Robbie Williams and Gary Barlow to release duet

Robbie Williams is to release a duet with Gary Barlow, the first time they have recorded together for 15 years.

The pair will release the single in October, and it ends months of speculation about how they would mark their revived friendship musically.

The song, Shame, is the first duet the pair have recorded together and was written jointly by the two former bandmates.

After Williams quit Take That in 1995, he and Barlow had a bitter falling-out for many years.

But they have built bridges over the past two years and Williams shared a stage with his former bandmates at a charity concert for Children In Need last November. The pair were also seen together at yesterday's charity football event Soccer Aid at Old Trafford.

The single - out on October 4 - is taken from a new double CD greatest hits album In And Out Of Consciousness which Williams is to release later in the year.

Williams received a Brit Award for his outstanding contribution to music earlier this year.

He said: "It's incredible to listen to the album and realise that it's already been 20 years of making music and playing gigs.

"And the great thing about the album is that it's not only a celebration of my past but also a bridge to the future. The fact that part of the future includes a name from my past makes it all the more poignant for me."