Gary Barlow recalls performing in front of thousands with Take That at the London Olympics closing ceremony just eight days after his daughter Poppy was stillborn

As performances go it doesn’t get much bigger, but Gary Barlow admits his appearance onstage at the London Olympics’ closing ceremony was overshadowed by personal heartache. 

The singer-songwriter joined his Take That bandmates at the purpose built Olympic Stadium for a show attended by thousands of fans as the 2012 event drew to as close with musical extravaganza A Symphony of British Music. 

But the performance came just eight days after the tragic stillbirth of his daughter Poppy, Barlow’s fourth child with wife Dawn.

The devastated couple were allowed to hold their daughter, who was delivered stillborn at full term on August 4, 2012, before arranging a funeral. 

Dawn was also diagnosed with post-traumatic Type 1 diabetes shortly after their baby’s tragic death. 

And Barlow, 54, admits he needed to temporarily push the loss to one side in order to join Take That onstage at Olympic Stadium – since renamed London Stadium and used as the home of Premier League football club West Ham United. 

He told The Sunday Times magazine: ‘I mean, we’re singing – it’s not that hard. I could be doing a proper job. That’s what I always think. 

‘You’ve just got to turn it on for a few minutes, haven’t you? But you know, welcome to showbusiness. 

‘Definitely some nights you stand side of the stage thinking, “Oh, I could be at home tonight”, but you go out there and it’s the most wonderful two hours.’ 

Barlow and wife have since allowed their story to be shared publicly with websites and support services dedicated to helping those who have suffered similar ordeals, and he admits to feeling a degree of responsibility in using his own experience to help others. 

‘I do believe we’re in a world where we overshare,’ he said. ‘I don’t want to be the poster boy for loss, but it’s really hard because sometimes you read something and, “Jesus, what I said I helped this person”. 

‘It’s hard to find a balance. My wife’s really private. She doesn’t want me to talk about any of it and so it’s just very hard.

‘But also I’ve always got to ask myself, with anything we do, “Why am I here today?” I am here because I write songs and sing – and that should be enough. 

‘And so anything else that’s extra to that? I just need to think about it because I’m not a psychiatrist.’ 

Sharing a statement shortly after Poppy’s stillbirth, Barlow announced: ‘Dawn and I are devastated to announce that we’ve lost our baby. Poppy Barlow was delivered stillborn on August 4 in London.

‘Our focus now is giving her a beautiful funeral and loving our three children with all our hearts. We’d ask at this painful time that our privacy be respected.’

The singer later detailed Poppy’s loss in his 2018 autobiography – A Better Me.

He wrote: ‘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.

‘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.’ 

Barlow admitted he found it extremely hard to include his three children – Daniel, Emily and Daisy – in the funeral process, revealing that he and Dawn went through it alone.

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.