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Wikipedia

Robbie Williams

March 26, 2023

Not to be confused with Robin Williams.
For other people with the same name, see Robbie Williams (disambiguation).

Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut studio album, Life thru a Lens, was released in 1997, and included his signature song, "Angels". His second album, I've Been Expecting You, featured the songs "Millennium" and "She's the One", his first number one singles. His discography includes seven UK No. 1 singles, and all but one of his 14 studio albums have reached No. 1 in the UK. Six of his albums are among the top 100 biggest-selling albums in the UK, with two of them in the top 60, and he gained a Guinness World Record in 2006 for selling 1.6 million tickets in a single day during his Close Encounters Tour.[1]

Robbie Williams
Williams performing at the FIFA World Cup opening ceremony in June 2018
Background information
Birth nameRobert Peter Williams
Born (1974-02-13) 13 February 1974 (age 49)
Stoke-on-Trent, England
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
Years active1989–present
Labels
Formerly of
Spouse(s)
​
(m. 2010)​
Websiterobbiewilliams.com

Williams has received a record 18 Brit Awards, winning Best British Male Artist four times, Outstanding Contribution to Music twice, an Icon Award for his lasting impact on British culture, eight German ECHO Awards, and three MTV European Music Awards.[2][3] In 2004, he was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame after being voted the Greatest Artist of the 1990s. According to the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), he has been certified for 20.2 million albums and 8.66 million singles in the UK as a solo artist.[4] Five of his albums have also topped the Australian albums chart, and has sold 75 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. He also topped the 2000–2010 UK airplay chart. His three concerts at Knebworth in 2003 drew over 375,000 people, the UK's biggest music event to that point.[5] In 2014, he was awarded the freedom of his hometown of Stoke-on-Trent and had a tourist trail created and streets named in his honour. Williams' thirteenth album, XXV was released on 9 September 2022.[6][7]

After 15 years, Williams rejoined Take That in 2010 to co-write and perform lead vocals on their album Progress, which became the second-fastest-selling album in UK chart history[8] and the fastest-selling record of the century at the time.[9] The subsequent stadium tour, which featured seven songs from Williams' solo career, became the biggest-selling concert in UK history when it sold 1.34 million tickets in less than 24 hours. In 2011, Take That frontman Gary Barlow confirmed that Williams had left the band for a second time to focus on his solo career, although he stated that the departure was amicable and that Williams was welcome to rejoin Take That in the future.[10] Williams has since performed with Take That on three separate television appearances,[11][12][13] and collaborated with Barlow on a number of projects[14] such as the West End musical The Band.[15]

Early life

Robert Peter Williams was born on 13 February 1974 in Stoke-on-Trent, the son of Janet (née Farrell) and Peter Williams (also known as Pete Conway), who ran a pub called the Red Lion in Burslem before becoming the licensee at the Port Vale FC Social Club.[16] His maternal grandfather was an Irishman from Kilkenny.[17] He attended St Margaret Ward Catholic School in Tunstall[18] and participated in several school plays, most notably in the role of the Artful Dodger in a production of Oliver![19]

Take That

Main article: Take That

1990–1995: first stint

In 1990, the sixteen-year-old Williams was the youngest member to join Take That. According to the documentary Take That: For the Record, his mother read an advertisement seeking members for a new boy band and suggested that he try out for the group. He met fellow member Mark Owen on the day of his audition/interview with Nigel Martin-Smith. Although the majority of the group's material was written and performed by Gary Barlow, Williams performed lead vocals on their first Top Three hit "Could It Be Magic", I Found Heaven", and "Everything Changes". Williams' use of alcohol and cocaine brought him into conflict with Martin-Smith over the behaviour rules for Take That members.[20]

In November 1994, Williams's drug use had escalated; he nearly had a drug overdose the night before the group was scheduled to perform at the MTV Europe Music Awards.[21] According to the documentary For the Record, he was unhappy with his musical ideas not being taken seriously by lead singer Barlow and Martin-Smith; his desire to explore hip hop and rap conflicted with Take That's usual ballads. Barlow explained in interviews that Williams had given up trying to offer creative input.

Noting Williams' increasingly belligerent behaviour and poor attendance at rehearsals, and worried that he might leave the group during their upcoming tour, Orange and Barlow took their concerns to Martin-Smith. During one of the last rehearsals before the tour commenced, the three confronted Williams about his attitude and stated they wanted to do the tour without him. He agreed to quit and left the group in July 1995; it would be the last time for twelve years that they were all together. Despite the departure of Williams, Take That completed their Nobody Else Tour as a four-piece. They later disbanded on 13 February 1996, Williams's 22nd birthday.[22]

Shortly afterwards, Williams was photographed by the press partying with the members of Oasis at Glastonbury Festival. Following his departure, he became the subject of talk shows and newspapers as he acknowledged his plans to become a solo singer, and he was spotted partying with George Michael in France. However, a clause in his Take That contract prohibited him from releasing any material until after the group was officially dissolved, and he was later sued by Martin-Smith and forced to pay $200,000 in commission. After various legal battles over his right to a solo career, Williams succeeded in getting released from his contract with BMG. On 27 June 1996, Williams signed with Chrysalis Records.

2006–2011: second stint

 
Williams performing in Take That's Progress Live tour in 2011. He rejoined the group in July 2010 and is open to another reunion in the future.

By March 2009, Williams had shown interest in rejoining Take That;[23] however, the band completed their The Circus Live without him. In spite of rumours that Williams was working in New York with Take That in September that year,[24] by the day of the Children in Need charity concert at The Royal Albert Hall in November they were still performing separately. However, both did join with the other acts in the final song of the evening, with Williams putting his arm around Gary Barlow and singing "Hey Jude".

On 15 July 2010, Williams reconciled with his former colleagues and rejoined Take That. In November 2010 the Take That album Progress was released, becoming the fastest selling album since 2000 and the second fastest selling album in UK history.[25] The group travelled across the UK on their Progress Live tour, which included eight nights at Wembley Stadium in London,[26] then continued across Europe. The tour was the fastest selling in UK history with ticket hotlines and websites crashing under the demand.[26]

In August 2012, Take That performed at the closing ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics. Williams was due to perform with Take That but missed the performance because his wife gave birth at around the same time; the group performed as a four-piece.[27]

Although still officially part of Take That,[28] Williams chose not to return for group's seventh and eighth studio albums and their accompanying tours, focusing instead on his solo commitments. He continued to write music with his colleagues and has performed with the group on several occasions since 2011's Progress tour[29] and planned to return for a full tour to celebrate Take That's 30th anniversary in 2019.[30]

Solo career

1996–1998: Life thru a Lens and I've Been Expecting You

Main articles: Life thru a Lens and I've Been Expecting You

Williams launched his solo career in 1996 with a cover of George Michael's "Freedom", which reached number two in the UK Singles Chart.[31] Recordings for Williams's first album began at London's Maison Rouge studios in March 1997. Shortly after his introduction to songwriter and producer Guy Chambers, Williams released "Old Before I Die", the first single from his debut album. The single reached number two on the UK Charts;[31] however, it was largely ignored on international charts. His debut album, Life thru a Lens, was released in September 1997. The album launched with his first live solo gig at the Élysée Montmartre theatre in Paris, France. The album debuted at number eleven on the UK Albums Chart.

"Angels", the fourth single, is Williams' best-seller in the United Kingdom.[32] The song, apart from becoming a hit around Europe and Latin America, caused sales of his album to skyrocket. The album remained in the British top ten for forty weeks and spent 218 weeks there altogether, making it the 58th best selling album in UK history with sales of over 2.4 million.[33] The album eventually managed to sell over three million copies in Europe.[34]

Williams and Chambers started writing the second album, I've Been Expecting You, in Jamaica in early 1998. The first single, "Millennium", accompanied with a music video featuring Williams parodying James Bond, complete with tuxedo and references to Bond films like Thunderball and From Russia with Love, became Williams' first solo number one single in the United Kingdom.[35] It also became a top twenty hit in many European countries, Latin America and Australia.[36]

I've Been Expecting You was released in late October 1998 and debuted at number one in the UK Albums Chart.[35] The album received more attention outside the United Kingdom, leaving its mark in the European and Latin American markets with hits such as "No Regrets", a collaboration with The Pet Shop Boys' singer Neil Tennant and The Divine Comedy's Neil Hannon. "She's the One", a cover of a World Party track written by Karl Wallinger, became Williams' second UK number-one single.[35] Williams finished the year with a European Tour late in 1999. I've Been Expecting You sold almost 3 million copies in the UK and was certified 10× Platinum by the BPI.[37] In Europe, the album sold over 4 million copies.[38]

1999–2001: Sing When You're Winning and Swing When You're Winning

Main articles: The Ego Has Landed, Sing When You're Winning, and Swing When You're Winning

In 1999, Williams was signed to Capitol Records in the United States, a part of EMI. He embarked on a United States promotional tour and released his first United States and Canadian single, "Millennium". The compilation album The Ego Has Landed was released in July 1999 in the United States and Canada. In the middle of promotion and the tours in 1999, Williams began work on his third studio album.

 
Williams in London in 2000, gesturing to a paparazzi photographer

The first single taken from the album was "Rock DJ", a song inspired by Williams's UNICEF mentor, the late Ian Dury. The video created by Fred & Farid[39] showed Williams in an attempt to get noticed by a group of females, first stripping and then tearing chunks of skin and muscle from his body, and caused controversy in the United Kingdom and many other countries. The video was edited by Top of the Pops for its graphic content and many other channels followed suit.[40] The song became an instant hit, reaching number one in the UK (becoming his third number one single as a solo artist) and New Zealand. The song went on to win "Best Song of 2000" at the MTV Europe Music Awards, "Best Single of the Year" at the Brit Awards and an MTV Video Music Award for Best Special Effects.[41]

When the album, Sing When You're Winning was released in August 2000, it topped the charts in many different countries.[42] In the UK the album was certified 2× Platinum on its first week of release.[43] After the success of his third album, Williams wanted to take another musical direction. He took two weeks off from his tour to record Swing When You're Winning, his fourth studio album. Born from his lifelong love for Frank Sinatra – combined with the success of the track "Have You Met Miss Jones?" that he recorded for the film Bridget Jones' Diary in 2001 – the album was recorded at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles.

