CityLife

That's the way, Lucie

EVEN when Manchester boyband Take That were at the peak of their success - with pictures of the fresh-faced fivesome adorning teenagers' bedrooms across the country - Gary Barlow never quite seemed to reach the sex symbol status of his co-stars.

His apparently serious nature - and clean-cut image - meant that while Robbie Williams grabbed everyone's attention as the cheeky star of the group, Gary seemed forever destined to be labelled as the "quiet" one.

Years later, when the lads went their separate ways in 1996, it looked like the mild-mannered singer would simply fade into the background as Robbie's career went from strength to strength.

However, while his public persona all but disappeared, behind the scenes Barlow's professional star has carried on rising.

Retreating to his sprawling 60-acre Northwich home, Delamere Manor, with his wife, Dawn, and children, Dan and Emily, he has penned hit songs for the likes of Atomic Kitten, Blue, Mark Owen and Delta Goodrem.

And his ranking above Oasis star Liam Gallagher in this year's Manchester Evening News Rich List, with an estimated fortune of é21m, proves that he has made a wise decision.

Now it looks as though the one-time pop star has turned mentor by lending a helping hand to a new music hopeful, Lucie Silvas.

Tonight, the 24-year-old newcomer - whose debut album is to be released this autumn - will be performing at Manchester's Apollo, as the support act for jazz star Jamie Cullum. But she might never have made it this far if it hadn't been for a chance encounter with the semi-reclusive Take That star.

"I started off as a backing singer for artists like Macy Gray and M People," she says. "Eventually, I met Gary through a keyboard player I knew.

"He just happened to be looking for someone to fill in for one of his backing singers. I ended up doing a year-and-a-half of stuff with him! It was when he was launching his solo career and we did lots of big TV shows. I was really thrown in at the deep end.

Solo

"But I got to know him really well and so a year later I played him a tape of one of my songs. Before that I hadn't really said much to him because I was a bit scared but he was interested and asked me if I had written any songs of my own. I played him this one big gospel number I had written, he told his manager, she took me on and I went solo.

"From then on I have been writing non-stop."

Although most people will not yet be familiar with Lucie's solo material, with her first single only due for release later this year, she has already had some chart success with songs written for Rachel Stevens, Gareth Gates and Liberty X.

A talented musician, as well as singer, she started playing piano at the age of five, before composing her first love song when she was just 10.

However, it was Barlow who persuaded her to stick with the career as an artist in her own right, offering some advice on the trappings of fame and fortune along the way. The result is a smooth, piano-laden album, Breathe In, on which Lucie's husky tones sound not unlike an English version of Delta Goodrem, or even Christina Aguilera in her more reflective moments.

"I have co-written most of the songs on the album, and written some myself," she says. "I think everything gives me inspiration. I try to be as honest as possible with my songs and not just write lyrics for the sake of it.

"Gary and I are still good friends. In fact, I am hoping he will come down and see some of my gigs. He is always giving me advice."

With her blend of thoughtful pop and heartfelt soul - inspired, she says, by her parents' record collection classics by Stevie Wonder and The Beatles - it seems unlikely at this early stage that Lucie is one to be transformed by fame and fortune.

However, should the celebrity lifestyle come her way, it appears she will always have the advice of her old friend to fall back on.

"Gary is very much behind the scenes doing song-writing and producing," she says.

Lucie Silvas will be supporting Jamie Cullum at the Carling Apollo tonight (June 23). Her album, Breathe In, and single, What You're Made Of, are scheduled for release in October.