08 November,2012 07:49 AM IST | | Special Features
>> Gary Barlow was born in Cheshire and is a British singer-songwriter, pianist and record producer.
>> He was appointed OBE in 2012 for services to the music industry and charity.
>> His interest in music began when he was just 10 years old. He received a keyboard for Christmas and spent the next few years teaching himself to play his favourite songs.
>> He spent his teenage years gigging around the north of England, and educating himself about all kinds of pianos, keyboards and music production. Gary began writing songs at age 15. When he was 19, he was approached by manager Nigel Martin-Smith to front a new boy band, Take That, as lead singer in 1990.
>> Along with bandmates Robbie Williams, Mark Owen, Howard Donald and Jason Orange, he went on to dominate the charts in UK during the early 90s, before Robbie left in 95 and the group split the following year.
>>u00a0His track âPray' was Take That's first number one single in 1993.
>>u00a0He shares his birthday with director David Lynch, astronaut Buzz Aldrin and fellow British singer Will Young. u00a0
