Howard Paul Donald (born 28 April 1968 in Droylsden, Manchester, England) is an English singer and DJ. He is one quarter of the English boyband Take That. He sang lead vocals on one of the band's many number one singles.
In the 2006 ITV documentary Take That For The Record Howard shocked his fellow band members and manager with the revelation that he had been so depressed with the split in 1996 that he had walked away from the press conference with the genuine intention of committing suicide by jumping into the River Thames. Instead, he spent the years after the break-up developing his songwriting skills and trying to land himself a solo record deal. However, he has since relaunched himself as a successful club DJ.
He is father of two daughters, Grace May (born 1999) and Lola May (born 2005). They have different mothers (Victoria Piddington & Marie-Christine Musswessels).
In 2005 Take That reformed for "one last tour" in the summer of 2006, following the release of their Greatest Hits album.
In late 2006 Take That reunited and released their first studio album since 1995, Beautiful World and off it they recorded two number ones in Patience and Shine.
The new album features Howard on lead vocals on two tracks; Beautiful World and Mancunian Way . The song Mancunian Way is a tribute to the band's hometown Manchester.
Howard sustained a Chest Injury at the start of their 2007 European tour resulting in hospitalization. According to the UK press Donald suffered from a collapsed lung after attempting a dance move that involved a back flip into the splits, it is said he could be off stage for up to four weeks.
