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Home rule is the power of a constituent part (administrative division) of a state to exercise such of the state's powers of governance within its own administrative area that have been devolved to it by the central government.

In the United Kingdom, it has traditionally referred to self-government, or devolution or independence, of constituent nations (namely Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland), and at one point Ireland. In the United States and other countries organized as federations of states, the term usually refers to the process and mechanisms of self-government as exercised by municipalities, counties, or other units of local government at the level below that of a federal state (e.g., U.S. state, in which context see special legislation). It can also refer to the similar system under which Greenland and the Faroe Islands are associated with Denmark.

During the British Empire, there were vigorous demands for home rule by activists in India.

Home rule is not, however, comparable with federalism. Whereas states in a federal system of government (e.g., Canada, Federal Republic of Germany, Switzerland, Brazil and the United States of America) have a guaranteed constitutional existence, a devolved home rule system of government is created by ordinary legislation and can be reformed, or even abolished, by repeal or amendment of that ordinary legislation.

A state legislature may, for example, create home rule for a county or parish (or its townships), so that a county commission or board of supervisors may have jurisdiction over its unincorporated areas, including important issues like zoning. (Without this, a U.S. county is simply an extension of state government.) The legislature can also establish or eliminate municipal corporations, which have home rule within town or city limits through the city council. The state government could also abolish counties/townships, or their governments, according to the state constitution and state laws.

Irish home rule[link]

The issue of Irish home rule was the dominant political question of British and Irish politics at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries.

From the late nineteenth century, Irish leaders of the Home Rule League, the predecessor of the Irish Parliamentary Party, under Isaac Butt, William Shaw, and Charles Stewart Parnell demanded a form of home rule, with the creation of an Irish parliament within the British government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. This demand led to the eventual introduction of four Home Rule Bills, of which two were passed, the Third Home Rule Act won by John Redmond and most notably the Government of Ireland Act 1920 (which created the home rule parliaments of Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland -- the latter state did not in reality function and was replaced by the Irish Free State), which was enacted.

The home rule demands of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century differed from earlier demands for Repeal by Daniel O'Connell in the first half of the nineteenth century. Whereas home rule meant a constitutional movement towards a national All-Ireland parliament in part under Westminster, repeal meant the repeal of the 1801 Act of Union (if need be, by physical force) and the creation of an entirely independent Irish state, separated from the United Kingdom, with only a shared monarch joining them both.

• 1886: First Irish Home Rule Bill was defeated in the House of Commons.
• 1893: Second Irish Home Rule Bill passed by the House of Commons, vetoed in the House of Lords.
• 1914: Third Irish Home Rule Bill passed to the statute books, temporarily suspended by intervention of World War I (1914–1918), finally following the Easter Rising in Dublin (1916).
• 1920: Fourth Irish Home Rule Act (Government of Ireland Act 1920) fully implemented in Northern Ireland and partially implemented in Southern Ireland.

Indian home rule[link]

Several nationalist leaders banded together in 1916 under the leadership of Annie Besant to voice a demand for self-government, and to obtain the status of a Dominion within the British Empire as enjoyed by Australia, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand and Newfoundland at the time.

While enjoying considerable popularity for some years, its growth and activity were stalled by the rise of Mohandas Gandhi and his Satyagraha art of revolution: non-violent, but mass-based civil disobedience, aimed at complete independence.

Scottish Home Rule[link]

In a similar fashion to Ireland, supporters of Home Rule in Scotland have historically desired greater levels of devolved governance within the United Kingdom. Although the term Home Rule has been largely superseded by 'devolution', the Home Rule movement can be seen as the forerunner to the creation of the current devolved Scottish Parliament.

Administrative devolution was granted to Scotland, with the creation of the Scottish Office, in the late 19th century. In the mid-20th century, the Home Rule movement became significant, campaigning for a Scottish Assembly. Between 1947 and 1950, the Scottish Covenant, a petition requesting a Scottish legislature within the UK, received over two million signatures. It was not until 1979 that devolution entered the political sphere - the Scottish devolution referendum, 1979 was held, failing to meet the required threshold. In 1999, due to the success of a second referendum, the Scottish Parliament was created.

