Howard Donald

Last updated

Howard Donald
Howard Donald performing in Glasgow, 2017.jpg
Donald performing in Glasgow in 2017
Born
Howard Paul Donald

(1968-04-28) 28 April 1968 (age 56)
Droylsden, Lancashire, England
Occupations
  • Singer
  • musician
  • songwriter
  • dancer
  • DJ
  • record producer
Years active
  • 1988–1996
  • 2005–present
Spouse
Katie Halil
​
(m. 2015)​
Children4
Musical career
Genres
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • drums
  • precussion
  • keyboards
  • piano
  • synthesiser
Member of Take That

Howard Paul Donald (born 28 April 1968) [1] is an English singer, songwriter, drummer, pianist, dancer, DJ and record producer. He is a member of the pop group Take That. He was also judge on the German reality talent show Got to Dance from 2013 to 2014, during a Take That-hiatus.

Contents

Early life

Donald was educated at Littlemoss High School in Droylsden, gaining no GCSEs, [2] and trained for three years as a vehicle painter, on the Youth Training Scheme (YTS). [3]

A budding DJ, his musical interests were largely informed by his brother Colin's vinyl collection, and included electronic acts such as Kraftwerk, John Foxx, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) and Gary Numan. [4] As a teenager Donald became interested in dancing and frequented the burgeoning breakdancing circuit in the Greater Manchester area, where he would first come into contact with future bandmate Jason Orange. [5] He auditioned for Nigel Martin-Smith's new boy band project at his office in Manchester and was selected. The group was eventually named Take That.

Career

Nigel Martin-Smith recruited Donald, along with Gary Barlow, Jason Orange, Mark Owen and Robbie Williams to form a British boyband, Take That. [1] The band enjoyed five years of success until Williams left in 1995, leaving them to carry on as a quartet. Along with Orange, Donald featured less on lead vocals than Barlow, Owen and Williams during the band's first era, however did sing lead vocal on the single "Never Forget", which reached No. 1 in the UK in 1995.

In early 1996, Donald's bandmates Barlow, Owen and Orange came to the difficult decision that Take That was to split. They told Donald, who was not happy, but went along with their decision. Following the split, Donald attempted a solo career, recording an unreleased single, "Speak Without Words", and returned to DJing. [1] In the 2005 documentary Take That: For the Record , Donald confessed to being unstable enough to have the intention of committing suicide by drowning himself in the River Thames, not long after the split.

In 2005, Take That reformed and announced a reunion tour, The Ultimate Tour in the summer of 2006, following the release of their Greatest Hits album, Never Forget: The Ultimate Collection . The tour was followed in late 2006 by their first studio album since 1995, Beautiful World , and from it they achieved two number ones in "Patience" and "Shine". Beautiful World featured Donald on lead vocals on two tracks; "Beautiful World" and "Mancunian Way". The song "Mancunian Way" is a tribute to the band's hometown of Manchester.

On the 2008 Take That album The Circus , Donald sang lead vocals on two tracks, "What Is Love" and "Here". He also shared lead vocals with the rest of the band on the album's opening track, "The Garden".

On the 2010 Take That album Progress , Donald sang lead vocals on the track "Affirmation", with shared vocals on "Wait" and "Aliens", the latter of which is exclusive to the Progressed reissue the following year. He also played drums on several songs on the Progress album and mixed a B-side track for the second single "Kidz" called "Revenge of the Kidz".

On the 2014 Take That album III , Donald sang lead vocals on "Give You My Love".

On the 2017 Take That album Wonderland , Donald sang lead vocals on "Every Revolution".

On the 2023 Take That album This Life , Donald sang lead vocals on two tracks, "March Of The Hopeful" and "One More Word". He also sang lead vocals on "The Man I Am", included in the deluxe version the following year.

In 2021, Donald appeared on The Masked Dancer , masked as Zip. He reached the final and was unmasked in third place.

Donald was one of the judges on a dancing show Got to Dance in Germany from 2013 to 2014. [6]

Personal life

Donald was educated at Moorside Primary School and Littlemoss High School.

