By Lucy Norris
Copyright hellomagazine
Gary Barlow has revealed where he stands with his former bandmate Robbie Williams, and things are not as frosty between the pop stars as they once were. Despite a massive fallout back in the late 90s after Robbie decided to leave their band Take That, it appears the musical exes are slowly inching back together. During an event that was held to announce Take That’s return to the global stage, Gary, 54, commented on his relationship with 51-year-old solo artist Robbie and admitted there was no longer any “rivalry” between the old friends.
The Rule The World singer explained that he had stepped back into the writing room with Robbie for the star’s upcoming album Britpop and said the experience of creating music together was “relaxing”. He told Metro: “We’re always in touch, you know. There definitely was, back in our time, a bit of rivalry, but those days are well over and it’s now a very relaxing experience. He’s obviously a great writer and we vibe off each other and it’s fun. It really is.”
A band breakup and a 30-year feud
The infamous breakup between Robbie and Take That, whose current membership consists of Gary, Mark Owen and Howard Donald, spanned decades of pop culture history. Fans were heartbroken when the Angels hitmaker announced he was going solo in 1995, and a rivalry between the band and the solo artist has remained rife throughout time.
Robbie released a Netflix documentary titled Robbie Williams in 2023 that reminisced over his musical career and touched on his rocky relationship with Gary in particular. In one scene, he could be heard explaining: “I disliked Gary the most because he was the one that was supposed to have everything and the career. And I wanted to make him pay. I was vengeful by having the career that he was supposed to have.”
Welcome to the Circus
Despite tensions lessening between Take That and their former star Robbie, the solo singer will not be joining the men as they relaunch their famous record-breaking sell-out Circus Live tour in the summer of 2026. The live shows will feature the setlist from the previous tour of the same name in 2009 and will travel across the UK and Ireland. The band also revealed they would be releasing a new album next year.