United States[link]

Home rule within the 50 states[link]

In the United States, some states constitutionally or legislatively grant home rule to cities, counties, and municipalities within their borders. These are called "home rule states." Local governments in home rule states are free to pass laws and ordinances as they see fit to further their operations, within the bounds of the state and federal constitutions. In other states, local governments have only the authority expressly granted to them by state legislatures, typically in accordance with the legal principle known as Dillon's Rule.

District of Columbia home rule[link]

The U.S. Constitution gives jurisdiction over the capital city (District of Columbia or Washington, D.C.) to the United States Congress in "all cases whatsoever". This arrangement is due to the fact that the District is neither a state, nor part of a state. At certain times, and presently since 1973, Congress has provided for D.C. government to be carried out primarily by locally elected officials. However, Congressional oversight of this local government still exists, and locally elected officials' powers could theoretically be revoked at any time.

Greenland home rule[link]

Greenland is a self-governing Danish province. Home rule was granted by Danish parliament in 1979. Denmark's monarch is Greenland's head of state. Greenland is not part of the European Union, even though Denmark is.

See also[link]

• Devolution, the practice of a national power granting specific powers to a region, state, or province
• Municipal home rule, the legal ability in most American states where voters can adopt a home rule charter granting the municipal government greater local control
• Home Rule Cities Act (Michigan), an example of Municipal Home Rule

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2008)

A ranch style single family home

Plans for a human home, by catalog

Many wetlands are home to birds such as these Northern Shoveler ducks.

A home is a place of residence or refuge.^[1] When it refers to a building, it is usually a place in which an individual or a family can live and store personal property. Most modern-day households contain sanitary facilities and a means of preparing food. Animals have their own homes as well, either living in the wild or shared with humans in a domesticated environment. "Home" is also used to refer to the geographical area (whether it be a suburb, town, city or country) in which a person grew up or feels they belong, or it can refer to the native habitat of a wild animal. Sometimes, as an alternative to the definition of "home" as a physical locale ("Home is where you hang your hat"), home may be perceived to have no physical location, instead, home may relate instead to a mental or emotional state of refuge or comfort. Popular sayings along these lines are "Home is where the heart is" or "You can never go home again".

There are cultures in which member lack a permanent home, such as nomadic peoples.

Terminology[link]

A houseboat on Lake Union in Seattle, Washington

Makeshift homes in Los Angeles

The word "home" can be used for various types of residential community institutions in which people can live, such as nursing, retirement homes for seniors, prisons for criminals, treatment facilities, etc., and foster homes. A home is generally a place that is close to the heart of the owner, and can become a prized possession.

In computer terminology, a 'home' may refer to a starting view that branches off into other tasks, e.g. a homepage or a desktop. In a full screen editor, home is often used to mean the top-leftmost character cell, or the leftmost cell on a line in a line editor. These are the initial ones used by left-to-right languages. A standard 101-key PC keyboard contains a Home key. Many home pages on the with introductory information, recent news or events, and links to subpages. "Home" may also refer to a home directory which contains the personal files of a given user of the computer system.

Psychological impact[link]

Since it can be said that humans are generally creatures of habit, the state of a person's home has been known to physiologically influence their behavior, emotions, and overall mental health.^{[citation needed]} The loss of a home (due to whatever reason, be it through accident or natural disaster, repossession, or in the case of children simply the decision to move on the part of the parents) can be a valid cause of relocation.

Some people may become homesick when they leave their home over an extended period of time. Sometimes homesickness can cause a person to feel actual symptoms of illness.