Williams took the chance to duet with his long-time friend Jonathan Wilkes, Little Voice star Jane Horrocks, Saturday Night Live star Jon Lovitz, Rupert Everett and actress Nicole Kidman. The first single released from the album was a duet with Kidman, on "Somethin' Stupid". Originally a hit for Frank and Nancy Sinatra, the song became Williams' fifth number one hit in the UK.[44] It eventually went on to become one of the biggest hits of 2001.[45] "Beyond the Sea" was featured over the credits of the film Finding Nemo in 2003 and was also released on the film's soundtrack CD. A DVD, Robbie Williams Live at the Albert Hall, was released in December of that year. So far, it has become one of the best selling music DVDs in Europe, being certified 6× Platinum in the United Kingdom[46] and 2× Platinum in Germany.[47]

2002–2005: Escapology and Intensive Care

Main articles: Escapology (album), Greatest Hits (Robbie Williams album), and Intensive Care (album)

In 2002, Williams signed a record-breaking £80 million contract with EMI.[48] The contract included a number of provisos, including the label ceding greater creative control to the artist and a commitment to breaking Williams into the US market. So far it is the biggest music deal in British history. The deal was brokered by Ingenious Media, a UK corporate finance advisory business. Williams began working on what would be his fifth studio album, spending a year in the recording studio. The album heralded a new era for Williams. He had taken a more active role in the making of this album. "One Fine Day", "Nan's Song", and "Come Undone" were the first songs that Williams wrote without the input of Guy Chambers. Most of the songs were recorded in Los Angeles.

"For the first time in my life, I'm speechless."

—Williams addresses the crowd during his three record-breaking concerts at Knebworth playing to 375,000, the biggest event in UK music history.[5]

The album's first single, "Feel", written by Williams and Chambers, was recorded as a demo. When they started working on the album and were trying to re-record the vocals, Williams felt unsatisfied with it, so he decided to include the demo version and then release it as the first single. When the single was released in late 2002, it became Williams' biggest international hit, going number one in The Netherlands and Italy and reaching the top ten in many European countries.[49] When Williams' fifth studio album, Escapology, was released in late 2002, it hit number one in at least 10 countries around the world. In the United States, however, it failed to make such an impact. Escapology sold almost 2 million copies by the end of 2003 in the United Kingdom.[50] On 1–3 August 2003, Williams played three consecutive concerts at Knebworth to 125,000 people each night, making it the biggest event in UK music history.[5] Memorable performances included "Come Undone" where he interjected with "Britain, I'm Your Son", and further interacted with the audience when he brought a girl up on stage.[51] In October 2003, Williams released a live album of the concerts, Live at Knebworth.[52]

In October 2004, Williams released, Greatest Hits, a retrospective of his career, and also, to reveal the new tracks he had been working on with the then-new collaborator, Stephen Duffy. "Radio", the compilation's first single, debuted at number one in the UK Singles Chart[35] (becoming Williams' sixth number-one hit). When the compilation was later released it debuted at number one in the UK[35] and was the best selling album of the year in the UK[53] and Europe.[54] Eight years after the release of "Angels", the British public voted it as the "Best Single of the Past Twenty-Five Years" at the 2005 Brit Awards.[55]

After touring Latin America in late 2004 for the promotion Greatest Hits, Williams started working on his sixth studio album. Recorded at his house in the Hollywood Hills, the album was co-written by Stephen Duffy over the course of 24 months. The album Intensive Care was launched in Berlin on 9 October. It became an international hit. In November 2005, Williams took home the MTV Europe Music Award for 'Best Male', but also, entered in The Guinness Book of World Records when he announced his World Tour for 2006, selling 1.6 million tickets in one single day.[56] Williams kicked off his Close Encounters World Tour in South Africa in April 2006, when he finished his European leg of the tour. 2.5 million people had seen the show, and after touring Latin America and Australia the numbers went up to 3 million.[57]

2006–2009: Rudebox and Reality Killed the Video Star

Main articles: Rudebox and Reality Killed the Video Star

Williams released his much anticipated dance/electro album, Rudebox, on 23 October 2006. It featured collaborations with the Pet Shop Boys, William Orbit, Soul Mekanik, Joey Negro, Mark Ronson, Chris Grierson, and The Orr Boys. It received mixed reviews: Allmusic gave it a four star rating, the NME 8 out of 10, and Music Week and MOJO were equally positive,[58] but it received much weaker reviews from some of the British press. The album sold 2× Platinum in Europe with sales of over 2 million making it the fastest platinum-selling album of 2006.[59] To promote his album, Williams commissioned a series of short films.[60] Goodbye to the Normals was directed by Jim Field Smith and features "Burslem Normals" by Williams.

 
Williams at a concert in Vienna, Austria in 2006

In February 2009, it was confirmed that Williams had written material with Guy Chambers and Mark Ronson. A spokesman said that Williams was planning to begin the recording sessions in March and that the new album would be released in late 2009. This will probably be the last Williams album released by EMI.[61] On his official website, Williams confirmed that he was working with producer Trevor Horn on his new album, which would eventually be titled Reality Killed the Video Star,[62] a reference to the song "Video Killed the Radio Star" by Horn's former band The Buggles. The album was released on 9 November 2009 in the United Kingdom.[63]

On 11 October 2009 Williams published a 12-track compilation album, titled Songbook, as a free CD for the newspaper The Mail on Sunday. That same evening, Williams made his "comeback" on The X Factor results show, performing his new single "Bodies" for the first time live.[64] On 20 October 2009 Williams opened the BBC Electric Proms at the London RoundHouse.[65] It was his first live concert for 3 years and was broadcast across 200 cinemas worldwide.[66] Accompanied by a string section, horn section, full band and producer Trevor Horn, Williams performed several new tracks from Reality Killed the Video Star and older tracks.[66]

Reality Killed the Video Star was previewed in the UK on the Spotify music streaming service on 6 November 2009, and official released on 9 November.[67] In a high-profile chart battle, Williams' album was pitted against X Factor 2008 runners-up JLS who released their debut album the same day. JLS beat Williams to the number one spot by 1500 sales. The album was also released in the United States (Williams' first album to be released there since 2002's Escapology). In late November 2009, Williams travelled to Australia to perform at the ARIA Music Awards of 2009.[68]

2010–2012: In and Out of Consciousness and Take the Crown

Main articles: In and Out of Consciousness: Greatest Hits 1990–2010 and Take the Crown (album)
 
Williams performing at the Sydney Super Dome in 2009

In October 2010, Williams released his second greatest hits album, In and Out of Consciousness: The Greatest Hits 1990–2010, to celebrate 20 years as a performing artist. A single, "Shame", was also released, which was written and sung by Williams and Barlow.

On 21 October 2011 Williams signed with Island Records (Universal Music), following his departure from his previous record label EMI in 2010.[69]

Williams was the opening act at the Diamond Jubilee Concert, which was co-organised by Gary Barlow, held outside Buckingham Palace on 4 June 2012.[70] During the end of August his official website began a countdown to the release of information regarding his latest solo material, with an image of his face and his mind unveiled daily as the countdown expired.[71] Titled Take the Crown, the album debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart making it Williams' tenth number one album. It also marked the second time that Williams had a number one single ("Candy") and album at the same time on the chart. The first time was in 2001 when "Somethin' Stupid" and Swing When You're Winning were number one on the singles and albums chart respectively.[72]

The album's lead single, "Candy", premiered on 10 September 2012 and was released on 11 September in most countries and 29 October in the UK. In the UK, "Candy" became Williams' first number one single since "Radio" (2004) and his seventh solo number one single. In its first week the song has sold 137,000 copies becoming the fastest-selling male artist single of the year.[73] On 26 November 2012 Williams announced a 17 date stadium tour of Europe.[74][75] Williams also confirmed that the support act for the tour would be Olly Murs who also duets with him on "Kids". Universal and EMI merged in 2012, bringing Williams' Chrysalis/Virgin recordings full circle to Universal.

