Robbie Williams may be one of the biggest male singers to come out of the UK – but his road to the top didn't come without a fair few feuds along the way.
It’s fair to say Robbie has lived quite the life since he first found stardom, now boasting 14 No1 singles – seven from his time in the band and seven as a solo artist.
But it hasn’t always been plain sailing throughout the dad-of-four's expansive music career, with the Stoke-on-Trent star known for ruffling a few feathers in the industry.
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As he celebrates his 49th birthday with a bang, Daily Star has taken a deep dive inside his biggest celebrity feuds over the course of his 30-year-career.
So, let’s take a look back at his most explosive celebrity feuds to date…
Gary Barlow
In 1995, Robbie was booted from the beloved group after five years soaring in the music charts as one of Britain’s most successful boy bands.
It’s fair to say the split didn’t go down well with the loveable hunk, after he spiralled into alcoholism as he adjusted to life without the band.
Looking back on that dark period of time, the doting dad confessed: “I was a pathetic, pitiful creature.
"The first thing I would do in the morning would be to empty the bottle of wine that I had fallen asleep over two hours earlier. I’d take a line of coke because I couldn’t get up without it.”
And things only went from bad to worse as his friendship with Gary Barlow deteriorated in front of the public’s eyes.
At the time, then 21-year-old Robbie branded Gary a “clueless w**ker” and said the group “had all the creativity of mentally unstable morons”.
He continued: “I hated our music and, in the end, I also hated myself.”
The blond hunk later hit back at Robbie for his cruel comments, and accused him of being jealous of his £6.5million fortune which he earned from his song writing royalties.
“I do wonder if that’s the source of his feelings because I probably made six times more than they did,” he jabbed before his debut single Forever Love soared to No1.
But it didn’t take long before the tables turned after Robbie returned to stardom with his 1997 hit single Angels.
It was easy to see that his former bandmate’s success was eating him up inside, after previously recalling how Robbie had shown zero interest in writing music in the past, instead preferring to “pick his nose” in the corner.
Gary joked: “I can imagine the chat they’ll be having in Robbie-land tonight. The cheers, wolf whistles and belly laughs. There's no question now, mate. You’re the winner, hands down.”
But as his success continued, so did his drink and drug consumption, as his pals warned him at the time not to “throw it all away” amid his spiralling addiction issues.
He often replied: “Throw it all away? And see that fat **** Barlow dance on my grave? No way.”
Despite his fame, Robbie continued to hit back at his former bandmate at every opportunity, admitting: “My problem has always been with Gary. It was always with Gary.
“I wanted to crush him. I wanted to crush the memory of the band – and I didn’t let go. You know, even when he was down, I didn’t let go.”
But it appears as though time does heal all wounds, after the tides started to turn for the pair’s friendship after Take That reunited back in 2006.
It would be four years before he re-joined the group for their Progress album and tour but it appears as though the group have moved on from their past grievances and even came together to perform on X Factor back in 2018.
Now, Robbie has revealed he has been writing songs with Gary and plans to tour with Take That in the future.
Speaking on Mark Wright’s Heart Evening Show, Williams promised to “ride again” with his former partners.
He said: “I’ve been writing some songs with Gary Barlow in the last few weeks too. Yeah, so you know, we will ride again, me and my brothers. I don’t know when that’s going to be but we will ride again.”
Liam Gallagher
But that’s not the only pop star Robbie has clashed horns with over the course of his established music career.
Despite forging a strong friendship with the Gallagher brothers after he sensationally quit Take That, Robbie quickly locked horns with the pair in a fierce interview.
What once appeared to be a firm bromance, quickly came to an abrupt end after Noel called Robbie – who was engaged to Nicola Appleton at the time – a “fat dancer from Take That”.
The cruel comment later forged one of the longest-running feuds in pop/rock history, as Nicole later went on to marry (and then divorce) rival Liam.
After Oasis made history by selling out two nights at Knewbworth in the mid 90s, Robbie is said to have decided to get his revenge after selling out three stadiums in a row.
It is understood that he allegedly taunted Noel by posting a pair of tap shows to him with a cheeky message, which read: “Dear Mr N Gallagher, you said two nights at Knebworth is history. Well, I guess three is just greedy. Yours, Rob.