It has been argued that psychologically "The strongest sense of home commonly coincides geographically with a dwelling. Usually the sense of home attenuates as one moves away from that point, but it does not do so in a fixed or regular way."^[2] Furthermore, places like homes can trigger self-reflection, thoughts about who someone is or used to be or who they might become. These types of reflections also occur in places where there is a collective historical identity, such as Gettysburg or Ground Zero.^[3]

Gallery[link]

• 

  Two-story house with balconies, Texas (Harry Walker, photographer, 1900-1949)

See also[link]

References[link]

Look up home in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Home

Look up rule or ruling in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Rule and ruling usually refers to standards for activities. They may refer to:

Human activity[link]

• Business rule, a rule pertaining to the structure or behavior internal to a business
• School rule, rules part of school discipline
• Sport rule, rule that defines how a sport is played
• Game rule, rule that defines how a game is played
• Moral, a rule or element of a moral code for guiding choices in human behavior
• Norm (philosophy), a kind of sentence or a reason to act, feel or believe
• Rule of thumb, a principle with broad application that is not intended to be strictly accurate or reliable for every situation
• Unspoken rule, an assumed rule of human behavior that is not voiced or written down

Science[link]

• Norm (sociology), a term in sociology describing explicit or implicit rules used within society or by a group (i.e. social norms)
• Rule of inference or transformation rule, a term in logic for a function which takes premises and returns a conclusion
• "Rule X" elementary cellular automaton, where X is a number between 0-255 characterizing a specific model (e.g. Rule 110)
• Ruler, or "rule"; a distance measuring device

Law and government[link]

• Law, which may informally be called a "rule"
• Government
• Rule of law, government that consists of rule not by one person but by laws, as in a democratic republic; no one person can rule and even top government officials are under and ruled by the law. In addition to this, in such a government, laws cannot be enacted which would undermine the rule of law via the setup of separate frameworks of rules for separate subsets of the population.
• Ruler, a monarch, the person who rules a country
• Procedural law, a ruleset governing the application of laws to cases
• Court order, a decision by a court
• Military rule, governance by a military body
• Monastic rule, a collection of precepts that guides the life of monks or nuns in a religious order
• In rulemaking by the federal government of the United States, a regulation mandated by congress, but written or expanded upon by the executive branch

Books[link]

• The Rules, a bestselling self-help book

Entertainment[link]

• Ja Rule, a hip hop artist
  • R.U.L.E., a 2005 greatest hits album by Ja Rule
• Rule (song), a song by rapper Nas
• "Rule/Sparkle", a song by Ayumi Hamasaki
• Rules (album), an album by the band The Whitest Boy Alive
• "Rules" (song), a KMFDM song
• "Rules", a Shakira song included on her album Laundry Service
• Rules: Pyaar Ka Superhit Formula, a 2003 Bollywood film
• The Rule, an American pop/R&B band
  • The Rule (album), self-titled album by The Rule

Surname[link]

• Albert Leroy Rule, World War I documentary film producer & director
• Ann Rule (b.1935), American true crime writer.
• Bert L. Rule (1891–1878), Tin Pan Alley composer & arranger
• Bob Rule (b.1944), American basketball player
• Christopher Rule (1895-1983), American comic book artist
• Elton Rule (1916—1990), American television executive
• Gilbert Rule (c.1629-1701), Principal of Edinburgh University
• Glenn Rule (b.1989, Birkenhead ), English soccer player
• Ja Rule (b.1976), American rapper, singer and actor
• Jack Rule, Jr. (b.1938), American professional golfer
• Jane Rule (1931–2007), Canadian writer
• Janice Rule (1931–2003), American actress
• Margaret Rule (b.1928), English underwater archaeologist
• Stan Rule (b.1924), Australian rules footballer
• Stephen Rule (b.1952), English Rugby Union and Rugby League player and coach
• Wendy Rule, Australian musical artist
• William Rule (American editor) (1839–1928), American newspaper editor and politician

Other uses[link]

• Rule (horse), American racehorse
• Rule, Texas, a town in Texas, United States
• Rules (restaurant), London's oldest restaurant

See also[link]

• All Wikipedia pages beginning with Rule of
• All Wikipedia pages beginning with Rules of
• All Wikipedia pages beginning with Rules for

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Gary Barlow
Barlow performing with Take That, 2009.
Background information
Birth name	Gary Barlow
Born	(1971-01-20) 20 January 1971 (age 41) Frodsham, Cheshire, England
Genres	Pop, pop rock, soft rock
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, performer, record producer, record programmer, pianist
Instruments	Vocals, piano, keyboards
Years active	1988–present
Labels	Sony, Polydor, Future, San Remo[1]
Associated acts	Take That
Website	www.garybarlow.com

