Gary Barlow and Robbie Williams: Bitter Take That feud allegedly riddled with jealousy and illness

Gary Barlow and Robbie Williams were two of the most recognisable names from 90s boy band Take That. The group, made up of five musicians, soon became a household name after their debut track – but the two most notable members had a bitter feud that led to their downfall.

The band’s lead singer was Gary, now 52, from Manchester. However, Robbie, 49, from Stoke, had ambitions to make it as a solo artist – which he has since achieved.

The bitter feud between Gary and Robbie was allegedly riddled with jealousy, tears and illness. Ultimately, the bad feeling led to Robbie quitting the band and heartbreak among the other band members.

The break-up was not all bad for Robbie as he later found success as a solo artist with UK number one hit Angels. He is also known for his songs Let Me Entertain You, Rock DJ and Kids featuring Kylie Minogue.

Robbie’s last Take That appearance

The band released their chart-topping single Back for Good in 1995, a song that Gary claims took him only fifteen minutes to write. This became the last music video to feature Robbie Williams before he left the band.

Robbie says he was “forced to quit” Take That

Robbie left Take That in 1995, but the star said that the circumstances at the time meant that he was “forced to quit” the band. The move left fans and band member Mark Owen heartbroken over the decision.

The Angels singer was reportedly asked to leave the band after he failed to show up to rehearsals and instead chose to dance up a storm with Liam Gallagher.

Speaking about leaving Take That, Robbie said: "I was a pathetic, pitiful creature. The first thing I would do in the morning would be to empty the bottle of wine that I had fallen asleep over two hours earlier. I'd have taken a line of coke because I couldn't get up without it."

Robbie criticises Gary and Take That as “mentally unstable morons”

After quitting the band, Robbie didn’t shy away from having his true feelings heard. He claimed to have hated the music the band made, and his criticisms included that of frontman Gary, as he branded him a “clueless ******”. 

He also criticised the group, saying they had “all the creativity of mentally unstable morons”. Robbie, aged 21 at the time, said: “I hated our music and in the end I hated myself.”

Gary suggests Robbie was jealous of earning more money him

After Robbie left, Take That split up a year later. Gary himself embarked on a hugely successful solo career which earned him a reported £6.5million fortune.

Having earned most of his money from songwriting royalties, Gary accused Robbie of being jealous of his success. He said: "I do wonder if that’s the source of his [Robbie's] feelings because I probably made six times more than they did."

Robbie finds success with Angels

While Gary was first to lap up success in his solo career, Robbie turned the tables by releasing Angels in 1997. The song became a huge number one UK hit and Robbie rose to fame.

As a result of the hit single, Robbie won three BRIT Awards and sold six million records. Robbie was finally seeing the success he wanted after leaving the band.

Meanwhile, Gary’s career had started to dwindle, as he was forced to cancel a show at Glasgow’s Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre because of ticketing issues. Gary’s second album was poorly received, charting at number 35 – in the end, the singer was dropped by his record label.

The results led to Gary saying that Robbie was “the winner, hands down”. He said: "I can imagine the chat they’ll be having in Robbie-land tonight. The cheers, wolf whistles and belly laughs. There’s no question now, mate, you’re the winner, hands down.”

Robbie warned not to throw away his success with drink and drugs

Robbie was warned by his friends not to throw away his success with drink and drugs as the pop star battled with fame. The Rock DJ singer said: “Throw it all away? And see that fat **** Barlow dance on my grave? No way.”

The singer said that he “wanted to crush” Gary and his “memory of the band”. He said: “My problem has always been with Gary. It was always with Gary.