Before performing Ego a Go Go at London’s O2 Academy Brixton as part of his Long 90s Tour on Sunday (08.02.26), the 51-year-old star reflected on the period documented in the Take That Netflix docu-series.
Robbie and Gary’s relationship famously fractured in the mid-90s as Take That were reaching their commercial peak. Robbie, then the youngest member, clashed with Gary over creative control and the band’s direction. By 1995, tensions had escalated to the point where Robbie quit the group just weeks before their final tour, leaving Gary to front the band.
What followed was one of British pop’s most public fallouts.
Robbie repeatedly mocked Gary, 55, in interviews throughout the late 90s and early 2000s.
He released Ego a Go Go — the very song he introduced on Sunday — which openly referenced their feud.
Gary, meanwhile, had kept largely silent but later admitted the split left him “devastated” and struggling personally and professionally.
The pair barely spoke for more than a decade.
Their relationship began to heal in the late 2000s, with Robbie later revealing he reached out during a period of reflection and recovery. By 2010, the pair had reunited publicly for Take That’s Progress era, co-writing and performing together for the first time since the 90s. Both have since spoken about the emotional weight of that reconciliation, with Robbie repeatedly acknowledging the hurt he caused.
He said of the series: “What an a**hole I am in episode two. The smuggest person that has ever lived in the world. Gary Barlow was supposed to be mean but I am f***ing mean. A horrible d***head I was.”
He quipped: “It’s not nice now but it was f***ing fun at the time.”
Later on during the concert, the Angels singer thanked his legions of fans for their loyalty over the years.
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.”