Gary Barlow (born 20 January 1971) is an English singer-songwriter, pianist and record producer. He is frontman and lead vocalist of pop group Take That and the head judge^[2][3][4] on the The X Factor.^[5][6][7] 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.^[8][9] He is also a six-time recipient of the Ivor Novello Award and has sold over 45 million records worldwide with Take That.^[10][11]

History[link]

1970–89: Early life and career[link]

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.^[12]

In 1986 Barlow entered a BBC Pebble Mill at One Christmas song competition with "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 Club in the late eighties and he was paid £18 per performance on Saturday evenings.^[12][13]

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.

1990–1996: Take That[link]

Barlow, who wrote the majority of the group's songs, is generally recognised as the musical talent behind Take That.^[14][15] 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.^[16] Barlow received an Ivor Novello Award for Best Contemporary Song in 1994 for the number 1 hit song "Pray" included on the album.^[17] 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^[18] and was brought forward an unprecedented 6 weeks before its official release such was the demand for the single.^[19] 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[link]

[edit] 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.^[20] 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^[21] and a number 8 in the Netherlands with "Are You Ready Now".^[21]

[edit] 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.^[21] 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.^[21] 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".^[22] This resulted in both Barlow and BMG parting company. To date Barlow has sold 4 million records worldwide as a solo artist.

2010-present[link]

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. Gary 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.^[23]

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.^[24] The single peaked at number 2 in the UK, being certified as Silver by the BPI, whilst also charting in 19 countries worldwide.^[25]

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.^[26] The concert received praise from critics^[27] as Barlow was joined by guest appearances from Chris Martin, Ellie Goulding, Midge Ure and his bandmates from Take That, whilst 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.^[28] Barlow's performance was praised by critics as he returned to Hyde Park as a solo artist for the first time since 1999.^[29]

On October 24, 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^[30] and were praised by fans and the media alike with Barlow playing the biggest hits from his 20 year career.^[31][32]

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.^[33] 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.^[34]

In April 2012, Gary 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.

2006-present: Reformation of Take That[link]

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.^[35] 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.^[36] 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.^[37] 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.^[25][38] 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.^[39]

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.^[40] 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.^[41] 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.^[42] 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.^[43][44] 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.^[45]

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.^[46][47] On 21 November 2010, Progress debuted at number one in the United Kingdom, becoming the band's seventh number-one album.^[8] 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.^[48] To date Progress has sold 2.8 million copies in the UK^[49] 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^[50] and the new musical direction they have taken.^[51]

Other projects[link]

Songwriting and publishing[link]

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 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.^[52]

Gary Barlow has recently signed a new 5 year song writing publishing deal with Sony music.^[53] He has been voted as the greatest British songwriter of all time in a 2009 OnePoll, who surveyed 3000 people^[54][55] John Lennon was second and Paul McCartney of The Beatles was third.^[54]

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."^[56] He has also written for the likes of Robbie Williams, Westlife, Lily Allen, Blue and Dame Shirley Bassey and many more.

Future Records[link]

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.^[57] Since then Barlow has also signed UK rapper Aggro Santos to his label^[58] and the winner of Sky 1s Must Be The Music, Emma's Imagination.

[edit] 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.^[5][6][7] 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.^[59][60] 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 head judge on the X Factor in 2011, ITV producers opened talked with Barlow to return for a second series as head judge. 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 £1.5million salary from last year to ensure that he returns to the panel. On 17th of April 2012 it was announced that Gary Barlow will return to The X Factor for a second year, he was the first judge to be announced to be returning.^[61]

Outside music[link]

Acting career[link]

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.^[62]

Social media[link]

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 265,000 people.^[63] Within two months of joining Twitter, Barlow reached over 1 million followers.^[64]

Charity work[link]

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 7 March 2009, raising millions for Comic Relief.^[65]

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 sang Take That's Back for Good written by Barlow at Ronan's Emerald and Ivy Ball^[66] 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.^[67]

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.^[68][69] The campaign has been mentioned and endorsed by many celebrities, including Chris Moyles of Radio 1.

