|1995 |''Back for Good'' |Ivor Novello Award for the Song of the year | |- | style="text-align:center;"|1994 |''Pray'' |Ivor Novello Award for Best Contemporary Song | |- | style="text-align:center;"|1993 |''Gary Barlow'' |Ivor Novello Award for Songwriter of The Year Award 1993 | |}

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

External links

BT Red Nose Climb Gary Barlow and celebrity friends set out to climb Mount Kilimanjaro for Comic Relief

X Factor 2011 UK community

Category:1971 births Category:Living people Category:English male singers Category:English singer-songwriters Category:English keyboardists Category:Ivor Novello Award winners Category:People from Frodsham Category:Musical groups from Cheshire Category:Take That members Category:The X Factor (UK) Category:The X Factor judges

da:Gary Barlow de:Gary Barlow es:Gary Barlow fr:Gary Barlow it:Gary Barlow ka:გერი ბარლოუ arz:جارى بارلو my:ဂယ်ရီ ဘားလိုး nl:Gary Barlow ja:ゲイリー・バーロウ pl:Gary Barlow pt:Gary Barlow fi:Gary Barlow sv:Gary Barlow th:แกรี บาร์โลว์ tr:Gary Barlow

Name	Mark Owen
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Mark Anthony Owen
Born	January 27, 1972Oldham, Lancashire, England
Instrument	Vocals, keyboards, guitar, bass guitar, piano, mellotron, koto, percussion
Occupation	Singer-songwriter
Genre	Pop, pop rock, rock, soft rock
Years active	1989–present
Label	Sony BMG (1990–97)Island (2002–03)Sedna (2004–present)MCA/Polydor (2005–present)
Associated acts	Take That, Gary Barlow, Robbie Williams
Website	}}

Mark Anthony Patrick Owen, is an English singer-songwriter. He is a member of pop band Take That. The band were hugely successful during the 1990s and have enjoyed even more success since their reunion in 2005. As a solo artist, Mark Owen had sold over 400,000 records worldwide and 40 million with Take That.

Take That (1990–1996, 2005–present)

Take That formed in 1990 and during his time with the group, Owen sang lead vocals on "Babe", which was released in December 1993 from the ''Everything Changes'' album. It reached number one in the UK, but was knocked off the top spot at Christmas by Mr Blobby. He also sang lead vocals on "The Day After Tomorrow" from the ''Nobody Else'' album, and that concludes Owen's vocal contributions to the band the first time around. Despite this, Owen was the most popular member of the group, on account of his boyish good looks and sweet demeanour, regularly earning awards such as Smash Hit's "Most Fanciable Male in the World" and "Best Haircut".

Solo career

After Take That split, Owen became the third of the band's ex-members to release a solo record. He reached number three in the UK Singles Chart with his debut single, "Child". His second single, "Clementine", also went to number three. In 2006, he became engaged to actress Emma Ferguson, with whom he had been in a relationship since 2004. On 8 November 2009, the pair married in Cawdor Church, Scotland. They have a son, Elwood Jack, born in 2006 and a daughter, Willow Rose, born in 2008. In March 2010 Owen said he had an affair from late 2004 until September 2009. Days later, he checked into a private clinic for rehabilitation related to his drinking.

Discography

Albums

1996: ''Green Man''

2003: ''In Your Own Time''

2005: ''How the Mighty Fall''

Singles

Year	Title	Chart positions	Album
		UK Singles Chart>UK
1996			style="text-align:center;" rowspan="3"
"Alone Without You"
2004	"Makin' Out"
	"Believe In The Boogie"

References

External links

Official website

Category:1972 births Category:Living people Category:Big Brother winners Category:Celebrity Big Brother UK contestants Category:Chadderton F.C. players Category:English footballers Category:English male singers Category:English songwriters Category:Ivor Novello Award winners Category:Music from Oldham Category:Musicians from Manchester Category:People from Oldham Category:Take That members

da:Mark Owen de:Mark Owen es:Mark Owen fr:Mark Owen it:Mark Owen ka:მარკ ოუენი hu:Mark Owen nl:Mark Owen arz:مارك اوين ja:マーク・オーエン pl:Mark Owen pt:Mark Owen fi:Mark Owen sv:Mark Owen tr:Mark Owen