2013–2014: Swings Both Ways and Under the Radar Volume 1

Main articles: Swings Both Ways and Under the Radar Volume 1
 
Williams on stage at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester during the Take the Crown Stadium Tour, June 2013

In September 2013, Williams announced a follow up to his 2001 swing album, titled Swings Both Ways for release in November. The album features covers and original songs, whilst also including duet recordings with Michael Bublé, Olly Murs, Rufus Wainright, Lily Allen and Kelly Clarkson.[76] In November 2013 Williams made a cameo appearance in the video to Murs's song "Hand on Heart".[77]

Williams released a compilation album entitled Under the Radar Volume 1 on 1 December 2014 through his website, featuring leftovers and unreleased songs.[78] "[These are] loads and loads of songs that I have written that I am incredibly passionate about, I want you to hear them, otherwise they are just going to remain in my computer!"[79] Williams claims that Guy Chambers "is not happy" about these songs being released online: "He thinks I am a lunatic for not putting them on an album that we have promoted with TV performances and at radio stations and a big tour," Williams said. "But I am an impetuous bugger, and I want them out now, now, now!"[80]

2016–2018: The Heavy Entertainment Show, and The X Factor

Main articles: The Heavy Entertainment Show and Under the Radar Volume 2
 
Williams performing at the Apple Music Festival in London, 25 September 2016

In May 2016, it was announced that Williams had signed a recording contract with Sony Music. In a statement, Williams said: "They're [Sony Music] inspired, I'm inspired. I'm more ready than I ever have been and I'm totally convinced I'm in the right place. I look forward to working on this album, which is an album I'm immensely proud of, in this exciting new partnership with Sony Music."[81] The Heavy Entertainment Show became his 12th UK number-one album, putting him level with Madonna.[82] In July 2017, Williams announced a new album, Under the Radar Volume 2, which was released in November 2017.[83] A third edition in the Under the Radar series was released on Valentine's Day of 2019.[84]

 
Williams performing at the 2018 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony in Moscow, Russia, 14 June 2018

On 14 June 2018, Williams performed at the 2018 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony held at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia.[85] Williams sang "Let Me Entertain You" and "Feel" before he performed a duet of "Angels" with Russian soprano Aida Garifullina.[85][86] Williams then performed an encore with "Rock DJ", during which he gave the finger.[87] Fox in the U.S. apologised for the incident which they had broadcast live.[87] The incident was not shown on ITV in the UK who had cut away prior to the encore.[87] Williams appeared on This Morning on 19 June and explained what happened, "It was one minute to kick off, I was under a lot of pressure, because there was one minute left and I didn't know how I was going to do half a minute, so I just did a one-minute countdown [using his middle finger]." Asked by presenter Phillip Schofield whether he regrets it, he said: "Yeah, of course, yeah. I cannot trust me. I don't know what I'm going to do at any time. There's no, sort of, plan. The plan was, sing in key, don't fall over. That was the plan and 99% of the plan, I pulled off." When asked did the idea just enter his head he responded, "Nothing actually pops into my head. There's a block between me and sense... then something happens and then five minutes later, I'm like, 'Did I? Yeah, I did, didn't I?".[88]

On 17 July 2018, Williams along with his wife, and One Direction star Louis Tomlinson, were announced as the new judges on the fifteenth series of The X Factor in the UK, joining Simon Cowell and replacing Louis Walsh, Sharon Osbourne and Nicole Scherzinger.[89]

2019–present: The Christmas Present, Lufthaus, and XXV

On 22 November, Williams released his first Christmas album titled The Christmas Present, which features guest appearances from boxer Tyson Fury, Rod Stewart, Jamie Cullum, Helene Fischer and Bryan Adams. The album debuted at number two on the UK Charts behind Coldplay's Everyday Life. The album sold over 67,000 copies, which is identical sales to his previous studio album release The Heavy Entertainment Show, Williams also sold over 10,000 cassettes in 7 days, which is the most in two decades. The following week saw Williams' album go to #1 in the UK, outselling the nearest competitor Rod Stewart by 5,000 copies. This was Williams' 13th UK number-one album, tying Elvis Presley for the most UK number-one albums.[90]

On 25 February 2022, it was revealed that Williams had teamed up with his regular collaborators Tim Metcalfe and Flynn Francis to record the trance track "Sway" under the new alias 'Lufthaus'.[91] In April 2022, The Guardian observed that while Williams "remains a big draw", he was no longer guaranteed hits and was "now more likely to be playlisted on Smooth Radio than BBC Radio 1". Williams said he was working on more experimental music, which he likened to David Bowie and Lou Reed, but said: "Do I unashamedly want to still be one of the biggest artists in the world? Yeah, I do ... I've had an interesting first half of my life. I’d like an interesting second half, too."[92]

In May 2022 Williams performed at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia, specifically for the upcoming biopic, Better Man. The film is being produced at the Docklands Studios Melbourne and release is expected to be in the second half of 2023.[93]

On 7 June 2022, Williams announced that his tenth compilation album, XXV, would be released on 9 September 2022.[94] It will feature new, reimagined versions of his hit songs, plus new material. On the same day as this announcement, Williams released "Angels XXV", a reworked version of "Angels".[95][96] On 10 June 2022, "Angels (XXV)" reached number 92 on the UK Official Singles Sales Chart,[97] rising to 74 a week later.[98] On 5 August 2022, Williams released the single "Lost", also taken from XXV.[99][100]XXV was released on 9 September 2022[101][102] and debuted a week later at number 1 on the UK Official Albums Chart.[103] In doing so, Williams broke all previous Official Chart records with his fourteenth solo number one album.[104]

On 24 September 2022, Williams performed at the 2022 AFL Grand Final held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia.[105] Williams sang "Let Me Entertain You", "Rock DJ", "Lost" and "Feel" before he performed "Angels" which Williams dedicated to Australian cricketer Shane Warne, who had died in March 2022. Williams then covered John Farnham's "You're the Voice" stating "The next song is the unofficial national anthem of Australia! Let's all send our love to John and his family". Just two days prior on 22 September 2022, John Farnham had released a statement outlining that he was to undergo immediate surgery after being diagnosed with cancer.[106] Williams then performed "Kids" with Australian singer Delta Goodrem.[107][108]

On 7 October 2022, Lufthaus released the single "Soul Seekers".[109]

Williams' XXV tour started on 9 October 2022 in The O2 Arena, supported by Lufthaus.[110]

In November 2022, Williams performed in Qatar as part of the country's FIFA World Cup 2022 celebrations. His appearance attracted criticism due to Qatar's human rights abuses and strict LGBT laws.[111][112][113] After the criticism, Williams stated, "I don't condone any abuses of human rights anywhere [...] if we're not condoning human rights abuses anywhere, then it would be the shortest tour the world has ever known: I wouldn't even be able to perform in my own kitchen [...] Anybody leaving messages saying 'no to Qatar' are doing so on Chinese technology [...] the hypocrisy there is that if we take that case in this place, we need to apply that unilaterally to the world. Then if we apply that unilaterally to the world, nobody can go anywhere."[114]

Other projects

Collaborations

 
Williams on stage in Poland in 2015 performing "Bohemian Rhapsody". He collaborated with Queen in recording "We Are the Champions" for the 2001 film A Knight's Tale

Robbie Williams collaborated with Australian pop star Kylie Minogue on the song "Kids". The single peaked at number 2 on the UK Singles Chart in 2000. Williams also collaborated with Australian film star Nicole Kidman on a cover of Frank and Nancy Sinatra's "Somethin' Stupid". The single reached number 1 on the UK Singles Chart in 2001. His single "No Regrets" featured Neil Tennant, and Neil Hannon on backing vocals. In 2001, Williams recorded "We Are the Champions" with Queen for the 2001 medieval adventure film A Knight's Tale.[115]

In 2002, Williams appeared on the track "My Culture" on the 1 Giant Leap album, alongside rapper Maxi Jazz (which features lyrics from the hidden track "Hello Sir" from Life thru a Lens). Williams also features on a double CD titled Concrete which was released on the same day as Rudebox. The CD features a concert recorded for the BBC featuring the Pet Shop Boys and Williams singing their classic hit "Jealousy". Their joint effort, "She's Madonna", was released as a single in March 2007. On 13 August 2007, a Dean Martin duets album was released, on which Williams sings "Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone".

In 2010 he announced the release of "Shame", a duet with Take That lead singer songwriter Gary Barlow, as the first single from his greatest hits collection, In and Out of Consciousness: The Greatest Hits 1990–2010, which was certified silver in the UK and charted in 19 countries worldwide. In 2010, Williams and comedian/actor Russell Brand along with Frank Skinner, David Baddiel and singer-songwriter Ian Broudie (of The Lightning Seeds), under the name "The Squad", recorded a new version of "Three Lions", the England football team's song, for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.[116] In 2012, Williams recorded a duet with Mexican recording artist Thalía for the Spanish song "Te quiero dijiste (Muñequita linda)", included on her album Habítame Siempre.[117]

In 2019 he collaborated with British comedian Jimmy Carr,[118] co-writing the lyrics for "Live in Las Vegas" – the opening song of Williams's residency at the Wynn Las Vegas. A studio version of the song has been recorded[119] excerpts of which have been used in promotional material for the show, but the song is not yet available for download.

Other work

In 2005 Williams provided the voice of Dougal in the film adaption of The Magic Roundabout. On 26 August 2010, it was announced Williams would become a guest vocal coach on the ninth series of German reality television show Popstars: Girls forever to teach candidates for a girl group.[120]

On 20 September 2010, Williams released his second book called You Know Me in collaboration with Chris Heath. The book features a collection of photographs of Williams from the past 20 years of his career and discussion of them by Williams as transcribed by Heath. Williams launched a radio show titled Radio Rudebox on 6 October 2011 where he played music and interviewed Gary Barlow.

Video games

Williams recorded the song "It's Only Us" as the theme for the FIFA video game FIFA 2000.[121] As part of the agreement to license the track EA Sports included Port Vale, the football club Williams supports, in the game, despite only being in the third tier of the English football league system.[121]

Williams features in his own karaoke video game, We Sing Robbie Williams, which was released on 12 November 2010 by Nordic Games Publishing AB.[122]

Los Angeles Vale F.C.

