CONTENTS
Title Page
CHAPTER ONE: A REUNION MADE IN HEAVEN
CHAPTER TWO: IT’S A BOY
CHAPTER THREE: TAKE THAT TAKES OFF
CHAPTER FOUR: A SOLO STAR IS BORN
CHAPTER FIVE: ROBBIE GETS ROMANTIC
CHAPTER SIX: ROBBIE’S TRAVAILS
CHAPTER SEVEN: BACK TO THE BEGINNING
CHAPTER EIGHT: EVERYTHING CHANGES
CHAPTER NINE: THE WILDERNESS YEARS
CHAPTER TEN: FOR THE RECORD
CHAPTER ELEVEN: THE FEUDING BEGINS
CHAPTER TWELVE: THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN
CHAPTER THIRTEEN: SING WHEN YOU’RE WINNING
CHAPTER FOURTEEN: THE CIRCUS
CHAPTER FIFTEEN: NOTHING SUCCEEDS LIKE SUCCESS
Copyright
On 15 July 2010, after years of speculation, the most popular boy band ever was about to re-form. Well, re-re-form, actually, as they had already done so as a highly successful foursome, but now it was truly going to happen. Take That was to be a five-piece again. Robbie Williams was coming home.
In truth, it had been in the pipeline for years. In the aftermath of his departure from Take That in 1995, Robbie had forged a stellar career, whereas the others hadn’t. But in more recent years, Take That had staged one of the most successful comebacks the world of entertainment had ever seen, while Robbie’s career hadn’t glowed as brightly as once it had. At the same time, hostilities were largely over: the rivalry between Robbie and his old bandmates, especially Gary Barlow, had cooled considerably. Indeed, they all looked set to be the best of friends once more.
As far back as December 2008, it had become clear that a reunion really was on the cards. Robbie was waxing positively lyrical about his old friends: ‘The thing that struck me the most was how much fun they’re having,’ he said. ‘It’s more rewarding when you’re a gang. Ever since I left Take That I’ve wanted to be in a band. We got together a lot over the summer. It was amazing. We’ve all matured a lot since we parted. I’m very pleased to say the differences we’ve had have just melted away. I celebrated by getting a Take That symbol tattooed on my right arm. I’m proud to know the boys and I’m proud to have been in the band. I’d love to be in the band again but I’ve got some unfinished business of my own.’ And anyway – there were a few legalities to be ironed out first.
But still, a new tattoo of Take That’s symbol? It must be serious. Gary clearly thought so, too: ‘We will [reunite] one day,’ he said. ‘I just don’t know when.’ Although no dates had been announced, behind the scenes the wheels were being put in motion: Robbie’s people were talking to Take That’s people and all the interested parties were gradually edging back towards the fold. In March the following year, Robbie attended the opening of We Will Rock You in Manchester and came out for the idea more strongly still.
‘I’m in regular contact with them, even Gary, and it’s looking more likely by the week,’ he observed. ‘The lads all seem up for it and some people think it’s a done deal. I think it would be fun. Let’s see what happens, but my head’s in the right place, so the timing could be right if Gary calls. I think it would be fun. It would be good. We’ve matured now. We’d have a laugh.’
In September 2009, the rumour mill went into overdrive. Robbie and the rest of the boys had reportedly been spotted in Electric Lady studios in New York. Was it possible that new material was on the cards? That had been one major sticking point last time around – that Gary was getting all the credit for songwriting (not least because he had written all the songs) and that Robbie hadn’t been allowed to do his own thing. That issue clearly had to be addressed if the boys were to be together once more.
Robbie was ‘back with Take That in the studio and they’re all writing together again’, said one source. ‘Robbie wouldn’t be happy performing old Take That songs that he has had no part in. But if they can pen new tracks that they’re all happy with, they’ll record them and he’ll be back with them on stage.’
A spokesman for Take That, however, would not confirm that they were working on any new music and instead said the band was finishing work on The Greatest Day, their first live album, which was scheduled for release in November 2010. With neat timing, Robbie was also due to release a new album, Reality Killed the Video Star, the same month, but there was nothing like the potential rivalry there would have been had the two events coincided a couple of years earlier. Everyone was wishing one another well: it had become a veritable love-in.
There were rumours, although ultimately they came to nothing, that Robbie was interested in joining Take That on their spectacular ‘The Circus Live’ tour, which had been a knockout, both with the critics and with the ecstatic crowds. Finally, in November 2009, all five appeared on stage together for the first time in 14 years at a Children In Need concert at the Royal Albert Hall. They didn’t actually perform together, however – they just embraced between numbers. The closest they came was when Robbie and Gary took to the mike together – with everyone else on the stage – for a rendition of ‘Hey Jude’.
By this time, Gary was sounding every bit as enthusiastic as Robbie. ‘It was lovely for us all to stand arm in arm and take a bow,’ he said in an interview about the night. ‘We’ve been in sort of real, proper contact for about a year now, and we’ve been hanging out and spending the evenings together. And when this night came up, I actually thought of Rob, and thought, “Wouldn’t it be great if we could get him there?”’ It had clearly been an emotional experience and there was more to come, with Gary saying they wanted to get back together and do something, but not just as a one-off. ‘We want it to be a bit more substantial.’
Just how substantial was becoming increasingly clear. The following summer, in June 2010, the two were present at a charity football match for Soccer Aid at Old Trafford, England v Rest of the World, where they hugged in front of the wildly cheering crowds. Robbie was playing in the England team, alongside Ben Shephard, Bradley Walsh, Jamie Theakston, Ricky Hatton, Teddy Sheringham and Jamie Redknapp, while on the other side were Ryan Giggs, Zinedine Zidane, Woody Harrelson, Mike Myers, Jens Lehmann, Gordon Ramsey, Shane Filan, Ronan Keating and Joe Calzaghe, with captain Michael Sheen. The match was a 2-2 draw, with the Rest of the World finally declared winners after a penalty shoot-out, but such was the intensity of the speculation surrounding a Take That reunion that the hug overshadowed everything else.
It seemed they had something to celebrate. Shortly after the match, it was announced that Robbie and Gary were to record a duet entitled ‘Shame’, which would be written jointly and would appear on Robbie’s album In and Out of Consciousness: The Greatest Hits 1990–2010. That did, however, muddy the waters slightly for, although the two were evidently on excellent terms again, this was Robbie reunited only with Gary, not with the rest of Take That. Admittedly, the rivalry had been very much between the two of them but, briefly, the announcement deflected attention from the bigger picture. But not for long.
The release of the album was another indication that Robbie was looking back over the past and reviewing his life. Being a compilation, it encompassed his time with Take That as well as his solo career, and was bound to cause a period of reflection. All the boys were older now, closer to 40 than 30 (in the case of Howard and Jason, they actually were in their 40s), and if they wanted to sing together again, there was no time like the present. Time was moving fast.
Robbie