Gary Barlow says the stillbirth of his daughter Poppy gave him ‘perspective’

Gary Barlow has said how the death of his daughter Poppy gave him a sense of perspective on life in a candid new interview about the tragic event.

The Take That singer, 51, spoke about his baby girl’s tragic stillbirth, his fourth child with wife Dawn in August 2012, ahead of his new show, A Different Stage.

The one-man performance will detail Gary’s rise to fame and battles with cannabis and alcohol, as well as his struggles with the eating disorder, bulimia.

Gary spoke about the heartbreaking ordeal which took place days before he was  due to perform at the London Olympics closing ceremony.

Gary said: ‘It’s August 2012, Dawn has gone for a last minute check-up. Only four days to go, we’re all so excited. Name is on the nursery, Moses basket, cot, clothes all over the floor waiting for the main player to arrive.

‘Dawn calls and something’s wrong. Now this is one of those phone calls where you live a lifetime in a second.

‘We all have coping mechanisms, back there was the bulimia and the hallelujahs in the toilet. I’m not saying just having a run is going to cure it, but those were my coping mechanisms. I dealt with this by turning into bloody Inspector Gadget.

Gary admitted that he was impressed with how well that Dawn dealt with the ordeal but said that he struggled to cope with it himself.

Tragic: Poppy was tragically delivered stillborn at full term on August 4 in 2012 just days before the Take That singer, 49, had to perform at the closing ceremony of the 2012 Olympics (the couple pictured in 2012) 

He detailed the realisation that he was going to have to watch stillborn Poppy be born after Dawn was induced – but added that despite dreading it that he found the moment magical.

He added that the days and weeks after Poppy was born, he saw a strength in his wife that he found inspiring.

After a brief hour of time with Poppy, Dawn managed to cope with the loss while still getting on with raising her other three children.

He detailed how his song Let Me Go was a tribute to Poppy by saying that he found the tragedy to be a lesson in what is important.

He said: ‘This guy has got the gift of Poppy Barlow, the gift of perspective. I’d never had that before. A real lesson into what’s important.’

Poppy was tragically delivered stillborn at full term on August 4 in 2012 with Gary writing about the painful experience in his 2018 autobiography – A Better Me.  

In the candid book, the singer laid bare the devastating impact of her death on him and his wife Dawn.

He explained that he felt like he was ‘dreaming’ after discovering the heart-wrenching news about Poppy, who was stillborn on August 4 2012.

New gig: His show tells the story of Gary’s life from growing up in Cheshire to his glories with Take That and addiction to booze and cannabis along with developing bulimia

The heartbroken couple were given an hour to spend time with their baby girl, who he hailed a ‘light’ in his life.   

Gary said: ‘It was one of the best hours of my life I’ve ever experienced in the midst of the hardest time of my life. It was very powerful, that hour was.’

He added: ‘Then the reality comes rushing into the room and all the air leaves your lungs. It felt like someone had a hand held tight at my throat.

‘The nurses start hovering and they want to take her away. What we experienced and saw over those 24 hours, no-one should have to see or have to go through.’ 

Before he launched his one-man show A Different Stage in London’s West End, Gary talked to reporters about his struggles.

The show tells the story of Gary’s life from growing up in Cheshire to his glories with Take That and addiction to booze and cannabis along with developing bulimia.

If you’ve been affected by this article, you can call stillbirth and neonatal charity, SANDs, on 0808 164 3332 or visit www.sands.org.uk