Since January 2015, Donald has been married to illustrator Katie Halil. A spokesperson for him said "I can confirm Howard Donald and Katie Halil were married at a private ceremony for close family and friends on 2 January." [7]

He is the father of two daughters from two previous relationships. He also has two sons with his wife Katie Halil.[ citation needed ]

In April 2010, Donald was granted a super-injunction against former girlfriend, musician Adakini Ntuli, with whom he had been in an on/off relationship from 2000 to 2008. (See Ntuli v Donald) After Ntuli engaged publicist Max Clifford and began negotiations with the News of the World , Donald obtained the super-injunction. The non-publicity side of the injunction was lifted in November 2010.[ citation needed ]

In 2007, he expressed his view that cannabis should be legalised, saying, "If more people went out stoned than drunk I think there would be less fighting, less trouble, and less violence." [8] He admitted to having "dabbled with ecstasy" in the past. [8]

In June 2012, it was revealed that along with Take That bandmates Gary Barlow and Mark Owen, Donald had invested £26 million in music industry investment schemes. The news attracted controversy when it was understood that the schemes could serve as tax shelters for high-net-worth people. Lawyers responded to the claims, stating the band members "paid significant tax, and that they believed the schemes were not for tax avoidance purposes but were legitimate commercial enterprises." [9] In an interview with BBC Radio in 2020, Paul Stenning, who worked for the band in 1995 under their financial advisor Simon Orange, explained the way the band's finances were structured, saying they were "meticulously disseminated". [10]

He is a supporter of Manchester United.

Health problems

During the Beautiful World Tour in 2007, Donald suffered a collapsed lung after performing a series of gymnastic stunts on stage, and was kept on a hospital ward for the two days, while the rest of the band performed as a threesome. [11] However, Donald recovered quickly enough to reunite with the band in the final leg of the tour.

Discography

Studio albums as a solo artist

Tracks as a solo artist

Studio albums with Take That

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Take That</span> English pop group

Take That are an English pop group formed in Manchester in 1990. The group currently consists of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen. The original line-up also featured Jason Orange and Robbie Williams. Barlow is the group's lead singer and primary songwriter, with Owen and Williams initially providing backing vocals, and Donald and Orange serving primarily as dancers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Owen</span> English singer-songwriter

Mark Owen is an English singer and songwriter best known for being a member of pop group and band Take That; as of 2024, the group have sold 14.4 million albums and 13.8 million singles in the UK. In Owen's solo career, he has released five studio albums: Green Man (1996), In Your Own Time (2003), How the Mighty Fall (2005), The Art of Doing Nothing (2013) and his most recent, Land of Dreams, which was released in September 2022 and debuted at number 5 on the UK Official Albums Chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gary Barlow</span> British musician and songwriter (born 1971)

Gary Barlow is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He is the lead singer of the pop group Take That.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Do What U Like</span> 1991 single by Take That

"Do What U Like" is the debut single by English boy band Take That. It was released on 22 July 1991 as the lead single from their debut studio album, Take That & Party (1992).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Never Forget (Take That song)</span> 1995 single by Take That

"Never Forget" is a song recorded by English boy band Take That, included as the sixth track on their third studio album, Nobody Else (1995). Written by Gary Barlow and produced by Brothers in Rhythm and Dave James, it features Howard Donald on lead vocals. A remixed version of the song produced by Jim Steinman was released as a single on 24 July 1995 by RCA and BMG and became the band's seventh number one on the UK Singles Chart, remaining at number one for three weeks. Robbie Williams left the band during the promotion of the song. Its music video was directed by David Amphlett. In 2018, "Never Forget" was included in American Billboard magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Boyband Songs of All Time".

<i>Take That & Party</i> 1992 studio album by Take That

Take That & Party is the debut studio album by English boy band Take That. Released on 17 August 1992 on RCA Records, it reached number two on the UK Albums Chart and stayed in the UK Top 75 album chart for 73 weeks. It was their only album not to reach number one until Wonderland also peaked at number two in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Promises (Take That song)</span> 1991 single by Take That

"Promises" is a dance-pop song by English boy band Take That. Written by Gary Barlow and Graham Stack, it was released on 11 November 1991 as the second single from the band's debut album, Take That & Party (1992). It was their first released single after signing to RCA Records. The song was a modest success and provided the group with their Top 40 breakthrough, charting at number 38 on the UK Singles Chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I'd Wait for Life</span> 2007 single by Take That

"I'd Wait for Life" was the third single released from Take That's album Beautiful World.