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.^[70]

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 in 31 countries across the world as well as becoming a top ten hit in America.^[71]

In January 2011 Gary 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.^[72]

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.^[73]

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.^[74] The concert was received positively by the media, with them praising the involvement of Gary Barlow in the Children in Need project.^[75][76]

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'.^[77] The CIN Rocks concert, single and gala contributed to £26 million raised for Children In Need that year.^[78]

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.^[79]

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."^[80]

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".^[81][82] This was confirmed on February 2012 with Gary Barlow being named as the lead organiser and producer of a concert that will take place outside of Buckingham Palace and featuring globally recognised superstar artists.^{[83][84][85][86]} 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."^[84]

Personal life[link]

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). On 19 February 2012, Barlow announced that he and his wife Dawn were expecting their 4th child.^[87] Later, he revealed that the child would be the couple's third girl. ^[88] 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.^[89] 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."^[90]

Barlow's father Colin died aged 71 on 15 October 2009.^[91] The singer rushed back to his parents' home in Frodsham, Cheshire, and cancelled an engagement to launch his celebrity-packed Children in Need show,^[92] whilst also postponing the launch of the Take That edition of Singstar.

During the 2010 General Election campaign, when the 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.^[93]

Discography[link]

Songs written by Barlow[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

Books[link]

• 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[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• BT Red Nose Climb Gary Barlow and celebrity friends set out to climb Mount Kilimanjaro for Comic Relief
• X Factor 2011 UK community

Michael Bublé
Bublé in February 2011
Background information
Birth name	Michael Steven Bublé
Born	(1975-09-09) 9 September 1975 (age 36) Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada[1]
Genres	Big band, traditional pop, jazz
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, actor
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1996–present
Labels	143/Reprise
Associated acts	Naturally 7, Jann Arden, Laura Pausini, Boyz II Men, Chris Botti, Leon Jackson, Nelly Furtado
Website	michaelbuble.com

Michael Steven Bublé ( /ˈbuːbleɪ/; born 9 September 1975) is an Italian Canadian singer and actor. He has won several awards, including three Grammy Awards^[2][3] and multiple Juno Awards.^[4] His first album reached the top ten in Canada and the UK. He found a worldwide audience with his 2005 album It's Time, and his 2007 album Call Me Irresponsible which reached number one on the Canadian Albums Chart, the U.K. Albums Chart, the U.S. Billboard 200 albums chart, the Australian ARIA Albums Chart and several European charts. Bublé has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide.^[5]

Early life[link]

Michael Bublé was born in the City of Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada to Lewis Bublé, a salmon fisherman,^[6] and Amber (née Santagà).^[7][8] He has two younger sisters,^[9] Crystal (an actress) and Brandee.^[10] He attended Seaforth Elementary School and Cariboo Hill Secondary School.^[11] According to an Oprah interview on 9 October 2009, Bublé dreamed of becoming a famous singer since age two. When he was a teenager, he slept with his Bible and prayed to become a singer.^[12][13] Bublé's interest in jazz music began around age five^[14] when his family played Bing Crosby's White Christmas album at Christmas time.^[14][15][16] The first time that his family noticed his singing talent was at Christmas time when Bublé was 13 years old, and they heard him powerfully sing the phrase "May your days be merry and bright" when the family was singing to the song "White Christmas" in a car ride.^[12][17]

Bublé had a strong passion for ice hockey and wanted to become a professional ice hockey player for the Vancouver Canucks growing up, but believed he was not good at it,^[18] stating: "I wanted so bad to be a hockey player... If I was any good at hockey, I probably wouldn't be singing right now."^[19] Bublé often played hockey in his youth,^[20][21] watched Vancouver Canucks games with his father,^[22] and said that he "went to every single home game as a kid. . . I remember I wanted to be Gary Lupul, I wanted to be Patrik Sundstrom and Ivan Hlinka. I used to think that being named Michael Bublé was pretty cool because I was close to being called Jiri Bubla."^[20] Bublé also shared his hockey interest with his grandfather.^[23]

