Desert Island Discs Revisited

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BBC Radio 4 Extra

Factual: Life Stories

Selected castaway gems from the BBC Desert Island Discs archive.

Desert Island Discs Revisited: Singers 2: Gary Barlow

Gary Barlow, singer-songwriter

Gary Barlow

Singers 2

Desert Island Discs

BBC Radio 4 Extra - Desert Island Discs Revisited, Singers 2, Gary Barlow

Gary Barlow, musician and Take That front man, is interviewed by Lauren Laverne

4 Extra Debut. From Elton John to Yes. Take That lead singer Gary Barlow shares his castaway choices with Lauren Laverne. From 2018.

From Elton John to Yes. 

Musician and Take That lead singer Gary Barlow shares his castaway choices with Lauren Laverne.

Gary has written more than a dozen chart-topping songs, and has received six Ivor Novello awards including the award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music. 

Born in Cheshire in 1971, his interest in music was sparked at an early age by a child’s keyboard. Aged 10, he saw Depeche Mode on Top of the Pops, prompting the desire to take to the stage himself. He wrote 'A Million Love Songs', which later became a Top 10 hit for Take That, in his bedroom when he was 15. By this time he was a regular performer in a Labour club just across the Welsh border, where he cut his teeth playing the organ and singing. 

By 18, he was so good at writing songs that he successfully auditioned for a place in the group which became Take That. They went on to be one of the most successful bands of all time, winning a devoted audience with tracks such as 'Back For Good', 'Everything Changes' and 'Pray'. 

When they broke up in early 1996, helplines were set up to assuage their fans’ feelings of loss and grief. In 2005, Take That reformed, with Robbie Williams re-joining them for a spell in 2010, and – in some form or other – the band has kept going. 

Gary was put in charge of organising the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee concert and performed at the closing ceremony for the London Olympics in 2012.  He was a judge on the X-Factor for three series and his talent show, Let It Shine, was broadcast on BBC One in 2017.  In 2018, he published a second autobiography.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2018.

Desert Island Discs Revisited: Singers 2

Your digital radio entertainment station showcasing the best in comedy and drama

Your digital radio entertainment station showcasing the best in comedy and drama. With recent favourites from BBC Radio 4.

A collection of singer castaways share their desert island choices.

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