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.
Hard to Handle
Gary Barlow Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm a man on the scene
I can give you what you want
But you got to come home with me
I have got some good old love
And I got some more in store
When I get through throwing it on you
You better come and run back for more
Why don't you come along and down by the dozen
Me ain't nothing but drugstore loving
Pretty little thing let me light your candle
Cause mama I'm sure to handle now is around
Action speak louder than words
And I'm a man with experience
I know you've got another man
But I can love you better than him
Take my hand don't be afraid
While I prove every word I say
I'm advertising love for free
So won't you can place your ad with me
Babe here I am
I'm a man on your scene
I can give you what you want
But you got to come home with me
I've got some good old love
And I got some more in store
When I get through throwing it on you
You better come along and run back for more
The lyrics to Gary Barlow's song Hard to Handle are about a man who is confident in his ability to satisfy a woman's desires. He tells her that he has plenty of love to give, and that he's experienced enough to prove it. He urges her to come home with him so he can show her what he's made of, and promises that once he's done, she'll want even more. He believes that actions speak louder than words, and that he can love her better than any other man she's been with before. The chorus repeats the invitation for her to come home with him, and reassures her that he has plenty of love to give.
The lyrics in this song are straightforward and simple, but they still manage to convey a confident and seductive tone. The singer is not shy about expressing his desires and his belief in his own abilities. He's essentially making a sales pitch to the woman, offering her something that he thinks she can't resist. However, while the lyrics are confident and bold, there's also a sense of playfulness and charm that makes the song enjoyable to listen to.
Line by Line Meaning
Hey babe here I am
I'm here, ready to offer you what you need
I'm a man on the scene
I'm not just any man, I'm the man that can help you out
I can give you what you want
I'm capable of fulfilling your desires
But you got to come home with me
If you want what I have to offer, you need to be with me
I have got some good old love
I have previous experience in offering affection and care
And I got some more in store
I still have more to offer you
When I get through throwing it on you
Once I've shown you what I'm capable of
You better come and run back for more
You will want more because of the quality of what I have to offer
Why don't you come along and down by the dozen
Join me in experiencing life to the fullest
Me ain't nothing but drugstore loving
I may not be extraordinary, but my love is consistent and available
Pretty little thing let me light your candle
Let me bring light and happiness to your life, beautiful one
Cause mama I'm sure to handle now is around
I'm here now and I'm confident in my abilities to care for you
Action speak louder than words
My actions will prove my love for you
And I'm a man with experience
My previous experiences have taught me how to better care for and love you
I know you've got another man
I recognize that you may already be in a relationship
But I can love you better than him
I'm confident that I can offer you a higher level of affection and care than your current partner
Take my hand don't be afraid
Trust me, let me guide you and help you
While I prove every word I say
I'll demonstrate the truth of what I've promised
I'm advertising love for free
I'm promoting my love and affection without asking for anything in return
So won't you can place your ad with me
Would you accept me as your partner for love and affection?
Babe here I am
I'm here, ready and willing
I'm a man on your scene
I'm ready to make my presence known in your life
I've got some good old love
My love is genuine and lasting
And I got some more in store
I have even more to offer you
When I get through throwing it on you
When I've shown you what I'm capable of
You better come along and run back for more
You'll want more because of the quality of what I have to offer
Contributed by Kaelyn G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Desire Patience
Gary is amazing,he really can sing every kind of music! This rock song suits him perfectly
Jordy1191
I do love this
mrs howard Donald
Gary Barlow rules
OlliBonn
brilliant
bittersweet4girl
Is this by any chance the version he did in 1997? I've just read he performed it at Concert for Diana. Sorry for all these questions:)) I like this audio too, but I like it better, how he did it with a more mature voice. I just wish the sound on that video was as good as it is on this one.
MargotVanMol
nice!
bittersweet4girl
I found a video of him doing this song, but he sounds different in there: youtube.com/watch?v=IXe1XDtOK80 there's a more rock sound to it on that video. Was this a different version, at a different event or did you just edit the audio?
Sarah Berry
Gary IS hard to handle, sexiest man on the planet, damn you Dawn Barlow lol!