In 2005, Williams founded a football team called Los Angeles Vale F.C. Williams formed the club with other celebrity friends after building his own soccer pitch at his home in Los Angeles.[123][124] The club was named after Williams' hometown club, Port Vale, and its logo was very similar.[125] The club supposedly was disbanded in 2007, reportedly after Williams discovered two players had swindled him out of £200,000.[126][127]

Farrell clothing

In 2011, Williams announced he was working with entrepreneur Peter Jones in developing a clothing line called Farrell in honour of his grandfather Jack Farrell.[128] Although the business had filed for bankruptcy, it was later relaunched in 2014 with support of clothing company Primark.[129]

Musical theatre

In 2018, it was announced that Williams and Guy Chambers would write the music and lyrics (with a book by Mark Ravenhill) for the stage musical adaptation of David Walliams children's book The Boy in the Dress for the Royal Shakespeare Company. The musical opened in November 2019 at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon where it ran for an 18-week season earning rave reviews from the critics and audiences.[130]

Legacy

 
Wax statue of Williams at Madame Tussauds in London

It has been claimed that Williams has sold more albums in the UK than any other British solo artist in history and has won more BRIT Awards than any other artist to date.[131] His records sales stands at over 77 million worldwide, making him one of the best-selling artists of all time.[132] Williams was entered in The Guinness Book of World Records when, after he announced his World Tour for 2006, 1.6 million tickets were sold in one day.[133]

"It's his self-deprecating sense of humour — in person and in his lyrics — that helps explain his wide appeal in Australia. Perhaps only Pink and Ed Sheeran have such a wide mix of demographics at their concerts; that's why Williams will play to nearly 60,000 people in Victoria alone."

—Cameron Adams on the appeal of Williams.[134]

Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian wrote Williams is "a perfect meeting of ego, self-deprecation and hits", adding "there really is nobody else, in pop music anyway, who combines monumental hamminess and bone-deep vulnerability quite so effectively."[135]

He has received a record eighteen Brit Awards—Best British Male Artist four times, two awards for Outstanding Contribution to Music and the 2017 Brits Icon for his "lasting impact on British culture", and eight German ECHO awards.[3][136][137] In 2004, he was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame, after being voted as the Greatest artist of the 1990s.[138] He appeared in the 2009 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records when his sell-out show at the BBC Electric Proms at London's Roundhouse was screened by more than 250 cinemas across 23 countries to set a new record for the most simultaneous cinematic screenings of a live concert.[139] Williams appears in the list of the all-time Top 100 biggest selling albums in the UK six times–with four albums in the top 60.[53]

In 2005, the British public voted "Angels" the song they would most like played at their funeral.[140] In October 2009, it was announced that he would receive the Outstanding Contribution to British Music award at the 2010 Brit Awards.[141] In September 2010, Williams switched on the Blackpool illuminations, stating that it was one of the greatest honours he had achieved.[142] In October, Media Control named Williams the most successful album-artist of the millennium due to the fact that he had spent No. 1 on the German Albums Chart for 38 weeks since 2000. He also reached that chart's Top Ten 135 times.[143]

He was ranked at No. 11 the greatest frontman of all time in a reader poll by Q magazine.[144]

Influences

During his childhood, Williams was influenced by swing musicians such as Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis Jr. The first records he listened to were released by Nat King Cole, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald and Cole Porter, which belonged to his mother. At the age of 10, he got into Hip hop and started collecting Electro albums;[145] and when he started his solo career in the ‘90s, he was influenced by Britpop bands such as Oasis, Blur and Pulp.[146]

As a singer, his influences include Tom Jones,[147] Freddie Mercury,[148] Elvis Presley and Bono.[149] He worked with Tom Jones several times throughout his career: They performed together at the Brit Awards in 1998; the following year, they recorded a cover of the song "Are You Gonna Go My Way" for Jones’ album Reload; and in 2012, Williams and Jones worked together again on the song "On My Own", b-side of his single "Different".

Williams also feels great admiration for Freddie Mercury and Queen. In 2001, Williams, Brian May and Roger Taylor released a new version of "We Are the Champions" for the movie A Knight's Tale. He also revealed that he was once asked to be the new frontman of Queen, but that he turned down the offer because of his "very low self-esteem". He said: "I just thought I'd save them the audacity of me even trying to step on a stage and be in the same echelon as Freddie Mercury. Because he, to me, is angelic. He's godlike. It was just too scary."[150]

Williams has revealed that he does the "Elvis Prayer" before going on stage at every concert. In 2000, he got a tattoo of the phrase "Elvis Grant Me Serenity"[151] and he also played as an Elvis impersonator in the music video for his song "Advertising Space" (2005).

Speaking to BBC Radio 2 in February 2021, Williams cited Ian Dury as his biggest inspiration as a lyricist.[152] He sings on "You're the Why", the final track of the posthumously released album Ten More Turnips from the Tip (2002).[153]

Influence in others artists

Contemporary artists have expressed their admiration for Williams and have cited him as one of their influences. The English rapper Example admitted his obsession with Williams and how he had been inspired by Williams’ performances when he was younger. He described his own performance on stage as "a combination of rap, rock and Robbie Williams".[154][deprecated source?]

Ed Sheeran, in an interview with El Hormiguero, revealed that the first album he ever bought was "Life Thru A Lens".[155] English pop singer Olly Murs paid tribute to Williams' "Angels" music video in the music video for his single "Hand on Heart". And one of Louis Tomlinson's earliest influences was Robbie Williams, of whom he declares a big fan.[156]

Personal life

Residence

In 2006, Williams emigrated to Los Angeles.[157] He briefly moved back to the UK in 2009 when he bought an £8.5 million mansion in Compton Bassett, but sold the property a year later to move back to Los Angeles. In 2017, he sold his mansion in Beverly Hills to DJ Khaled for $9.9 million.[158] In 2016, he moved into Woodland House, a £17 million mansion in the Kensington area of London.[159] His next-door neighbour there is Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page, who has lived in The Tower House since 1972.[160] In 2018, Page delayed Williams' plans for an underground swimming pool, stating that construction work would damage The Tower House.[160][161]

Health issues

"Two of his biggest hits, 'Come Undone' and 'Feel,' were both exercises in melodic self loathing. It felt like a public airing of very private pain."

—Robbie Williams, O2 London, review, The Telegraph.[162]

Williams has reportedly battled mental illness, obesity, self-esteem issues, alcoholism, and substance abuse throughout his life.[163][164] He has discussed how his friend Elton John booked him into a clinic to cope with his drug use that emerged from the depression he was experiencing while still in Take That.[164]

Williams revealed in 2011 he had been experiencing lethargy caused by a type of hormone imbalance called andropause for a number of years, and thought at first it was a return of his depression.[165][166] In a June 2020 interview with Weight Watchers Magazine, he revealed that he had developed an addiction to online golf games.[167]

Interests

 
One of Williams' tattoos, the spectacles logo of The Two Ronnies, visible on his neck

Williams has a strong interest in UFOs and related paranormal phenomena, and pursued this interest during his 2007–08 sabbatical.[168] His interest in the subject led to him taking part in a documentary for BBC Radio 4 with Jon Ronson. The documentary followed them to a UFO convention in Nevada, during which Williams connected his interest in the paranormal with the desire to understand his childhood fears of his mother's interest in "the world's mysteries, elves, demons, [and] witchcraft".[169]

Williams featured in a 2018 TV documentary Hunt for the Skinwalker by Jeremy Corbell, and revealed that his partner Ayda Field dissuaded him from buying the Skinwalker Ranch when it became for sale.[170][171][172]

Williams became an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church Monastery to officiate the wedding of friends.[173]

Williams has a number of tattoos, many of which are related to British culture. These include:[174]

Williams became a fan of his hometown football team Port Vale FC as a child after his father became the licensee of the team's social club.[16] He has played in a testimonial game for club legend Neil Aspin.[176]

In 2020, Williams received backlash for expressing his belief in the widely debunked Pizzagate conspiracy theory.[177][178]

Relationships and fatherhood

 
Williams and Ayda Field in 2015

In 1997, Williams was in a month long relationship with Spice Girls singer Melanie Chisholm.[179] In May 2006, Williams started dating American actress Ayda Field. She was featured in the UFO documentary that Williams did for BBC Radio 4[180] and took part in a field investigation he did in Trout Lake, Washington in 2008.[181] Williams and Field wed at his home in Mulholland Estates in Beverly Hills on 7 August 2010.[182][183][184] They have four children: daughters Theodora and Colette,[185] and sons Charlton and Beau.[186] Williams's wife is Ashkenazi Jewish.[187] Williams considers his children to be Jewish.[188]

There have been questions about Williams's sexuality, with some speculating that he may be bisexual.[189][190] In an interview with the Daily Star, he stated: "I love musical theatre and a lot of the other things that are often associated with gays. I am 49% homosexual and sometimes as far as 50%. However, that would imply that I enjoy having a particular sort of fun, which I don't."[191]

Wealth

In the 2011 Sunday Times Rich List of wealthiest people in the British music industry, his wealth was estimated at £90 million. Williams is a lifelong supporter of football club Port Vale, based in his home town of Stoke-on-Trent, and in February 2006 he bought £240,000 worth of shares in the club, making him the largest shareholder.[192] However the club entered administration on 9 March 2012, and as a result Williams lost all of his shares in the club and received only a fraction of his original investment back.[193]

Charity

 
Williams warming up for the 2006 edition of Soccer Aid

Williams has set up a charity in his home town of Stoke-on-Trent entitled Give It Sum, its goal being to "improve local conditions and strengthen community life by giving money to those who are disadvantaged."[163][194]

Williams, with the help of friend Jonathan Wilkes, has organised charity football matches called Soccer Aid to raise money for UNICEF UK. A mixture of non-football celebrities and professional football players have played Soccer Aid matches in 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018 at Old Trafford in Manchester and Wembley Stadium in London.[195]

Williams has been the Patron of the children's charity the Donna Louise Trust, based in Stoke-on-Trent, since 2002. The charity offers respite and palliative care to terminally ill and life-limited children who are not expected to live past the age of 16.[196]

Awards and nominations

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Robbie Williams

Williams has won various awards, with some of his more recognised accolades being the Brit Awards. He has won a record eighteen Brit Awards, which also include the Brits he won with Take That, making him the most successful artist in the history of the awards.[2] He has also won 8 Echo Awards from the German music industry.[137]

Discography

Main articles: Robbie Williams discography and List of songs recorded by Robbie Williams

Studio albums as a solo artist

Concerts

Solo

Take That

Residencies

  • Robbie Williams Live in Las Vegas (2019)

Robbie Williams band

Along the tours, Robbie Williams had various members in his band.

