Pop
Robbie Williams has 'apologised a million times' to Gary Barlow for his behaviour
Robbie Williams is speaking out on how bad he feels for the hurt he caused Gary Barlow.
Robbie Williams has opened up once again about the way he treated Gary Barlow during the height of their feud, admitting on stage that he still carries guilt over the way he behaved. The singer told fans he has apologised “a million times” for the part he played in their long‑running rift.
The 51‑year‑old paused his Long 90s Tour show at London’s O2 Academy Brixton on Sunday (08.02.26) to introduce Ego a Go Go, reflecting on how he came across in the recent Take That Netflix documentary.
Robbie said watching the footage back made him realise just how difficult he had been during those years, calling himself “the smuggest person that has ever lived” and adding: “Gary Barlow was supposed to be mean but I am f****** mean. A horrible d***head I was.” He joked that although he regrets it now, “it was f***ing fun at the time.”
Robbie and Gary’s relationship famously unravelled in the mid‑90s, when Take That were at the peak of their success.
Creative disagreements and rising tension led Robbie, then the youngest member, to walk out of the band in 1995 just weeks before their farewell tour.
His departure sparked one of British pop’s most talked‑about fallouts.
Robbie regularly took aim at Gary, now 55, in interviews throughout the late 90s and early 2000s, while Gary later admitted the split left him “devastated” and struggling both personally and professionally. The two barely communicated for more than a decade.
It wasn’t until the late 2000s that the pair began to reconnect, with Robbie reaching out during a period of reflection and recovery.
Their reconciliation paved the way for Take That’s 2010 Progress era, which saw them writing and performing together again for the first time since the 90s.
Both have since spoken about how significant that reunion was, with Robbie repeatedly acknowledging the hurt he caused.
During Sunday’s show, the Angels singer also took a moment to thank fans for sticking with him throughout his career.
He said: "What I managed to do is stretch, with my career, an elastic band from Stoke-on-Trent to the moon. It feels like the simulation theory might be real. It feels like The Matrix may exist, because I’m not supposed to be here with 16 number one albums. At some point in these 36 years, you guys decided that I am your football team. And I f***ing love being your football team. Thank you very f***ing much."
