Born in Cheshire in 1971, Gary Barlow took to the piano at an early age, inspired by Depeche Mode's 'Just Can't Get Enough'. Following a number of years performing around the north of England and a TV appearance on the BBC's Pebble Mill At One, Barlow drew the attention of manager Nigel Martin-Smith. Looking to replicate the success of New Kids On The Block, Martin-Smith enlisted Barlow as the creative centre-piece of Take That.
Dominating the charts, airwaves and stages across the globe throughout the '90s, Take That secured three No.1 albums before their notorious split in 1996. Barlow quickly released his debut solo single 'Forever Love', and reached the top of the UK album chart with Open Road in 1997. Following a two-year break, Barlow returned in 1999 with Twelve Months Eleven Days and its lead single, 'Stronger'.
Barlow signed a publishing deal with Sony, writing successful hits for the likes of Blue, Delta Goodrem and Will Young. His true resurgence occurred when teaming back up with Take That (minus Williams) in 2005, surpassing their prior success with the likes of albums Beautiful World and The Circus. Alongside writing music for TV shows and starting his own Future Records label, Barlow eventually rekindled his friendship with Williams and unveiled the duet, Shame. With bridges firmly mended, Take That once again became a five-piece and released the record-breaking Progress in 2010.
Re-invigorated by his recent successes, Barlow returned to his solo work and unveiled Sing in May 2012, climbing to the top of the UK album chart. At just 24 minutes long, it was the shortest album ever to reach No.1 in the UK. Just over a year later, he returned with the full-length Since I Saw You Last, which went Double Platinum. In the meantime, Barlow had also taken on judging duties on the UK's The X Factor. Honouring the role for three series, he eventually moved on to focus on solo touring and the release of Take That's seventh studio album III in 2014.
The subsequent years saw Barlow release another album with Take That – 2017's Wonderland – as well as turning to musical theatre. He co-wrote the musical score for Finding Neverland, and teamed up with Tim Firth to create the West End show, The Girls.
In September 2020, Gary Barlow released his fifth solo studio album, Music Played By Humans, in November 2020. Its lead single Elita featured Canadian artist Michael Bublé and Columbian vocalist Sebastian Yatra, while other guest appearances on the record included Beverley Knight, Alesha Dixon, James Corden, Chilly Gonzales, Ibrahim Maalouf and Avishai Cohen.
In November 2024, Barlow announced The Songbook Tour, a huge run of UK dates for 2025, kicking off in the Isle of Man in April and ending in Thetford Forest in June, and including dates at London's Royal Albert Hall and Manchester's O2 Apollo.