Current members

  • Robbie Williams – lead vocals, guitar, tambourine (1997–present)
  • Gary Nuttall – lead guitar, backing vocals (1997–present)
  • Guy Chambers – keyboard, guitar, backing vocals (1997–2002; 2012–present)
  • Jeremy Meehan – bass guitar, backing vocals (2004–present)
  • Karl Brazil – drums (2009–present)
  • Tom Longworth – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2012–present)

Choristers

  • Denosh Bennett – backing vocals (2012–present)
  • Sara-Jane Skeete – backing vocals (2012–present)
  • Nayanna Holley – backing vocals (2012–present)

Brass (Atlantic Horns)

  • Ben Edwards – trumpet, flugelhorn, percussion (2012–present)
  • Mike Kearsey – trombones, sousaphone, keyboards, percussion (2012–present)
  • Mark Brown – saxophones, bass clarinet, acoustic guitar, keyboards, backing vocals (2012–present)

Former members

Timeline

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Further reading

External links

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Robbie Williams.
 
Wikiquote has quotations related to Robbie Williams.
  • Robbie Williams at IMDb
  • Official website

March 26, 2023
robbie, williams, confused, with, robin, williams, other, people, with, same, name, disambiguation, robert, peter, williams, born, february, 1974, english, singer, songwriter, found, fame, member, group, take, that, from, 1990, 1995, achieved, commercial, succ. Not to be confused with Robin Williams For other people with the same name see Robbie Williams disambiguation Robert Peter Williams born 13 February 1974 is an English singer and songwriter He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995 and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996 His debut studio album Life thru a Lens was released in 1997 and included his signature song Angels His second album I ve Been Expecting You featured the songs Millennium and She s the One his first number one singles His discography includes seven UK No 1 singles and all but one of his 14 studio albums have reached No 1 in the UK Six of his albums are among the top 100 biggest selling albums in the UK with two of them in the top 60 and he gained a Guinness World Record in 2006 for selling 1 6 million tickets in a single day during his Close Encounters Tour 1 Robbie WilliamsWilliams performing at the FIFA World Cup opening ceremony in June 2018Background informationBirth nameRobert Peter WilliamsBorn 1974 02 13 13 February 1974 age 49 Stoke on Trent EnglandGenresPop pop rock soft rock electronic dance alternative rockOccupationsSinger songwriterYears active1989 presentLabelsColumbia Island Universal Virgin EMI ChrysalisFormerly ofTake ThatSpouse s Ayda Field m 2010 wbr Websiterobbiewilliams wbr com Williams has received a record 18 Brit Awards winning Best British Male Artist four times Outstanding Contribution to Music twice an Icon Award for his lasting impact on British culture eight German ECHO Awards and three MTV European Music Awards 2 3 In 2004 he was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame after being voted the Greatest Artist of the 1990s According to the British Phonographic Industry BPI he has been certified for 20 2 million albums and 8 66 million singles in the UK as a solo artist 4 Five of his albums have also topped the Australian albums chart and has sold 75 million records worldwide making him one of the best selling music artists of all time He also topped the 2000 2010 UK airplay chart His three concerts at Knebworth in 2003 drew over 375 000 people the UK s biggest music event to that point 5 In 2014 he was awarded the freedom of his hometown of Stoke on Trent and had a tourist trail created and streets named in his honour Williams thirteenth album XXV was released on 9 September 2022 6 7 After 15 years Williams rejoined Take That in 2010 to co write and perform lead vocals on their album Progress which became the second fastest selling album in UK chart history 8 and the fastest selling record of the century at the time 9 The subsequent stadium tour which featured seven songs from Williams solo career became the biggest selling concert in UK history when it sold 1 34 million tickets in less than 24 hours In 2011 Take That frontman Gary Barlow confirmed that Williams had left the band for a second time to focus on his solo career although he stated that the departure was amicable and that Williams was welcome to rejoin Take That in the future 10 Williams has since performed with Take That on three separate television appearances 11 12 13 and collaborated with Barlow on a number of projects 14 such as the West End musical The Band 15 Contents 1 Early life 2 Take That 2 1 1990 1995 first stint 2 2 2006 2011 second stint 3 Solo career 3 1 1996 1998 Life thru a Lens and I ve Been Expecting You 3 2 1999 2001 Sing When You re Winning and Swing When You re Winning 3 3 2002 2005 Escapology and Intensive Care 3 4 2006 2009 Rudebox and Reality Killed the Video Star 3 5 2010 2012 In and Out of Consciousness and Take the Crown 3 6 2013 2014 Swings Both Ways and Under the Radar Volume 1 3 7 2016 2018 The Heavy Entertainment Show and The X Factor 3 8 2019 present The Christmas Present Lufthaus and XXV 4 Other projects 4 1 Collaborations 4 2 Other work 4 3 Video games 4 4 Los Angeles Vale F C 4 5 Farrell clothing 4 6 Musical theatre 5 Legacy 5 1 Influences 5 2 Influence in others artists 6 Personal life 6 1 Residence 6 2 Health issues 6 3 Interests 6 4 Relationships and fatherhood 6 5 Wealth 6 6 Charity 7 Awards and nominations 8 Discography 9 Concerts 9 1 Solo 9 2 Take That 9 3 Residencies 10 Robbie Williams band 10 1 Timeline 11 References 12 Further reading 13 External linksEarly lifeRobert Peter Williams was born on 13 February 1974 in Stoke on Trent the son of Janet nee Farrell and Peter Williams also known as Pete Conway who ran a pub called the Red Lion in Burslem before becoming the licensee at the Port Vale FC Social Club 16 His maternal grandfather was an Irishman from Kilkenny 17 He attended St Margaret Ward Catholic School in Tunstall 18 and participated in several school plays most notably in the role of the Artful Dodger in a production of Oliver 19 Take ThatMain article Take That 1990 1995 first stint In 1990 the sixteen year old Williams was the youngest member to join Take That According to the documentary Take That For the Record his mother read an advertisement seeking members for a new boy band and suggested that he try out for the group He met fellow member Mark Owen on the day of his audition interview with Nigel Martin Smith Although the majority of the group s material was written and performed by Gary Barlow Williams performed lead vocals on their first Top Three hit Could It Be Magic I Found Heaven and Everything Changes Williams use of alcohol and cocaine brought him into conflict with Martin Smith over the behaviour rules for Take That members 20 In November 1994 Williams s drug use had escalated he nearly had a drug overdose the night before the group was scheduled to perform at the MTV Europe Music Awards 21 According to the documentary For the Record he was unhappy with his musical ideas not being taken seriously by lead singer Barlow and Martin Smith his desire to explore hip hop and rap conflicted with Take That s usual ballads Barlow explained in interviews that Williams had given up trying to offer creative input Noting Williams increasingly belligerent behaviour and poor attendance at rehearsals and worried that he might leave the group during their upcoming tour Orange and Barlow took their concerns to Martin Smith During one of the last rehearsals before the tour commenced the three confronted Williams about his attitude and stated they wanted to do the tour without him He agreed to quit and left the group in July 1995 it would be the last time for twelve years that they were all together Despite the departure of Williams Take That completed their Nobody Else Tour as a four piece They later disbanded on 13 February 1996 Williams s 22nd birthday 22 Shortly afterwards Williams was photographed by the press partying with the members of Oasis at Glastonbury Festival Following his departure he became the subject of talk shows and newspapers as he acknowledged his plans to become a solo singer and he was spotted partying with George Michael in France However a clause in his Take That contract prohibited him from releasing any material until after the group was officially dissolved and he was later sued by Martin Smith and forced to pay 200 000 in commission After various legal battles over his right to a solo career Williams succeeded in getting released from his contract with BMG On 27 June 1996 Williams signed with Chrysalis Records 2006 2011 second stint Williams performing in Take That s Progress Live tour in 2011 He rejoined the group in July 2010 and is open to another reunion in the future By March 2009 Williams had shown interest in rejoining Take That 23 however the band completed their The Circus Live without him In spite of rumours that Williams was working in New York with Take That in September that year 24 by the day of the Children in Need charity concert at The Royal Albert Hall in November they were still performing separately However both did join with the other acts in the final song of the evening with Williams putting his arm around Gary Barlow and singing Hey Jude On 15 July 2010 Williams reconciled with his former colleagues and rejoined Take That In November 2010 the Take That album Progress was released becoming the fastest selling album since 2000 and the second fastest selling album in UK history 25 The group travelled across the UK on their Progress Live tour which included eight nights at Wembley Stadium in London 26 then continued across Europe The tour was the fastest selling in UK history with ticket hotlines and websites crashing under the demand 26 In August 2012 Take That performed at the closing ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics Williams was due to perform with Take That but missed the performance because his wife gave birth at around the same time the group performed as a four piece 27 Although still officially part of Take That 28 Williams chose not to return for group s seventh and eighth studio albums and their accompanying tours focusing instead on his solo commitments He continued to write music with his colleagues and has performed with the group on several occasions since 2011 s Progress tour 29 and planned to return for a full tour to celebrate Take That s 30th anniversary in 2019 30 Solo career1996 1998 Life thru a Lens and I ve Been Expecting You Main articles Life thru a Lens and I ve Been Expecting You Williams launched his solo career in 1996 with a cover of George Michael s Freedom which reached number two in the UK Singles Chart 31 Recordings for Williams s first album began at London s Maison Rouge studios in March 1997 Shortly after his introduction to songwriter and producer Guy Chambers Williams released Old Before I Die the first single from his debut album The single reached number two on the UK Charts 31 however it was largely ignored on international charts His debut album Life thru a Lens was released in September 1997 The album launched with his first live solo gig at the Elysee Montmartre theatre in Paris France The album debuted at number eleven on the UK Albums Chart Angels the fourth single is Williams best seller in the United Kingdom 32 The song apart from becoming a hit around Europe and Latin America caused sales of his album to skyrocket The album remained in the British top ten for forty weeks and spent 218 weeks there altogether making it the 58th best selling album in UK history with sales of over 2 4 million 33 The album eventually managed to sell over three