TIP ONE: Cook for your wife. It’s easy and brings so much pleasure
TIP TWO: Never argue. My mum and dad didn’t and we don’t either
just been pulled out of the ground, but i’m over that now, too.
‘eating out is still a minefield, though. i don’t trust chefs, they’re running a business. They don’t list every ingredient on a menu, do they . . . see, i told you i was obsessive!’
From the recipes Gary talks me through, it sounds as though he could give some top chefs a run for their money. he’s made his own sourdough bread in the past and is currently experimenting with Persian flavours.
DAWN has type 1 diabetes, something she was diagnosed with six years ago when her body shut down as she suffered severe trauma following a family tragedy.
Since then, Gary has learnt to prepare meals without sugary ingredients. he even went on a course run by hugh FearnleyWhittingstall to improve his cullinary skills.
‘i know giving up sugar is trendy, but when having it could kill you, then you really have to examine what you eat. Tomatoes, beetroot, carrots are all full of sugar. Crispy duck is a family favourite, but i’ll make the pancakes with glutenfree chickpea flour.
‘i honestly think that cooking is one of the most underrated skills someone can have. it’s easy and brings so much pleasure. i love sourcing good food for Dawn.’
There was a time, too, when cooking became a source of therapy and deep comfort for the couple. in 2012, their daughter Poppy was stillborn. in his autobiography, Gary describes, in heartbreaking detail, how he looked on helplessly as Dawn cradled their dead child in her arms, willing her back to life.
it was the trauma she suffered afterwards that caused her body to shut down, triggering her diabetes. i hadn’t heard of this before, but apparently, when the body is put under chronic stress, the immune system can attack and kill the beta cells in the pancreas that produce insulin, resulting in Type 1 diabetes.
‘Preparing food became my way of looking after everyone,’ he says. ‘There was a period when it was definitely very healing. Dawn needed me and i wanted to look after her and it felt lovely to put a pot on, cook for everyone, bring everyone together, let the smells fill the house. That’s magic. That’s a home.’
Today, Gary has become something of a role model and guru to his legions of fans. his Twitter feed is full of questions about diets and people posting before and after pictures of their weight loss. ‘if you look in my direct messages you’ll see they are all about food and diet. One thing i’ve realised over the years is that we all eat too much. You don’t have to eat until you’re stuffed and need to loosen your belt. You don’t need a plate piled high.
‘if people ask for my advice, then the first thing i say is “look at your portion sizes”.’
‘Barlow’s Bootcamp’ is a fun
‘I spent a chunk of my life a blinkered Northern man going , “What a load of rubbish” about anything healthy’
experiment he set up on social media to detail his exercise regime. But he replies with a refreshing: ‘Good God no’ when i ask if he has learned to love exercise. As well as the gym workouts he also practises yoga. ‘i’m terrible at it. Stiff as a board.
‘everyone says that women need to lift more weights and men should do yoga, and that’s true. Most men who work out in the gym have no suppleness.’ And just when you think he can’t possibly get any more metrosexual, he talks to me about his new-found love of meditation.
‘i started two years ago. it took me a year to get the hang of it because i kept going “Oh i can’t do this, my brain won’t switch off.” But the ones who find it the hardest to switch off are the ones who will benefit the most.
‘i just lie down and count my breaths — four seconds in and four seconds out. i’m telling you, if i do that for 20 minutes it changes the day.’
Oh, and then there’s the retreats he likes to go on to exercise, escape and de-stress.
For a lad from Frodsham, Cheshire, who used to sing in Working Men’s clubs after school, he’s certainly come a long way.
‘Look, i spent a big chunk of my life being a blinkered Northern man going, “Oh what a load of rubbish” any time anybody mentioned anything vaguely healthy or alternative. My brother ian (a builder) finds it hilarious.’
While Gary came from a humble background — his father Colin, who died ten years ago, was a warehouseman — Gary’s own children: Dan, 18, emily, 16, and Daisy, ten enjoy all the trappings of his wealth — a state of affairs that he battles with.
‘i worry about it constantly. i talk about it with Dawn all the time. in the end, rather than focus on the houses they live in or the holidays they go on, i look at their core values. Are they nice to people? Do they look people in the eye and listen when someone is talking to them? have they got great social skills? Yes, they have.
‘it’s true that they’ve never had to fight for the things i did...but they’ve still turned out great.’
his eldest, who wants to be a teacher, will leave home for university this year, while emily is ‘super bright’ and studying for her A-levels and Daisy loves her gymnastics.
On Valentine’s night, Gary will be taking Dawn out to dinner — even though he doesn’t trust those pesky chefs — and presenting her with flowers.
he’s already decided that he wants to take a year off when he turns 50.
‘My wife and i are getting to a really lovely point in our lives now. The kids need us less and it feels like we’re entering a new phase. i want to take the time to be at home and write some new songs.’
including a few romantic numbers for Mrs B, no doubt.