From age 14, Bublé spent six years working during the summer as a commercial fisherman with his father and crewmates.^[6][24] Bublé described his work experience as "The most deadly physical work I’ll ever know in my lifetime. We’d be gone for two, sometimes three months at a time and the experience of living and working among guys over twice my age taught me a lot about responsibility and what it means to be a man."^[9]

His first singing engagements were in nightclubs at the age of 16 and were facilitated by his Italian grandfather Demetrio Santagà,^[7] a plumber originally from the small town of Preganziol,^[25] in the district of Treviso, who offered his plumbing services in exchange for stage time for his grandson.^[9] Bublé's grandfather also paid for his singing lessons. One of his vocal instructors was Joseph Shore, the opera baritone.^[17] Bublé grew up listening to his grandfather's collection of jazz records and credits his grandfather in encouraging his love for jazz music. "My grandfather was really my best friend growing up. He was the one who opened me up to a whole world of music that seemed to have been passed over by my generation. Although I like rock 'n' roll and modern music, the first time my granddad played me the Mills Brothers, something magical happened. The lyrics were so romantic, so real, the way a song should be for me. It was like seeing my future flash before me. I wanted to be a singer and I knew that this was the music that I wanted to sing."^[26] Bublé never stopped believing that he would become a star but admitted he was probably the only one who believed in his dream, stating that even his maternal grandfather thought Bublé was going to be "an opening act for somebody in Las Vegas".^[27] Bublé's maternal grandmother Iolanda Moscone^[28][29] was also Italian, from Carrufo,^[28] Villa Santa Lucia degli Abruzzi, Italy.^[30] Bublé has stated he never learned to read and write music, using only emotion to drive his songwriting ability.^[18][31][32]

At the age of 18, Bublé entered a local talent contest and won. But after winning, he was disqualified by organizer Bev Delich because he was underage. After that, Delich entered Bublé in the Canadian Youth Talent Search, which he won. Following that win, Bublé asked Delich to be his manager. Delich signed on and represented Bublé for the next seven not-so-fruitful years. According to Delich, Bublé would do every gig imaginable, including talent shows, conventions, cruise ships, malls, hotel lounges, bars, clubs, corporate gigs, musical revues, singing telegrams, and even the occasional singing Santa Claus gig.^{[17][24][33][34]}

In 1996, Bublé appeared in TV's "Death Game" (aka Mortal Challenge) as a Drome Groupie. Also in 1996, he appeared (uncredited) in 2 episodes of The X-Files as a Submarine Sailor.^[35]

Bublé's first national TV performance was on a 1997 award-winning Bravo! documentary titled Big Band Boom!, directed by Mark Glover Masterson.

Beginning in 1997, Bublé also became a frequent guest on Vicki Gabereau's national talk show on the CTV network. During its first season the Vancouver-based program aired live, which ultimately worked in Bublé's favour. When a scheduled guest was forced to cancel, the show's music producer (Mark Fuller) often asked Bublé to fill in at the last minute. On one occasion, Bublé shared guest duties with fellow British Columbian Diana Krall, who was already a Grammy-nominated jazz musician. According to Fuller, Krall was suitably impressed with Bublé's performance. The Gabereau appearances provided Bublé with great exposure, but they also helped the singer hone his television skills as a performer and as an interview guest. In a mutual show of gratitude, Bublé appeared on the final Gabereau show in 2005, along with Jann Arden and Elvis Costello.

Bublé received two Genie Award-nominations in 2000 for two songs he wrote for the film Here's to Life! ("I've Never Been in Love Before", "Dumb ol' Heart").^[36] He recorded three independent albums (First Dance, 1996; Babalu, 2001; Dream, 2002).^[37] But by 25 years of age, Bublé moved from British Columbia to Toronto, Ontario and was ready to give up the dream of professional musicianship to move back to Vancouver, British Columbia to pursue a career in journalism, when his lucky break came in 2000.^[17][38]