Fact file... Name: Mark Owen

Occupation: Solo pop act, graduated from Take That school for boy bands, 1991-1996

Age: 31

Born: January 27 1974, Oldham, England. Raised in small council house

Lives in: Lake District

Early days: Ricocheted from potential football career to day jobs around Manchester; then met Gary Barlow. Take That stardom ensued, with 15 million record sales worldwide in company of Barlow, Robbie Williams, Jason Orange and Howard Donald

Take That's chart toppers: Pray, Relight My Fire, Babe, Everything Changes, Sure, Back For Good, Never Forget, How Deep Is Your Love

Solo days: First Take That ex-member to release solo album, selling million copies of Green Man and got to number three with debut single Child in 1996. Follow-up single, Clementine, also charted at three, 1997; August single I Am What I Am made only number 29

Wilderness years: Five-year hiatus while Owen worked on his own at home, then teamed up with producer Arthur Baker and sought out collaborators and co-writers. Went through prog-rock stage, returned to pop; home demos ready in 2002

Then suddenly: Big Brother knocked on his door. Owen initially thought "No way" but then decided yes. "Push yourself a bit," he reasoned. "You've locked yourself away in your house for so many years, and you've been talking to sheep and birds for too long." He duly won Celebrity Big Brother, 2002

Second album: In Your Own Time, released by Universal, autumn 2003, preceded by Top Ten single Four Minute Warning

2004 snapshot: Played Soccer Six tournament and appeared on Channel 4's Richard And Judy, May; released single Makin' Out, recorded in Los Angeles, June 7; performed at Olympic Torch Relay concert, The Mall, London, June 26; made guest appearance on Channel 4's Bo' Selecta, July 16

Coming next: Third solo album, How The Mighty Fall, released on April 18 on Sedna Records

When, where and why in York next week: Fibbers, Thursday, 7.30pm, for opening night of spring tour. Also playing Leeds Cockpit on April 4

York tickets update: Sold out.

Updated: 15:25 Thursday, March 17, 2005