Gary Barlow

Gary Barlow OBE (born 20 January 1971) is an English songwriter, singer, record producer, and television personality. He is the lead singer of the pop group Take That. Barlow is one of the United Kingdom's most successful songwriters, having written thirteen number-one singles (ten with Take That, two solo, one with the Robbie Williams song "Candy") and twenty-four top-ten hits. As a solo artist, he has had three number-one singles, six top-ten singles and three number-one albums, and has additionally had seventeen top-five hits, twelve number-one singles and eight number-one albums with Take That. Barlow has also established himself as a talent show judge and television personality. He has judged on The X Factor UK (2011–2013), as well as Let It Shine (2017) and Walk the Line (2021). Barlow has received six Ivor Novello Awards from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors, including the award for Outstanding Services to British Music. He has sold over 50 million records worldwide. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) at the 2012 Queen's Birthday Honours for his services to the entertainment industry and charity. According to the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), Barlow as a solo artist has been certified for 1.1 million albums and 1.8 million singles in the UK. Gary Barlow was born on 20 January 1971 in Frodsham, Cheshire, the second son of Colin (died 15 October 2009) and Marjorie Barlow (née Cowan). He attended Weaver Vale Primary School and moved on to Frodsham High School in 1982. In Barlow's autobiography, he relates that his love of music began at an early age, and calls himself "one of those kids that's forever dancing in front of the TV looking at [his] reflection". He was heavily influenced by late 1970s and 1980s pop music. At age 10, after watching Depeche Mode perform on Top of the Pops, Barlow acquired his first keyboard; he practiced constantly thereafter. Barlow has also identified Trevor Horn, and future collaborators Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), as important early influences. He has credited Elton John with inspiring him to play the piano. The first CD he bought was by the Pet Shop Boys, who later supported Take That on the Progress Live tour in 2011. In 1986, when Barlow was 15 years old, he entered a BBC Pebble Mill at One Christmas song competition with "Let's Pray for Christmas". After reaching the semi-finals, he was invited to London's West Heath Studios to record his song. This inspired him to perform on the northern club circuit, singing cover versions and his own songs. Barlow's first performance was in Wales, at the Connah's Quay Labour Club in the late 1980s, and he was paid £18 per performance on Saturday evenings where he performed songs such as Michael Jackson's "The Way You Make Me Feel" and "The Power of Love" by Frankie Goes To Hollywood. ... Source: Article "Gary Barlow" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Gary Barlow, né le 20 janvier 1971 à Frodsham, dans le Cheshire en Angleterre, est un chanteur compositeur et membre du groupe pop Take That. En octobre 2006, il a sorti sa biographie intitulée My Take. Depuis 2011, il est également membre du jury de l'émission britannique télé-crochet The X Factor. Il est fait officier de l'ordre de l'Empire britannique le 16 juin 2012, pour services rendus à l'industrie du divertissement et aux associations caritatives. Gary est né le 20 janvier 1971 à Frodsham dans la province du Cheshire en Grande-Bretagne. Il alla à l’école Weaver Vale, puis au lycée de Frodsham. Ses parents lui achetèrent son premier clavier à l’âge de 11 ans. Il apprit tout seul à en jouer et découvrit son talent très tôt. Il fut rapidement engagé à jouer le samedi soir dans le club social de Connah’s Quay dans le nord du Pays de Galles. À l’âge de 14 ans il fut embauché au Halton British Legion et gagnait déjà 140 £ par soir. À 15 ans il participa à un concours pour la BBC pour lequel il a écrit une chanson de Noël Let’s pray for Christmas. Il n’atteint que la demi-finale de l’émission mais ce fut sa première expérience télévisée et cela lui permit de gagner des heures d’enregistrement aux Strawberry Studios de Manchester. Il y rencontra Mark Owen qui servait le café dans les studios. Ils décidèrent de former leur premier groupe Cutest Rush. Ils chantaient des reprises et des compositions de Gary. Puis ils prirent contact avec Nigel Martin-Smith, un manager de Manchester, qui fut très vite impressionné par le talent de Gary. Pendant les années Take That, Gary fut reconnu de plus en plus dans le milieu artistique pour son talent de compositeur. Il remporta 4 Ivor Novello Awards (la plus haute distinction pour un compositeur en Grande-Bretagne) notamment pour la chanson Pray en 1993. Gary avait le rôle de leader dans le groupe, il écrivait la plupart des chansons et en chantait la majorité. À la séparation du groupe en 1996, Gary était destiné à un bel avenir pour sa carrière solo. Son premier album Open Road, ainsi que les deux premiers singles qui en sont issus (Forever Love et Love won’t wait) furent numéro 1. Même Madonna lui composa une chanson. Cependant la guerre faisait rage dans les journaux entre lui et Robbie Williams. Lorsque Robbie sortit Angels, les journaux britanniques avouèrent Gary vaincu et sa carrière solo commença à sombrer. Son second album «12 months 11 days» ne parvint qu’à la place 34 dans les charts. BMG, sa maison de disques, le remercia. ... Source: Article "Gary Barlow" de Wikipédia en français, soumis à la licence CC-BY-SA 3.0.