Robbie Williams ends feud with Gary Barlow as he emotionally reveals he apologised for his ‘smug’ behaviour
ROBBIE Williams has finally put his feud with Take That bandmate Gary Barlow to bed with a public apology at his War Child gig tonight.
During the intimate concert at Manchester‘s Aviva Studios, Robbie took a moment to reflect on the recent Take That Netflix documentary.
He famously quit the band at the height of their fame in 1995 to pursue a solo career, fed-up of playing second fiddle to the pop group’s leader, Gary.
Years of mud-slinging followed, predominantly from Robbie towards his boyband rival which had a severe impact on Gary’s self-esteem.
Though they quashed their feud for a 2010 reunion tour and album, questions still lingered at just how friendly the pair were.
Today, Robbie did his best to make amends for past behaviours and admitted he was out of order at times to Gary (and Howard Donald and Mark Owen).
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“Did anybody see the Take That documentary?,” he asked the audience. “I have to say I was a bit of a ‘c***’ in the second episode. I don’t think anybody has seen a man smugger than Robbie Williams in the second episode.
“And you know what, I felt really bad. I felt f***ing horrible about it. I’d been horrible to Gary, horrible to Mark, horrible to Howard and I was genuinely thinking about it for days and days and days and I’d go to bed at night and I was thinking I’ve gotta apologise again.
“But just to clarify, I f**king love Gary Barlow now. And he loved me. There’s only so many times I can apologise now.”
He then segued into his 90s track Ego A Go Go, written about Gary, calling it a “horrible song”.
Its chorus goes: “Ego a go go now you’ve gone solo/Living on a memory/Now you’ve gone stately/And yes you do hate me/Could you offer an apology.”
Listening to his band rehearse the track on a previous date, Robbie said he had a revelation.
“I was sat there thinking hang on no one has ever left a boyband and gone ‘they’re a c, they’re a c except me’. But I’m a c***,” he said.
In the three-part Netflix docuseries, Gary talks about his struggle with bulimia, which started following Take That’s split in 1996 and his rivalry with Robbie.
Taunts from Robbie are replayed during, with footage showing him saying: “My problem always was with Gary, I wanted to crush him.
“I wanted to crush the memory of the band and I didn’t let go. Even when he was down I didn’t let go.”
Speaking at the premiere at Battersea Power Station, Gary admitted it was tough to watch.
He said: “It’s a narrative I haven’t thought about for years and years.
“When we had our reunion we spent a lot of time talking about it and I remember leaving on one particular day and we’d discussed everything. And I remember leaving and my shoulders were light.
“And I’d not thought about it since because I’d not needed to. And it brought it all back. Tricky times, they were.”
As well as the tough times, Take That fans get a front seat to the inner workings of the group’s comeback with Robbie in 2011.
Opening up about healing their old wounds, Robbie said: “I needed Gary to listen to my truth.”
Gary continued: “There were things around people not being supportive of his songwriting and his weight.
“I’d called him Blobby rather than Robbie one day, which I shouldn’t have done.
“Then I hit him with things he had done to me that I didn’t like.
“In about 25 minutes we’d put things to bed that had haunted us for years.”