<i>Take That: For the Record</i> 2006 video by Take That

Take That: For the Record is a television documentary about the English boy band Take That. It was originally screened in 2005, a decade after the group had originally split up.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Garden (Take That song)</span> 2009 single by Take That

"The Garden" is a song by English group Take That. It was released on 20 March 2009 as the third single from their fifth studio album, The Circus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Take That Presents: The Circus Live</span> 2009 concert tour by Take That

Take That Present: The Circus Live was the seventh concert tour by English pop group, Take That. The tour promoted their fifth studio album, The Circus. The tour began on 5 June 2009 at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland and finished on 5 July 2009 at Wembley Stadium in London. The Circus Live was their biggest tour to date. and was seen by 1,014,000 people, making a profit of £40,560,000. The tour became the fastest selling in UK history, with the 600,000 for all original eight dates selling out in five hours.

<i>Progress</i> (Take That album) 2010 studio album by Take That

Progress is the sixth studio album by English band Take That. It is the band's first album since Nobody Else (1995) to feature the original five-piece, with the return of Robbie Williams since his initial departure from the band in 1995, joined only on this album, and the final album to feature Jason Orange due to his departure from the band in 2014, which marked the final album to feature the original formation. The album was released in the United Kingdom on 15 November 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hold Up a Light</span> 2009 single by Take That

"Hold Up a Light" is the fifth and final single from English group Take That's fifth studio album, The Circus. It was released to promote Take That's first live album The Greatest Day – Take That Presents: The Circus Live.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Progress Live</span> 2011 concert tour by Take That

Progress Live was the eighth concert tour by English pop group Take That. The tour, sponsored by Samsung, supported their sixth studio album, Progress as they visited major cities in the UK and Europe. It was the first tour to feature all five original members performing together in 16 years and the final tour to feature Jason Orange and Robbie Williams. In its infancy, the tour accomplished many accolades including selling 1.34 million tickets in less than 24 hours. The tour quickly became the biggest tour in the United Kingdom. They played 8 nights each at City of Manchester Stadium in Manchester and also Wembley Stadium in London – breaking the previous record held by Michael Jackson's Bad World Tour set in 1988. These eight nights at Wembley Stadium saw Take That break the record for the highest-grossing residency by grossing £38 million from their respective London dates alone. At the conclusion of 2011, the tour was placed on Billboard's annual, "Top 25 Tours", and appeared third worldwide, earning over $180 million with 29 shows. Each member of the band received £7,900,000 from the tour after tax.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kidz (song)</span> 2011 single by Take That

"Kidz" is a song by English pop group Take That from their sixth studio album, Progress. It was released as the second single from the album on 20 February 2011. The song features Mark Owen and Gary Barlow performing lead vocals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Happy Now (Take That song)</span> 2011 single by Take That

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<i>III</i> (Take That album) 2014 studio album by Take That

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">These Days (Take That song)</span> 2014 single by Take That

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hey Boy (Take That song)</span> 2015 single by Take That

"Hey Boy" is a song by English pop group Take That. It was released through Polydor Records on 16 October 2015 as the fourth single from the seventh studio album, III, originally released in 2014, although this song only appears on the 2015 Edition. The song was written by Take That and produced by Greg Kurstin and features Mark Owen, Gary Barlow and Howard Donald on lead vocals.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Howard Donald", Southern Daily Echo , 20 June 2007, retrieved 5 February 2010
  2. ↑ Daily Mirror Tuesday 4 May 1993
  3. ↑ "Take That is back! The legendary boy band joins Alan in studio". 4BC. 17 November 2017.
  4. ↑ Ross, Peter (22 February 2019). "Sixty Seconds: with Howard Donald". Metro . p. 16.
  5. ↑ Bourne, Dianne (12 November 2014). "Take That: "It's always special to play Manchester"". Manchester Evening News .
  6. ↑ "Take That star Howard Donald becomes a judge on Got To Dance Germany | Got To Dance". Telly Mix. 26 April 2013. Archived from the original on 25 November 2018. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
  7. ↑ Deen, Sarah (6 January 2015). "Howard Donald married: Take That star and Katie Halil get hitched with two-day wedding". Metro. UK. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  8. 1 2 "Howard Donald's cannabis campaign", Boston Globe , 23 November 2007, retrieved 5 February 2010
  9. ↑ Updated, Last (21 June 2012). "Gary Barlow's OBE is no problem despite tax avoidance claims, says Downing Street". The Telegraph. UK.
  10. ↑ BBC Radio Lancashire August 15th 2020
  11. ↑ Taylor, C. (2007) "Take That's Howard Donald Hospitalised With 'Collapsed Lung'", Gigwise.com, 27 October 2007, retrieved 5 February 2010
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