Barlow is one of Britain's most successful songwriters, having written fourteen Number 1 singles and twenty four top 10 hits. He has had three Number 1 singles, six top 10 singles and two Number 1 albums as a solo artist, and has had seventeen top 5 hits, twelve Number 1 singles and seven Number 1 albums with Take That. He is also a six-time recipient of the Ivor Novello Award and has sold over 50 million records worldwide. He was appointed an OBE in 2012 for services to music and charity.
Barlow's solo career was predicted to be very successful, being described as 'the next George Michael'. His first two solo singles "Forever Love" (released July 1996) and "Love Won't Wait" (composed by Madonna and Shep Pettibone) both leapt to the number one spot in his home country. "Forever Love" was also used as the soundtrack to the film The Leading Man. His debut album "Open Road" reached number 1 in the UK Albums Chart and went on to sell 2 million copies worldwide. Barlow's first single to be released in the United States as a solo artist was "So Help Me Girl", which reached number 44 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and number 1 on the US Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. He then achieved another top ten hit in the UK with "Open Road" peaking at number 7 and number 8 in the Netherlands with "Are You Ready Now".
After the success of his first solo album he released his second LP "Twelve Months, Eleven Days" in 1999. Barlow released "Stronger" as the lead single preceding the album. However, due to an expected backlash against Barlow, it received minimal support and airplay and only peaked at number 16. The second single "For All That You Want" again was subjected to minimal radio play and peaked at number 24, however it peaked just outside the top 5 in Finland. "Twelve Months, Eleven Days" was released soon after the first single to little promotion and peaked at a disappointing number 35, which led to Sony recalling Barlow's 'greatest' song according to critics, the scheduled third single from his second album "Lie to Me". This resulted in both Barlow and BMG parting company. To date Barlow has sold 5 million records worldwide as a solo artist.
On September 2013, Barlow announced via his Twitter account that he would be releasing his first full-length solo album in 14 years, on 25 November 2013. Barlow encouraged his followers and fans to tweet #GBSOLO to reveal the album artwork and title, with their profile pictures being used to create a collage of the album cover. On 4 October 2013, Barlow revealed his new album would be called "Since I Saw You Last", and would be preceded by his first single from the LP, titled "Let Me Go", released worldwide on 17 November 2013. He also announced that he would be touring the album in April 2014, playing some of the biggest arenas in the UK.
Are You Ready Now
Gary Barlow Lyrics
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From the time we said goodbye until now
How the nights we laughed and loved still feel like yesterday
How I'm hoping you still feel the same
(So) strange we're standing here after all this time
Strange when the present and the past collides
Memories of our days apart I feel they're fading fast
Silence for my questions here at last
Are you ready now for me to love you
Are you ready now to give this love a try
Are you ready now for me to give you trust to give you truth
Are you ready now for me
Ready now for me to say I love you
The look upon your face shows no surprise baby
Guess you always knew when things played on my mind
I believe in second chances
I believe in love for life
I believe you can maybe lose love once but never twice
Throw the past aside
Let's make up for lost time
If we let this love pass by we may never find these feelings again in our lives
In Gary Barlow's song Are You Ready Now, he is reflecting on a past relationship and wonders whether he and his former lover can once again come together. He expresses his desire to reminisce about the time they spent together, highlighting the connection they once shared. The lyrics express how he cherishes those moments they shared and how those memories are still fresh in his mind, even after all these years. He acknowledges the peculiar nature of the present colliding with the past, which can sometimes feel overwhelming.
Barlow's lyrics express his feeling that he and his lover are ready to overcome the past and give love another chance. He asks if the time is right to rekindle their romance and if she is prepared to trust him again with her heart. He believes in second chances and true love that lasts a lifetime. He pleads with her to let go of the past as he realizes that they can make up for all the lost time.
In conclusion, Gary Barlow's song Are You Ready Now is a reflection on past love and the desire to give love another try. He expresses the need to forget the past and focus on the present, allowing himself and his lover to rekindle their connection.
Line by Line Meaning
Can we share tonight the years we've been apart baby
Can we discuss the time we spent away from each other, my love?
From the time we said goodbye until now
Starting from the day when we parted ways
How the nights we laughed and loved still feel like yesterday
I'm reminiscing about those delightful moments we shared that seem so fresh in my mind
How I'm hoping you still feel the same
I hope you feel the same emotions as I do now
(So) strange we're standing here after all this time
It feels unusual that we are here together after such a long time
Strange when the present and the past collides
The past and current moment seem intermixed and peculiar
Memories of our days apart I feel they're fading fast
My memories of our past seem to be slipping away quickly
Silence for my questions here at last
Now I have the chance to ask you some important questions, but for a moment there was silence
Are you ready now for me to love you
Are you prepared to accept my love?
Are you ready now to give this love a try
Are you willing to give our relationship another chance?
Are you ready now for me to give you trust to give you truth
Are you ready now for me to offer you my trust and transparency?
Are you ready now for me
Are you ready now for us to be together?
Ready now for me to say I love you
Are you ready to hear me say that I love you?
The look upon your face shows no surprise baby
Your facial expression doesn't reveal any shock, my darling
Guess you always knew when things played on my mind
You probably always had some idea about what was bothering me
I believe in second chances
I have faith in the idea that we can start afresh after a failed attempt
I believe in love for life
I am utterly convinced that true love lasts a lifetime
I believe you can maybe lose love once but never twice
I think it's possible to lose love once, but not multiple times!
Throw the past aside
Let's forget about our past
Let's make up for lost time
We can make up for all the lost time now
If we let this love pass by we may never find these feelings again in our lives
If we don't seize this opportunity, we may never experience these overwhelming emotions again
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: GARY BARLOW
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind