| Howard Donald | |
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 Donald performing at the Newcastle Metro Radio Arena in November 2007.
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Howard Paul Donald |
| Born | 28 April 1968 Droylsden, Lancashire, England |
| Origin | Droylsden |
| Genres | Pop, R&B, soul, dance pop, pop rock, blue-eyed soul, country |
| Instruments | Vocals, drums, piano |
| Years active | 1984–present |
| Associated acts | Take That |
Howard Paul Donald (28 April 1968[1] in Droylsden, Lancashire, England), is an English singer, songwriter, dancer, DJ and house producer. He is a founding member of English pop band Take That. As well as working with Jason Orange as band choreographers, he sang lead vocals on one of the band's many number one singles first time round, "Never Forget". In addition, he also wrote and sang lead vocals of the song entitled "If This Is Love" from the band's album, Everything Changes.
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Nigel Martin-Smith hired Donald, along with Gary Barlow, Jason Orange, Mark Owen and Robbie Williams to form the first of the British boybands, Take That.[1] The band enjoyed seven years of success until Williams left in 1995, leaving them devastated. When Take That split in February 1996, Donald went solo and recorded a single "Speak without Words" that is still unreleased to-date. When his solo career failed to take off, he returned to deejaying.[1] He has a huge fanbase in Europe. He is one of the founders of the DJ band Sonic Fly along with his friends King Brain and Bart Van Der Zwaan.
Donald shocked bandmates with his confession in the documentary, Take That for the Record of his intention to commit suicide by drowning himself in the River Thames when the band announced their split in 1996.
In 2005 Take That reformed for what was intended to be "one last tour" in the summer of 2006, following the release of their Greatest Hits album.
In late 2006 Take That reunited and released their first studio album since 1995, Beautiful World and off it they recorded 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 Manchester and it features his daughter Grace singing at the end of the song.
On the latest Take That album The Circus, Donald sings lead on two tracks, "What is Love" and "Here". He also has a partial lead solo with Jason Orange on "How Did It Come To This", and also sings lead with the rest of the band on the album's opening track, "The Garden".
Donald also took solo lines in "The Garden" and "Rule the World". In one of the band's tours during the 1990s, Donald sang the second verse of "Why Can't I Wake Up With You", which is sung by Gary Barlow on the recording. He also sings harmonies in background
During the ten year gap between the Take That split and reunion, Donald began working as a DJ under the name DJ HD. He continues his work as a DJ when not on tour with the band, and has a large fanbase in Germany.
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.[2][3] However, Donald recovered quickly enough to reunite with the band in the final leg of the tour.
Donald was educated at Moorside Primary School and Littlemoss High School.
He is father of two daughters, Grace (born March 1999) and Lola (born 2005), from two separate relationships. His elder daughter Grace was born to Victoria Piddington, while he had his younger daughter with former girlfriend Marie-Christine Musswessels, they split in late 2009.[4]
In 2007, he sparked controversy when he expressed his view that cannabis should be legalized, saying "If more people went out stoned than drunk I think there would be less fighting, less trouble, and less violence."[5] He also admitted to having "dabbled with ecstasy" in the past.[5]
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