Take That soared to fame as one of the UK’s most successful bands in the 90s, selling millions of records. However, this success sparked a significant rift between members Robbie Williams and Gary Barlow.
With the band having released albums Take That and Party, Everything Changes, and Nobody Else, tension started to show between the pair. In his 2023 Netflix documentary, Robbie confessed he felt “jealous” of Gary being viewed as the lead star, which left him feeling “resentful”.
It came at a time when the Stoke-on-Trent born star was indulging in drink and drugs, prompting further issues with his bandmates. Robbie, now 50, recounted on his Netflix special: “I was ingesting everything I could get my hands on. Ecstasy, cocaine, drinking – I’m literally drinking a bottle of vodka a night before going into rehearsals. So that’s happening… that’s happening every night.”
A defining moment for Robbie was a trip to Glastonbury, after which he was captured on camera speaking to journalists with a missing tooth, reports Leeds Live. He revealed: “One day I went into rehearsals and then at lunch time they said, ‘Rob we need to have a band meeting.’ I said to the boys I just couldn’t be there anymore.”
By then, the relationship with Gary had deteriorated further, with Robbie branding his fellow singer a “clueless w**ker” and disparagingly remarking that the band “had all the creativity of mentally unstable morons.”
Robbie shared his past feelings: “I disliked Gary the most. He was the one that was supposed to have, be everything, the career… I wanted to make him pay, I was vengeful, by having the career that he was supposed to have.”
After parting ways with the band, Robbie faced personal struggles, feeling his career was “falling off a cliff” as he grappled with substance abuse issues. A pivotal moment came in 1997 when he checked into rehab, an experience that would preface the release of his breakout solo hit ‘Angels’.
This chart-topper ignited a solo career that has seen remarkable achievements, including Robbie eclipsing Elvis Presley’s record for the most individual number one albums in 2022. With ‘XXV’, his 13th solo number one album, he surpassed Elvis’ tally of 12.
Including his work with Take That which brought five number ones, Robbie Williams now stands as the second most successful chart act in terms of number one albums – trailing only behind Sir Paul McCartney. McCartney has racked up a total of 23 number one albums across his tenure with The Beatles, Wings, and his solo ventures.
Exploring Robbie’s journey from his upbringing in Stoke-on-Trent through to the triumphant three-night sell-out at Knebworth, the biopic ‘Better Man’ made a splash last year. In a move supported by Robbie after conversations with director Michael Gracey, the film features a CGI monkey portraying the singer, as reported by the Mirror.
On delving into the unique angle of the biopic, Robbie remarked: “I think we’re very cinematically numb to seeing human suffering, but when we see an animal hurting, there is something very uncomfortable about that.”
Robbie Williams has expressed his concerns that the film could “open old wounds”, including his past feud with former bandmate Gary Barlow. Despite their well-known disagreement, they chose to make peace, with Robbie even reuniting with Take That in 2010.
Speaking to Deadline, Robbie shared: “Mark [Owen] reached out last week and was like, ‘Hey, Rob, me and the lads are all going to be in town. Can we see a screening of Better Man? ‘ And I was like, ‘Yes. I’d love you to.'” He added, “Which of course I would, but also, I’m terrified because our relationship is so complicated and so healed that returning to the scene of the crime and talking in the way that I talked as a 17 year old is bound to open old wounds for people.”
Robbie disclosed that Gary, 54, was sent a copy of the Better Man script before production. This led to a frank response from the former X Factor judge, who likened his character to Star Wars villain Darth Vader.
On The Graham Norton Show, Robbie revealed: “I sent the first script to Gary Barlow and he phoned me up – we have a great relationship now – and said ‘Rob, I come off worse than Darth Vader in Star Wars’, so we made amendments.”
“When you talk about my past it happens to be contentious, and I was a different person then. The film brings all that up again so it’s super odd and I can understand how it could be hard for Gary.”
Following Robbie’s second exit from Take That in 2014, bandmate Jason Orange also retired from the entertainment industry. Despite these departures, the band continues to perform with remaining members Barlow, Owen and Howard Donald.