Robbie and Gary: The Biography

by Paul Scott

Robbie Williams and Gary Barlow - together and apart, these two men have dominated the charts for the best part of twenty years. And it is their fractured 'bromance' that has shaped the history of one of the world's most successful bands.
Based on years of in-depth research, this authoritative biography uncovers the truth about their tortured relationship. It reveals why sixteen-year-old Robbie idolised the older and more talented Gary when, as unknowns, they were put together in the newly formed Take That. We see how the stresses brought on by fame and money destroyed their fragile friendship and resulted in Robbie trying to take Gary's position as front man. We also discover how far they'd go to hurt each other during a feud that lasted fifteen years and continued to shape their solo careers.
Explaining why the two men finally reconciled in 2010, and analysing how their reunion is coping with the stresses of touring once more, "Robbie and Gary" offers a unique insight into the lives of these much loved stars.

Genres: Biography

320 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2011

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[Sharon Goodwin]

Paul Scott structures his story of Robbie & Gary. He doesn’t offer personal opinions, he does quote from previous autobiographies and refers to some sources as ‘friends say’.

He begins with a brief history of Take That’s formation and the group dynamics that were fostered by their manager, Nigel Martin-Smith.

We follow them separately – the race to get their first solo singles out, Gary’s relationship with Dawn Andrews and his emotional decline, Robbie’s experience in the American market and his emotional decline, the rise of Robbie, the fall of Gary and then the fall of Robbie (yes, he really was falling at one point even though I don’t remember much about that in the media) and the rise of Gary! We do get to see the psychology behind the men.

All the layers are removed leaving bare foibles, emotional wounds and the true feelings of these very popular celebrities. I thought the author told their story with compassion and honesty with the last two paragraphs summing up their ‘new’ friendship really well.

Of course I loved looking at the photographs … did they really look that young! and I also liked the chapter titles which were all themed from Take That.

I have to admit personally that I love their ‘bromance’ ! and once you read the book, you’ll understand why they never concretised Robbie’s return to Take That.

I knew I would enjoy reading this book having followed Take That when they first formed but I have to say I also enjoyed the way it was written. However, fans may not like seeing Robbie and Gary portrayed in such a harsh light. Despite seeing them with their masks off, I still think this book will be gracing many bookshelves.

[Catherine]

Very interesting! Especially enjoyed discovering the back stories to some of Robbie's songs. Didn't know a lot about Take That or Gary before reading this (so pleased he is back on top!). Well researched and well written biography.

[Bungluna]

The author seems to be fascinated and repelled by Robbie Williams. He spends so much time detailing all his foibles that Gary gets lost in the shuffle. From what I can tell it was fairly factual in most respects, so I guess the author did it's job.

[Ethana Bale]

I knew about this time through Robbie and Gary’s books. I also saw the documentary and always followed their stories. But this book was an easy read and it told me about some things I did not know (TV performances I missed by not living in the UK). I enjoyed the book.

[Tobi ﾄﾋﾞ]

I totally forgot about this book until now but I just thought I’d say the funnest fact about me, which is that I fixated on take that when I was 10 and read this book several times

[Robert Godden]

The events in the book were interesting, the book not so much.
As I was not a teenage schoolgirl in the 90s in the UK, I completely missed Take That's two minutes of fame the first time around.
The feud that has lasted most of the time since that demise is the subject of this book.
The author tries to be even-handed, and fails miserably. He's Team Gary all the way!
Every success of Barlow is because he's a genius, every failure a cruel blow of fate. Williams on the other hands, gets all the luck and clearly doesn't deserve it as he's defective.
There is some weird (lack of editing) editing in this book - in one rambling sentence he refers to Rob, Robbie and William, despite them all being the same person.
My conclusion is, that there is probably an interesting, even-handed and informative book on this subject somewhere. This is not really it.