“PS: Finding it difficult to find adequate support for my show. What are you doing on the 1st and 2nd? Oh, and the 3rd?”
And things only went from bad to worse after Robbie challenged Liam to a boxing match while accepting an award at the BRITs in 2000.
He announced on stage: “A hundred grand of your money, a hundred grand of my money. We’ll get in the ring and we’ll have a fight.”
And it appeared as though things didn’t seem to get any better 13 years later after Liam hit back at the singer by calling Robbie a “fat f***ing idiot” during a gig.
Hitting back after the former Take That star made fun of his songs for not having choruses, Liam fumed: “They do, fatty. And they’re good and they’re better than yours.
“Don’t write choruses, fat boy. Yeah, his verses are s**t and all,” he added.
In 2019, the Let Me Entertain You hitmaker proved that there was still bad blood between himself and the musical duo, after he insisted on wanting to fight the “school bully”.
Speaking to The Sun, he said: “I admire him. He is the voice of a generation, the last of a dying breed, as popstars are so boring these days.”
But the idea of a fight was soon squashed by his wife Ayda Field, who snapped on their joint podcast: “You’re 45. You’re going to go in a ring and smack each other? That's just lame.”
Led Zeppelin
It's never easy living next door to a nightmare neighbour, and it appears as though even the biggest names in music history still face this common occurrence.
But it’s fair to say Robbie Williams’ ongoing feud with Led Zeppelin legend Jimmy Page has taken their neighbourly disagreements to new levels even since the That That star moved into the adjacent property in 2013.
The rocker currently owns a lavish French Gothic mansion in the heart of London which set him back an eye-watering £17.5million.
And he wasn’t the only rocker who had their heart set on the lavish digs after he out-bidding punk singer David Bowie by a whopping £350,000 to secure the home back in 1972.
Page continues to gush over his late 19th century property as he told the BBC: “I was still finding things 20 years after beng there – a little beetle on the wall or something like that. It’s Burges’s attention to detail that’s so fantastic.”
Everything appeared to be going smoothly until the Angels singer purchased the Woodland House just next door to the rocker in 2013, with a slew of plans already decided to transform the property.
Just one year after moving in, Williams submitted a planning permit to begin construction on his house, which he believed was necessary to create a “contemporary standard of family living”.
This included a roof repair, extensive tweaks to the internal layout and an entire new subterranean floor in addition to dramatic plans to rework the garden.
But less than a month after the Take That singer’s proposal was submitted, Page sent a letter of complaint to the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea with fears that the intended construction would cause damage to his house.
He wrote: “I am extremely concerned that this work will cause vibrations and possible structural damage.
“I am now faced with having to fight a new threat to this precious and unique building."
Since then, the pair have argued over everything from the installation of a £2m fence in their garden, the removal of a tree crossing the boundaries of their property lines and internal restructuring.
In his first interview about their ongoing feud, Williams celebrated his victory with the singer and his family finally moving into the property three years after purchasing the building.
But their beef was far from over after the Robbie compared Page to a man with a “mental illness” who is “bored” with nothing better than to spy on their construction.
He previously alleged: “Jimmy has been sitting in his car outside our house with the windows down four hours at a time with a recording equipment.
“He’s recording the workmen to see if they’re making too much noise. And also two weeks ago, the builder came in and he was asleep in his garden, waiting.”
In 2017, Page managed to get his own back at his rival neighbour after he lodged a noise complaint against Williams’ construction company for dismantling a shed on Sunday which cost the singer £3,000.
And just one year later, Page’s worst fears came true after the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea granted permission for Williams to build his dream basement.
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After his epic victory, Robbie made sure to wind up his neighbour even further after an anonymous neighbour of the musicians sent a letter of complaint to the council about his senseless pranks.
It read: “The committee may not have been aware that Robbie Williams has been playing loud 70s rock music on outside speakers when he views Jimmy Page outside his home.”
This included rival bands such as Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd and Deep Purple in addition to dressing up as fellow Led Zeppelin star Robert Plant – complete with a long wig and a full stomach – with the intention of winding his neighbour up further.
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