TAKE That singer Gary Barlow has revealed he nearly gave up music after being kicked out of a club without being paid following a gig in Accrington.

Barlow said he was left "utterly embarrassed" after being told a performance in the town as a teenager in the 1980s was rubbish.

The budding singer/ songwriter carved out a successful career on the Working Men's Club circuit before he hit the big time with Take That and won an prestigious Ivor Novello songwriting award for the hit Back for Good in the mid-nineties.

But he hit a bum note when he arrived for a show in Accrington in 1985.

As a 14-year-old, he was performing as part of a duo called "Karisma" with his girlfriend Heather.

He played keyboards and both sang.

In his new auto-biography, My Take, Barlow said he was earning £20 a night performing songs including Top of the World, by The Carpenters and I Know Him So Well by Elaine Paige and Barbara Dickson.

They were playing shows across the North West, mainly in Liverpool, Wirral and Runcorn, near where they grew up in Cheshire.

Describing his night in Accrington he said in the book: "We did all our usual material, which went down really well wherever we played.

"Afterwards, as we were packing up the gear two members of the committee came over and said, I'm sorry kids but the fact is you weren't very good, not what we were expecting at all, so we're not going to pay you'."

Barlow added: "I couldn't believe it. They refused to pay us a penny. I was utterly embarrassed by the whole thing and I'm ashamed to say it made me doubt our act."

He said that the incident was even more upsetting because both his parents and Heather's parents had come to watch the show.

In the book he does not reveal which working men's club the incident took place at but he said the club circuit stood him in good stead for his future career.

John Freeman, steward at the Sydney Street Working Men's Club in Accrington, said it was no surprise to him to hear of the tough time Gary Barlow had in the town.

He said: "It was a difficult circuit and still is. Audiences will let an act know if they're not enjoying it. The punters are tough in Accrington."

Mr Freeman has been involved in the club since the early 80s and said he remembers many acts struggling on stage.

He added: "Maybe we're a bit harsh sometimes."