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Robbie Williams · S2 E3
Gary vs. Robbie
The quiet rivalry behind perfect choreography
Gary Barlow has a manor house, a swimming pool, multiple cars, and a butler named Maurice. Robbie Williams can't afford to move his mother out of their childhood home in Burslem.
A Million Love Songs (1992). Gary Barlow wrote this at fifteen, before Take That even existed. The song that built the band was written by a teenager in his bedroom.
The Songwriting Gap
Gary Barlow writes every Take That single. He earns roughly six times more than the other four members in royalties. The creative pipeline runs through Barlow and Martin-Smith, and nobody else is invited in.
“Gary was Nigel's cash cow. I was resentful.”
— Robbie Williams, TIME, 2024
TAP TO REVEAL: What did Gary Barlow call Robbie Williams behind his back?
The Lead Vocal
March 1994. "Everything Changes" is released with Robbie Williams on lead vocals. It goes to number one and stays there for two weeks. For once, the cheeky kid from Stoke is the voice of the biggest band in Britain.
Everything Changes -- Take That
Robbie Williams on lead vocals. Take That's fourth consecutive UK number one. The rare moment when the kid who wasn't allowed to write the songs got to sing the biggest one.
The Numbers
At what age did Gary Barlow write "A Million Love Songs"?
The resentment is building. The drinking is getting worse. And Robbie Williams is about to discover that the fastest way to destroy yourself is to do it in public.
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