GARY HOWARD
	Biography

Gary Howard was born in East London, in an area called Essex.

Early in his life, Gary had two loves: drama and music. Gary explains, "I went to college where I was getting a performing arts degree, and my main study was drama. Because I could sing and play a little guitar, I was often cast in the role of the singer/guitarist, so the music and the drama progressed alongside each other."

Early in his career Gary travelled around playing guitar and singing. He also did some acting, including performing on television in Rome.

In the eighties, Gary Howard returned to the UK, and while doing cabaret shows, and making music for the BBC, he was spotted by The Flying Pickets. Gary explains, "Several of the guys were working in theatre and it was like an informal group, and more for fun. There were different people in it and it was only when they had their first hit that it crystallized as a group. I joined in 1986, and I became a Flying Picket, as well as doing this cabaret stuff. Gradually the Picket life took over because we were always touring all over the place."

When it comes to the area of "a cappella", The Flying Pickets are one of the top groups in the field. They’ve appeared on albums by other artists including Tracey Ullman's album "You Broke My Heart in 17 Places", and the Alan Parsons’ produced "Freudiana".

When the first Alan Parsons tour came in 1994, Gary would share the lead vocals duties with Chris Thompson. Those performances were immortalised on "The Very Best of Live".

Gary continues to work with The Flying Pickets.

For more about Gary Howard, see Issue Twenty and Twenty-One of The Avenue.

GARY HOWARD

Selected Discography

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