million copies in Europe 34 Williams and Chambers started writing the second album I ve Been Expecting You in Jamaica in early 1998 The first single Millennium accompanied with a music video featuring Williams parodying James Bond complete with tuxedo and references to Bond films like Thunderball and From Russia with Love became Williams first solo number one single in the United Kingdom 35 It also became a top twenty hit in many European countries Latin America and Australia 36 I ve Been Expecting You was released in late October 1998 and debuted at number one in the UK Albums Chart 35 The album received more attention outside the United Kingdom leaving its mark in the European and Latin American markets with hits such as No Regrets a collaboration with The Pet Shop Boys singer Neil Tennant and The Divine Comedy s Neil Hannon She s the One a cover of a World Party track written by Karl Wallinger became Williams second UK number one single 35 Williams finished the year with a European Tour late in 1999 I ve Been Expecting You sold almost 3 million copies in the UK and was certified 10 Platinum by the BPI 37 In Europe the album sold over 4 million copies 38 1999 2001 Sing When You re Winning and Swing When You re Winning Main articles The Ego Has Landed Sing When You re Winning and Swing When You re Winning In 1999 Williams was signed to Capitol Records in the United States a part of EMI He embarked on a United States promotional tour and released his first United States and Canadian single Millennium The compilation album The Ego Has Landed was released in July 1999 in the United States and Canada In the middle of promotion and the tours in 1999 Williams began work on his third studio album Williams in London in 2000 gesturing to a paparazzi photographer The first single taken from the album was Rock DJ a song inspired by Williams s UNICEF mentor the late Ian Dury The video created by Fred amp Farid 39 showed Williams in an attempt to get noticed by a group of females first stripping and then tearing chunks of skin and muscle from his body and caused controversy in the United Kingdom and many other countries The video was edited by Top of the Pops for its graphic content and many other channels followed suit 40 The song became an instant hit reaching number one in the UK becoming his third number one single as a solo artist and New Zealand The song went on to win Best Song of 2000 at the MTV Europe Music Awards Best Single of the Year at the Brit Awards and an MTV Video Music Award for Best Special Effects 41 When the album Sing When You re Winning was released in August 2000 it topped the charts in many different countries 42 In the UK the album was certified 2 Platinum on its first week of release 43 After the success of his third album Williams wanted to take another musical direction He took two weeks off from his tour to record Swing When You re Winning his fourth studio album Born from his lifelong love for Frank Sinatra combined with the success of the track Have You Met Miss Jones that he recorded for the film Bridget Jones Diary in 2001 the album was recorded at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles Williams took the chance to duet with his long time friend Jonathan Wilkes Little Voice star Jane Horrocks Saturday Night Live star Jon Lovitz Rupert Everett and actress Nicole Kidman The first single released from the album was a duet with Kidman on Somethin Stupid Originally a hit for Frank and Nancy Sinatra the song became Williams fifth number one hit in the UK 44 It eventually went on to become one of the biggest hits of 2001 45 Beyond the Sea was featured over the credits of the film Finding Nemo in 2003 and was also released on the film s soundtrack CD A DVD Robbie Williams Live at the Albert Hall was released in December of that year So far it has become one of the best selling music DVDs in Europe being certified 6 Platinum in the United Kingdom 46 and 2 Platinum in Germany 47 2002 2005 Escapology and Intensive Care Main articles Escapology album Greatest Hits Robbie Williams album and Intensive Care album In 2002 Williams signed a record breaking 80 million contract with EMI 48 The contract included a number of provisos including the label ceding greater creative control to the artist and a commitment to breaking Williams into the US market So far it is the biggest music deal in British history The deal was brokered by Ingenious Media a UK corporate finance advisory business Williams began working on what would be his fifth studio album spending a year in the recording studio The album heralded a new era for Williams He had taken a more active role in the making of this album One Fine Day Nan s Song and Come Undone were the first songs that Williams wrote without the input of Guy Chambers Most of the songs were recorded in Los Angeles For the first time in my life I m speechless Williams addresses the crowd during his three record breaking concerts at Knebworth playing to 375 000 the biggest event in UK music history 5 The album s first single Feel written by Williams and Chambers was recorded as a demo When they started working on the album and were trying to re record the vocals Williams felt unsatisfied with it so he decided to include the demo version and then release it as the first single When the single was released in late 2002 it became Williams biggest international hit going number one in The Netherlands and Italy and reaching the top ten in many European countries 49 When Williams fifth studio album Escapology was released in late 2002 it hit number one in at least 10 countries around the world In the United States however it failed to make such an impact Escapology sold almost 2 million copies by the end of 2003 in the United Kingdom 50 On 1 3 August 2003 Williams played three consecutive concerts at Knebworth to 125 000 people each night making it the biggest event in UK music history 5 Memorable performances included Come Undone where he interjected with Britain I m Your Son and further interacted with the audience when he brought a girl up on stage 51 In October 2003 Williams released a live album of the concerts Live at Knebworth 52 In October 2004 Williams released Greatest Hits a retrospective of his career and also to reveal the new tracks he had been working on with the then new collaborator Stephen Duffy Radio the compilation s first single debuted at number one in the UK Singles Chart 35 becoming Williams sixth number one hit When the compilation was later released it debuted at number one in the UK 35 and was the best selling album of the year in the UK 53 and Europe 54 Eight years after the release of Angels the British public voted it as the Best Single of the Past Twenty Five Years at the 2005 Brit Awards 55 After touring Latin America in late 2004 for the promotion Greatest Hits Williams started working on his sixth studio album Recorded at his house in the Hollywood Hills the album was co written by Stephen Duffy over the course of 24 months The album Intensive Care was launched in Berlin on 9 October It became an international hit In November 2005 Williams took home the MTV Europe Music Award for Best Male but also entered in The Guinness Book of World Records when he announced his World Tour for 2006 selling 1 6 million tickets in one single day 56 Williams kicked off his Close Encounters World Tour in South Africa in April 2006 when he finished his European leg of the tour 2 5 million people had seen the show and after touring Latin America and Australia the numbers went up to 3 million 57 2006 2009 Rudebox and Reality Killed the Video Star Main articles Rudebox and Reality Killed the Video Star Williams released his much anticipated dance electro album Rudebox on 23 October 2006 It featured collaborations with the Pet Shop Boys William Orbit Soul Mekanik Joey Negro Mark Ronson Chris Grierson and The Orr Boys It received mixed reviews Allmusic gave it a four star rating the NME 8 out of 10 and Music Week and MOJO were equally positive 58 but it received much weaker reviews from some of the British press The album sold 2 Platinum in Europe with sales of over 2 million making it the fastest platinum selling album of 2006 59 To promote his album Williams commissioned a series of short films 60 Goodbye to the Normals was directed by Jim Field Smith and features Burslem Normals by Williams Williams at a concert in Vienna Austria in 2006 In February 2009 it was confirmed that Williams had written material with Guy Chambers and Mark Ronson A spokesman said that Williams was planning to begin the recording sessions in March and that the new album would be released in late 2009 This will probably be the last Williams album released by EMI 61 On his official website Williams confirmed that he was working with producer Trevor Horn on his new album which would eventually be titled Reality Killed the Video Star 62 a reference to the song Video Killed the Radio Star by Horn s former band The Buggles The album was released on 9 November 2009 in the United Kingdom 63 On 11 October 2009 Williams published a 12 track compilation album titled Songbook as a free CD for the newspaper The Mail on Sunday That same evening Williams made his comeback on The X Factor results show performing his new single Bodies for the first time live 64 On 20 October 2009 Williams opened the BBC Electric Proms at the London RoundHouse 65 It was his first live concert for 3 years and was broadcast across 200 cinemas worldwide 66 Accompanied by a string section horn section full band and producer Trevor Horn Williams performed several new tracks from Reality Killed the Video Star and older tracks 66 Reality Killed the Video Star was previewed in the UK on the Spotify music streaming service on 6 November 2009 and official released on 9 November 67 In a high profile chart battle Williams album was pitted against X Factor 2008 runners up JLS who released their debut album the same day JLS beat Williams to the number one spot by 1500 sales The album was also released in the United States Williams first album to be released there since 2002 s Escapology In late November 2009 Williams travelled to Australia to perform at the ARIA Music Awards of 2009 68 2010 2012 In and Out of Consciousness and Take the Crown Main articles In and Out of Consciousness Greatest Hits 1990 2010 and Take the Crown album Williams performing at the Sydney Super Dome in 2009 In October 2010 Williams released his second greatest hits album In and Out of Consciousness The Greatest Hits 1990 2010 to celebrate 20 years as a performing artist A single Shame was also released which was written and sung by Williams and Barlow On 21 October 2011 Williams signed with Island Records Universal Music following his departure from his previous record label EMI in 2010 69 Williams was the opening act at the Diamond Jubilee Concert which was co organised by Gary Barlow held outside Buckingham Palace on 4 June 2012 70 During the end of August his official website began a countdown to the release of information regarding his latest solo material with an image of his face and his mind unveiled daily as the countdown expired 71 Titled Take the Crown the album debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart making it Williams tenth number one album It also marked the second time that Williams had a number one single Candy and album at the same time on the chart The first time was in 2001 when Somethin Stupid and Swing When You re Winning were number one on the singles and albums chart respectively 72 The album s lead single Candy premiered on 10 September 2012 and was released on 11 September in most countries and 29 October in the UK In the UK Candy became Williams first number one single since Radio 2004 and his