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Mark Owen
Owen performing during the Beautiful World Tour 2007 in Manchester.
Background information
Birth name	Mark Anthony Patrick Owen
Born	(1972-01-27) 27 January 1972 (age 40) Oldham, Lancashire, England
Genres	Pop, pop rock, rock, soft rock
Occupations	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, keyboards, guitar, bass guitar, piano, mellotron, koto, percussion
Years active	1989–present
Labels	Sony BMG (1990–97) Island (2002–03) Sedna (2004–present) MCA/Polydor (2005–present)
Associated acts	Take That, Gary Barlow, Robbie Williams
Website	markowenofficial.com

Mark Anthony Patrick Owen (born 27 January 1972), is an English singer-songwriter. He is a member of pop band Take That. The band were hugely successful during the 1990s and have enjoyed even more success since their reunion in 2005. As a solo artist, Mark Owen had sold over 400,000 records worldwide and 80 million with Take That.

  Take That (1990–1996, 2005–present)

Take That formed in 1990 and during his time with the group, Owen sang lead vocals on "Babe", which was released in December 1993 from the Everything Changes album. It reached number one in the UK, but was knocked off the top spot at Christmas by Mr Blobby. He also sang lead vocals on "The Day After Tomorrow" from the Nobody Else album, and that concludes Owen's vocal contributions to the band the first time around. Despite this, Owen was the most popular member of the group, on account of his boyish good looks and sweet demeanour,^[1] regularly earning awards such as Smash Hit's "Most Fanciable Male in the World" and "Best Haircut".^[2]

  Solo career

After Take That split, Owen became the first of the band's ex-members to release a solo record. He reached number three in the UK Singles Chart with his debut single, "Child".^[3] His second single, "Clementine", also went to number three.^[3] In 1997 his album Green Man was released, charting at a number 33. After another single, "I Am What I Am", charted at number 29, Owen was dropped by BMG Records in late 1997.

Owen won the second series of Celebrity Big Brother in November 2002 with 77% of the public vote against television presenter Les Dennis, he broke down in tears because he did not think that he had any fans left since he left Take That. After being invited to perform on stage with Robbie Williams at Knebworth, he returned to the spotlight and signed a deal with Island/Universal Records. In August 2003, Owen returned to the charts with the Top 5 hit, "Four Minute Warning", which remained in the Top 40 for eight weeks. His second album, In Your Own Time, was released in November 2003, entering the charts at number 59. After a second single, "Alone Without You", charted at number 26, Owen was dropped by Island/Universal Records.

In April 2004 he established his own record company, Sedna Records. One report around 2004 even alleged that Owen was looking for a day job, but he simply said "Doing it properly isn't cheap. These are my indulgences. I don't have a Ferrari, I have two albums." He released his third solo album, How the Mighty Fall in 2005, which was recorded at Sunset Studios, Los Angeles in 2004. In February 2006 he released "Hail Mary" as a single from the album.

In March 2012 according to a report by The Sun Mark was planning to relaunch his solo career. A source said: "Mark has already made serious headway. He has put together new material in the studio with top writers and is planning more sessions over the next few months. All the lads are behind him. Success in his own right and his own writing material have always been a massive motivation, so he's a happy man."^[4][5]

  Solo numbers in Take That

• "Babe"
• "The Day After Tomorrow"
• "The Day The Work Is Done"
• "Hello"
• "Hold On"
• "Hold Up a Light"
• "Julie"
• "Kidz"
• "Shine"
• "SOS"
• "Stay Together" (B side track)
• "Throwing Stones" (B side track)
• "Up All Night"
• "We All Fall Down' (B side track)
• "What You Believe In"
• "What Do you Want from Me?"
• "Wonderful World"

Mark Owen has also featured vocals on "The Garden", "Said It All", and "Aliens", amongst others, where his distinct voice can be recognised.

  Personal life

Owen lives in Wandsworth, London.^[6] In 2006, he became engaged to actress Emma Ferguson, with whom he had been in a relationship since 2004. On 8 November 2009, the pair married in Cawdor Church, Scotland. ^[7] They have a son, Elwood Jack, born in 2006 and a daughter, Willow Rose, born in 2008. On 2 April 2012 it was announced that they are expecting their third child due in early summer. ^[8] In March 2010 Owen said he had an affair from late 2004 until September 2009.^{[9] [10]}Six months later, he checked into a private clinic for rehabilitation related to his drinking.^[11]

In June 2012, it was revealed that along with Take That band-mates Howard Donald and Gary Barlow, Owen 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.' ^[12]

  Discography

  Albums

  Singles

  References

  External links

• Official website