Gray moved from Manchester to Wales at the age of nine. He grew up in the small coastal town of Solva in Pembrokeshire. He later moved to the north-west of England to attend the University of Liverpool. 

His musical career received early support from a dedicated Republic of Ireland fan base. At an early gig in Ireland, Gray was introduced by comic playwright Pat Ingoldsby.

After a few marginally successful releases through the 1990s, Gray's breakthrough came with the worldwide release of his fourth album, White Ladder, in 1998. This was a critical and commercial success and included his best-known songs: "This Years Love", "Babylon" and "Please Forgive Me". In the United States, the album received a boost from jam-band leader Dave Matthews, who made it the first release by ATO Records, the record company he co-founded. In Ireland, it remains the biggest-selling album ever.

On August 11, 2001, White Ladder finally reached the top of the UK albums chart, on the back of the single success of "Babylon" (a remixed and edited version for radio, which omitted the third verse completely). The album had been selling steadily since its reissue the previous May, thereby setting a new record for the longest uninterrupted climb to Number One. The 2002 follow-up (not counting the Lost Songs 95-98 release), A New Day at Midnight, went straight in at Number One, whilst Gray's seventh album, Life in Slow Motion also hit the top in its first week of release in September 2005.

[Source: Wikipedia. See his David Gray article for more information]