seventh solo number one single In its first week the song has sold 137 000 copies becoming the fastest selling male artist single of the year 73 On 26 November 2012 Williams announced a 17 date stadium tour of Europe 74 75 Williams also confirmed that the support act for the tour would be Olly Murs who also duets with him on Kids Universal and EMI merged in 2012 bringing Williams Chrysalis Virgin recordings full circle to Universal 2013 2014 Swings Both Ways and Under the Radar Volume 1 Main articles Swings Both Ways and Under the Radar Volume 1 Williams on stage at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester during the Take the Crown Stadium Tour June 2013 In September 2013 Williams announced a follow up to his 2001 swing album titled Swings Both Ways for release in November The album features covers and original songs whilst also including duet recordings with Michael Buble Olly Murs Rufus Wainright Lily Allen and Kelly Clarkson 76 In November 2013 Williams made a cameo appearance in the video to Murs s song Hand on Heart 77 Williams released a compilation album entitled Under the Radar Volume 1 on 1 December 2014 through his website featuring leftovers and unreleased songs 78 These are loads and loads of songs that I have written that I am incredibly passionate about I want you to hear them otherwise they are just going to remain in my computer 79 Williams claims that Guy Chambers is not happy about these songs being released online He thinks I am a lunatic for not putting them on an album that we have promoted with TV performances and at radio stations and a big tour Williams said But I am an impetuous bugger and I want them out now now now 80 2016 2018 The Heavy Entertainment Show and The X Factor Main articles The Heavy Entertainment Show and Under the Radar Volume 2 Williams performing at the Apple Music Festival in London 25 September 2016 In May 2016 it was announced that Williams had signed a recording contract with Sony Music In a statement Williams said They re Sony Music inspired I m inspired I m more ready than I ever have been and I m totally convinced I m in the right place I look forward to working on this album which is an album I m immensely proud of in this exciting new partnership with Sony Music 81 The Heavy Entertainment Show became his 12th UK number one album putting him level with Madonna 82 In July 2017 Williams announced a new album Under the Radar Volume 2 which was released in November 2017 83 A third edition in the Under the Radar series was released on Valentine s Day of 2019 84 Williams performing at the 2018 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony in Moscow Russia 14 June 2018 On 14 June 2018 Williams performed at the 2018 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony held at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow Russia 85 Williams sang Let Me Entertain You and Feel before he performed a duet of Angels with Russian soprano Aida Garifullina 85 86 Williams then performed an encore with Rock DJ during which he gave the finger 87 Fox in the U S apologised for the incident which they had broadcast live 87 The incident was not shown on ITV in the UK who had cut away prior to the encore 87 Williams appeared on This Morning on 19 June and explained what happened It was one minute to kick off I was under a lot of pressure because there was one minute left and I didn t know how I was going to do half a minute so I just did a one minute countdown using his middle finger Asked by presenter Phillip Schofield whether he regrets it he said Yeah of course yeah I cannot trust me I don t know what I m going to do at any time There s no sort of plan The plan was sing in key don t fall over That was the plan and 99 of the plan I pulled off When asked did the idea just enter his head he responded Nothing actually pops into my head There s a block between me and sense then something happens and then five minutes later I m like Did I Yeah I did didn t I 88 On 17 July 2018 Williams along with his wife and One Direction star Louis Tomlinson were announced as the new judges on the fifteenth series of The X Factor in the UK joining Simon Cowell and replacing Louis Walsh Sharon Osbourne and Nicole Scherzinger 89 2019 present The Christmas Present Lufthaus and XXV On 22 November Williams released his first Christmas album titled The Christmas Present which features guest appearances from boxer Tyson Fury Rod Stewart Jamie Cullum Helene Fischer and Bryan Adams The album debuted at number two on the UK Charts behind Coldplay s Everyday Life The album sold over 67 000 copies which is identical sales to his previous studio album release The Heavy Entertainment Show Williams also sold over 10 000 cassettes in 7 days which is the most in two decades The following week saw Williams album go to 1 in the UK outselling the nearest competitor Rod Stewart by 5 000 copies This was Williams 13th UK number one album tying Elvis Presley for the most UK number one albums 90 On 25 February 2022 it was revealed that Williams had teamed up with his regular collaborators Tim Metcalfe and Flynn Francis to record the trance track Sway under the new alias Lufthaus 91 In April 2022 The Guardian observed that while Williams remains a big draw he was no longer guaranteed hits and was now more likely to be playlisted on Smooth Radio than BBC Radio 1 Williams said he was working on more experimental music which he likened to David Bowie and Lou Reed but said Do I unashamedly want to still be one of the biggest artists in the world Yeah I do I ve had an interesting first half of my life I d like an interesting second half too 92 In May 2022 Williams performed at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne Australia specifically for the upcoming biopic Better Man The film is being produced at the Docklands Studios Melbourne and release is expected to be in the second half of 2023 93 On 7 June 2022 Williams announced that his tenth compilation album XXV would be released on 9 September 2022 94 It will feature new reimagined versions of his hit songs plus new material On the same day as this announcement Williams released Angels XXV a reworked version of Angels 95 96 On 10 June 2022 Angels XXV reached number 92 on the UK Official Singles Sales Chart 97 rising to 74 a week later 98 On 5 August 2022 Williams released the single Lost also taken from XXV 99 100 XXV was released on 9 September 2022 101 102 and debuted a week later at number 1 on the UK Official Albums Chart 103 In doing so Williams broke all previous Official Chart records with his fourteenth solo number one album 104 On 24 September 2022 Williams performed at the 2022 AFL Grand Final held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne Australia 105 Williams sang Let Me Entertain You Rock DJ Lost and Feel before he performed Angels which Williams dedicated to Australian cricketer Shane Warne who had died in March 2022 Williams then covered John Farnham s You re the Voice stating The next song is the unofficial national anthem of Australia Let s all send our love to John and his family Just two days prior on 22 September 2022 John Farnham had released a statement outlining that he was to undergo immediate surgery after being diagnosed with cancer 106 Williams then performed Kids with Australian singer Delta Goodrem 107 108 On 7 October 2022 Lufthaus released the single Soul Seekers 109 Williams XXV tour started on 9 October 2022 in The O2 Arena supported by Lufthaus 110 In November 2022 Williams performed in Qatar as part of the country s FIFA World Cup 2022 celebrations His appearance attracted criticism due to Qatar s human rights abuses and strict LGBT laws 111 112 113 After the criticism Williams stated I don t condone any abuses of human rights anywhere if we re not condoning human rights abuses anywhere then it would be the shortest tour the world has ever known I wouldn t even be able to perform in my own kitchen Anybody leaving messages saying no to Qatar are doing so on Chinese technology the hypocrisy there is that if we take that case in this place we need to apply that unilaterally to the world Then if we apply that unilaterally to the world nobody can go anywhere 114 Other projectsCollaborations Williams on stage in Poland in 2015 performing Bohemian Rhapsody He collaborated with Queen in recording We Are the Champions for the 2001 film A Knight s Tale Robbie Williams collaborated with Australian pop star Kylie Minogue on the song Kids The single peaked at number 2 on the UK Singles Chart in 2000 Williams also collaborated with Australian film star Nicole Kidman on a cover of Frank and Nancy Sinatra s Somethin Stupid The single reached number 1 on the UK Singles Chart in 2001 His single No Regrets featured Neil Tennant and Neil Hannon on backing vocals In 2001 Williams recorded We Are the Champions with Queen for the 2001 medieval adventure film A Knight s Tale 115 In 2002 Williams appeared on the track My Culture on the 1 Giant Leap album alongside rapper Maxi Jazz which features lyrics from the hidden track Hello Sir from Life thru a Lens Williams also features on a double CD titled Concrete which was released on the same day as Rudebox The CD features a concert recorded for the BBC featuring the Pet Shop Boys and Williams singing their classic hit Jealousy Their joint effort She s Madonna was released as a single in March 2007 On 13 August 2007 a Dean Martin duets album was released on which Williams sings Please Don t Talk About Me When I m Gone In 2010 he announced the release of Shame a duet with Take That lead singer songwriter Gary Barlow as the first single from his greatest hits collection In and Out of Consciousness The Greatest Hits 1990 2010 which was certified silver in the UK and charted in 19 countries worldwide In 2010 Williams and comedian actor Russell Brand along with Frank Skinner David Baddiel and singer songwriter Ian Broudie of The Lightning Seeds under the name The Squad recorded a new version of Three Lions the England football team s song for the 2010 FIFA World Cup 116 In 2012 Williams recorded a duet with Mexican recording artist Thalia for the Spanish song Te quiero dijiste Munequita linda included on her album Habitame Siempre 117 In 2019 he collaborated with British comedian Jimmy Carr 118 co writing the lyrics for Live in Las Vegas the opening song of Williams s residency at the Wynn Las Vegas A studio version of the song has been recorded 119 excerpts of which have been used in promotional material for the show but the song is not yet available for download Other work In 2005 Williams provided the voice of Dougal in the film adaption of The Magic Roundabout On 26 August 2010 it was announced Williams would become a guest vocal coach on the ninth series of German reality television show Popstars Girls forever to teach candidates for a girl group 120 On 20 September 2010 Williams released his second book called You Know Me in collaboration with Chris Heath The book features a collection of photographs of Williams from the past 20 years of his career and discussion of them by Williams as transcribed by Heath Williams launched a radio show titled Radio Rudebox on 6 October 2011 where he played music and interviewed Gary Barlow Video games Williams recorded the song It s Only Us as the theme for the FIFA video game FIFA 2000 121 As part of the agreement to license the track EA Sports included Port Vale the football club Williams supports in the game despite only being in the third tier of the English football league system 121 Williams features in his own karaoke video game We Sing Robbie Williams which was released on 12 November 2010 by Nordic Games Publishing AB 122 Los Angeles Vale F C In 2005 Williams founded a football team called Los Angeles Vale