{"id":88018,"date":"2023-11-25T08:36:30","date_gmt":"2023-11-25T08:36:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebritytidings.com\/?p=88018"},"modified":"2023-11-25T08:36:30","modified_gmt":"2023-11-25T08:36:30","slug":"take-thats-gary-barlow-says-robbie-williams-public-attacks-left-him-battered-and-shamed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebritytidings.com\/tv-movies\/take-thats-gary-barlow-says-robbie-williams-public-attacks-left-him-battered-and-shamed\/","title":{"rendered":"Take Thats Gary Barlow says Robbie Williams public attacks left him battered and shamed"},"content":{"rendered":"

Watching his former bandmate Robbie Williams conquer the world should have filled Gary Barlow with brotherly pride – instead, their intense rivalry meant he was consumed by feelings of shame and worthlessness that rocked his mental health for years to come. <\/p>\n

Opening up about his three-decade career, the 52-year-old admits that Robbie\u2019s exit from Take That, the band\u2019s split, and his rocky attempt to go solo left him in a vulnerable place in the late-90s. <\/p>\n

\u201cI remember thinking, \u2018Who am I? What do I really think? I\u2019d lost all identity by that point,\u201d he says. \u201cI spent a year blaming myself, a year feeling sorry for myself. There was a shame thing going on with me, which was constantly being reminded by Robbie – who was King of the World at the time.\u201d <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Robbie\u2019s music career was going from strength to strength with his albums dominating the charts – and the Angels singer couldn\u2019t resist taking a pop at Gary any chance he got. \u201cSorry Gary, but I was always the talented member of the band,\u201d he said when picking up a BRIT Award for Best Song. <\/p>\n

\u201cEvery time that happened, it would take me six months to get over another version of him saying something and everyone laughing,\u201d Gary says. \u201cSo I had some eating disorders along the way. I battered myself.\u201d <\/p>\n

Rebuilding his mental health took years for Gary. \u201cI had to start from scratch. It was a very slow climb back,\u201d he emotionally tells BBC Two\u2019s Reel Stories. \u201cI think in the modern day, a therapist would have undone it in about 12 months but it took me five years to eventually come out of it with some kind of light.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

But today, the Take That boys – including Mark Owen and Howard Donald – can look back at the band\u2019s journey with pride and a handful of laughs. Particularly, the boy band\u2019s early days, performing at a school assembly in 1992. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was just before we broke through,\u201d Mark, 51, says, cringing at grainy footage of himself with bleached blonde hair. \u201cIt was a slog, it was hard work, we were putting a lot of hours in. But it was kind of exciting just to be part of something.\u201d <\/p>\n

Take That took off the same year with \u2018It Only Takes A Minute\u2019 entering the charts – although Gary admits that it was a \u201cfrustrating time\u201d for him. <\/p>\n

\u201cThree of my songs hadn\u2019t made the charts. [Our manager] Nigel turned around and said, \u2018Listen – they\u2019re not getting your music yet.\u2019 <\/p>\n

\u201cI felt like I\u2019d failed everyone. I was begging, \u2018No, I\u2019ve got another song.\u2019 But Nigel was right.\u201d <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Gary says his Take That journey truly started when their first arena tour kicked off later that year, although the relentless hamster wheel of pop music started to take its toll on the band – resulting in Robbie Williams\u2019 exit. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe were always told you can\u2019t go away for too long, people will forget about you – and people were making a lot of money out of us,\u201d Gary says. \u201cIt\u2019s a treadmill that starts going round and round – and really, the first person who got control of it was Robbie because he left.\u201d <\/p>\n

Howard regrets not checking in on Robbie before his shock solo move. \u201cIf you look back at that whole situation of him leaving, he\u2019d obviously had enough. In hindsight, you do wish you\u2019d spoken to him the next week – \u2018Listen mate, we\u2019re about to go on tour, is everything alright?\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Despite promising fans that the remaining four – including Jason Orange – would be sticking together, the stress of Robbie\u2019s exit led to the band splitting in 1996. \u201cIt was such a massive thing that had happened to us, it was almost like being part of a traumatic event,\u201d Gary reflects. \u201cIt was so big, I just think we had to get away from it.\u201d <\/p>\n

And it wasn\u2019t long before Gary, Mark and Howard each embarked on solo careers – but none of them could match Robbie\u2019s ever-growing success. <\/p>\n

\u201cI probably did three or four gigs and there was just no one there,\u201d Howard reveals. \u201cI didn\u2019t even feel comfortable in the skin of a solo artist and knowing what to say to these people. It didn\u2019t feel right.\u201d <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Luckily, the boys were pulled out of their funk when the band – minus Robbie – reunited for a documentary in 2005 and reformed Take That. \u201cThe one thing I identified in everybody was fear and it\u2019s not only me who\u2019s scared of this thing that\u2019s spat us all out,\u201d Gary remembers. \u201cI felt stronger immediately. At that point, that was my first day in a band. I\u2019d spent the 90s trying to get away from it but this was my first day in Take That.\u201d <\/p>\n

Their past struggles and adventures became material for new songs – and the foursome channelled \u201c10 years worth of pent-up emotions\u201d into what became their comeback hit Patience the following year. <\/p>\n

\u201cI felt in many ways it was us discovering ourselves again,\u201d Mark says, with Gary adding; \u201cWe were a little bit cut and a little bit bruised and it was alright. It was time to put it down and document it forever.\u201d <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

After winning old fans and their new families back with albums \u2018Beautiful World\u2019 and \u2018The Circus\u2019, the unthinkable happened – Robbie Williams returned to the band. Howard admits that he was \u201cnervous\u201d to work on their reunion album \u2018Progress\u2019 with Robbie. \u201cI didn\u2019t think he was going to be very giving in his writing but he was. He was so giving.\u201d <\/p>\n

The full crew went on to tour again in 2011 and had \u201can amazing time\u201d – however, that would be the end of the road for Robbie and surprisingly Jason with Take That. \u201cIf I go back now, us all being back in a room together was probably Jason\u2019s dream,\u201d Mark says. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe said he wanted to draw a line under it. We were adults and we spoke a lot about everything but there was no changing his mind. He wanted to distance himself from everything really,\u201d Howard adds. \u201cI felt quite hurt by it – but at the same time, I really understood it.\u201d <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Gary, Mark and Howard made the \u201cscary\u201d decision to go ahead as a trio – and have since released two albums, completed three tours and performed at King Charles III\u2019s coronation. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis was mental for us – we were honoured to be there,\u201d Gary says as the teary-eyed trio watch back their royal performance, the first time they\u2019d been on stage together in five years. <\/p>\n

Howard adds, \u201cI was very nervous and I remember when the choir came out and I started thinking, \u2018I\u2019m going to lose it here. If I\u2019m blubbing, I\u2019m not going to be able to sing.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n

With their ninth album – their third as a trio – about to come out, Take That are stronger than ever. But in the words of their own hit song, they\u2019ll never forget where they\u2019ve come here from. \u201cIt feels like our band now, and that band is Jason and Robbie as well,\u201d Mark says. \u201cEven though they\u2019re not here, they\u2019re in our band as well.\u201d <\/p>\n

Reel Stories: Take That airs Saturday 25th November at 8:30pm on BBC Two. <\/b><\/p>\n<\/p>\n