F C Williams formed the club with other celebrity friends after building his own soccer pitch at his home in Los Angeles 123 124 The club was named after Williams hometown club Port Vale and its logo was very similar 125 The club supposedly was disbanded in 2007 reportedly after Williams discovered two players had swindled him out of 200 000 126 127 Farrell clothing In 2011 Williams announced he was working with entrepreneur Peter Jones in developing a clothing line called Farrell in honour of his grandfather Jack Farrell 128 Although the business had filed for bankruptcy it was later relaunched in 2014 with support of clothing company Primark 129 Musical theatre In 2018 it was announced that Williams and Guy Chambers would write the music and lyrics with a book by Mark Ravenhill for the stage musical adaptation of David Walliams children s book The Boy in the Dress for the Royal Shakespeare Company The musical opened in November 2019 at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre Stratford upon Avon where it ran for an 18 week season earning rave reviews from the critics and audiences 130 Legacy Wax statue of Williams at Madame Tussauds in London It has been claimed that Williams has sold more albums in the UK than any other British solo artist in history and has won more BRIT Awards than any other artist to date 131 His records sales stands at over 77 million worldwide making him one of the best selling artists of all time 132 Williams was entered in The Guinness Book of World Records when after he announced his World Tour for 2006 1 6 million tickets were sold in one day 133 It s his self deprecating sense of humour in person and in his lyrics that helps explain his wide appeal in Australia Perhaps only Pink and Ed Sheeran have such a wide mix of demographics at their concerts that s why Williams will play to nearly 60 000 people in Victoria alone Cameron Adams on the appeal of Williams 134 Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian wrote Williams is a perfect meeting of ego self deprecation and hits adding there really is nobody else in pop music anyway who combines monumental hamminess and bone deep vulnerability quite so effectively 135 He has received a record eighteen Brit Awards Best British Male Artist four times two awards for Outstanding Contribution to Music and the 2017 Brits Icon for his lasting impact on British culture and eight German ECHO awards 3 136 137 In 2004 he was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame after being voted as the Greatest artist of the 1990s 138 He appeared in the 2009 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records when his sell out show at the BBC Electric Proms at London s Roundhouse was screened by more than 250 cinemas across 23 countries to set a new record for the most simultaneous cinematic screenings of a live concert 139 Williams appears in the list of the all time Top 100 biggest selling albums in the UK six times with four albums in the top 60 53 In 2005 the British public voted Angels the song they would most like played at their funeral 140 In October 2009 it was announced that he would receive the Outstanding Contribution to British Music award at the 2010 Brit Awards 141 In September 2010 Williams switched on the Blackpool illuminations stating that it was one of the greatest honours he had achieved 142 In October Media Control named Williams the most successful album artist of the millennium due to the fact that he had spent No 1 on the German Albums Chart for 38 weeks since 2000 He also reached that chart s Top Ten 135 times 143 He was ranked at No 11 the greatest frontman of all time in a reader poll by Q magazine 144 Influences During his childhood Williams was influenced by swing musicians such as Frank Sinatra Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr The first records he listened to were released by Nat King Cole Sarah Vaughan Ella Fitzgerald and Cole Porter which belonged to his mother At the age of 10 he got into Hip hop and started collecting Electro albums 145 and when he started his solo career in the 90s he was influenced by Britpop bands such as Oasis Blur and Pulp 146 As a singer his influences include Tom Jones 147 Freddie Mercury 148 Elvis Presley and Bono 149 He worked with Tom Jones several times throughout his career They performed together at the Brit Awards in 1998 the following year they recorded a cover of the song Are You Gonna Go My Way for Jones album Reload and in 2012 Williams and Jones worked together again on the song On My Own b side of his single Different Williams also feels great admiration for Freddie Mercury and Queen In 2001 Williams Brian May and Roger Taylor released a new version of We Are the Champions for the movie A Knight s Tale He also revealed that he was once asked to be the new frontman of Queen but that he turned down the offer because of his very low self esteem He said I just thought I d save them the audacity of me even trying to step on a stage and be in the same echelon as Freddie Mercury Because he to me is angelic He s godlike It was just too scary 150 Williams has revealed that he does the Elvis Prayer before going on stage at every concert In 2000 he got a tattoo of the phrase Elvis Grant Me Serenity 151 and he also played as an Elvis impersonator in the music video for his song Advertising Space 2005 Speaking to BBC Radio 2 in February 2021 Williams cited Ian Dury as his biggest inspiration as a lyricist 152 He sings on You re the Why the final track of the posthumously released album Ten More Turnips from the Tip 2002 153 Influence in others artists Contemporary artists have expressed their admiration for Williams and have cited him as one of their influences The English rapper Example admitted his obsession with Williams and how he had been inspired by Williams performances when he was younger He described his own performance on stage as a combination of rap rock and Robbie Williams 154 deprecated source Ed Sheeran in an interview with El Hormiguero revealed that the first album he ever bought was Life Thru A Lens 155 English pop singer Olly Murs paid tribute to Williams Angels music video in the music video for his single Hand on Heart And one of Louis Tomlinson s earliest influences was Robbie Williams of whom he declares a big fan 156 Personal lifeResidence In 2006 Williams emigrated to Los Angeles 157 He briefly moved back to the UK in 2009 when he bought an 8 5 million mansion in Compton Bassett but sold the property a year later to move back to Los Angeles In 2017 he sold his mansion in Beverly Hills to DJ Khaled for 9 9 million 158 In 2016 he moved into Woodland House a 17 million mansion in the Kensington area of London 159 His next door neighbour there is Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page who has lived in The Tower House since 1972 160 In 2018 Page delayed Williams plans for an underground swimming pool stating that construction work would damage The Tower House 160 161 Health issues Two of his biggest hits Come Undone and Feel were both exercises in melodic self loathing It felt like a public airing of very private pain Robbie Williams O2 London review The Telegraph 162 Williams has reportedly battled mental illness obesity self esteem issues alcoholism and substance abuse throughout his life 163 164 He has discussed how his friend Elton John booked him into a clinic to cope with his drug use that emerged from the depression he was experiencing while still in Take That 164 Williams revealed in 2011 he had been experiencing lethargy caused by a type of hormone imbalance called andropause for a number of years and thought at first it was a return of his depression 165 166 In a June 2020 interview with Weight Watchers Magazine he revealed that he had developed an addiction to online golf games 167 Interests One of Williams tattoos the spectacles logo of The Two Ronnies visible on his neck Williams has a strong interest in UFOs and related paranormal phenomena and pursued this interest during his 2007 08 sabbatical 168 His interest in the subject led to him taking part in a documentary for BBC Radio 4 with Jon Ronson The documentary followed them to a UFO convention in Nevada during which Williams connected his interest in the paranormal with the desire to understand his childhood fears of his mother s interest in the world s mysteries elves demons and witchcraft 169 Williams featured in a 2018 TV documentary Hunt for the Skinwalker by Jeremy Corbell and revealed that his partner Ayda Field dissuaded him from buying the Skinwalker Ranch when it became for sale 170 171 172 Williams became an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church Monastery to officiate the wedding of friends 173 Williams has a number of tattoos many of which are related to British culture These include 174 an Ace of Spades commemorating heavy metal band Motorhead a fez common headwear of comedian Tommy Cooper the logo of The Saint tribute to Roger Moore who played the titular character on the TV show 175 the spectacles logo of The Two Ronnies the comedy sketch show of the TV double act of Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett the skip dance pose of Morecambe and Wise another TV comic double act Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise a Stafford knot a symbol of his home county Staffordshire the logo of his former group Take That the coat of arms of Burslem the town in Stoke on Trent where he grew up the notes and words of the first line of the chorus of the Beatles song All You Need Is Love on his lower back Williams became a fan of his hometown football team Port Vale FC as a child after his father became the licensee of the team s social club 16 He has played in a testimonial game for club legend Neil Aspin 176 In 2020 Williams received backlash for expressing his belief in the widely debunked Pizzagate conspiracy theory 177 178 Relationships and fatherhood Williams and Ayda Field in 2015 In 1997 Williams was in a month long relationship with Spice Girls singer Melanie Chisholm 179 In May 2006 Williams started dating American actress Ayda Field She was featured in the UFO documentary that Williams did for BBC Radio 4 180 and took part in a field investigation he did in Trout Lake Washington in 2008 181 Williams and Field wed at his home in Mulholland Estates in Beverly Hills on 7 August 2010 182 183 184 They have four children daughters Theodora and Colette 185 and sons Charlton and Beau 186 Williams s wife is Ashkenazi Jewish 187 Williams considers his children to be Jewish 188 There have been questions about Williams s sexuality with some speculating that he may be bisexual 189 190 In an interview with the Daily Star he stated I love musical theatre and a lot of the other things that are often associated with gays I am 49 homosexual and sometimes as far as 50 However that would imply that I enjoy having a particular sort of fun which I don t 191 Wealth In the 2011 Sunday Times Rich List of wealthiest people in the British music industry his wealth was estimated at 90 million Williams is a lifelong supporter of football club Port Vale based in his home town of Stoke on Trent and in February 2006 he bought 240 000 worth of shares in the club making him the largest shareholder 192 However the club entered administration on 9 March 2012 and as a result Williams lost all of his shares in the club and received only a fraction of his original investment back 193 Charity Williams warming up for the 2006 edition of Soccer Aid Williams has set up a charity in his home town of Stoke on Trent entitled Give It Sum its goal being to improve local conditions and strengthen community life by giving money to those who are disadvantaged 163 194 Williams with the help of friend Jonathan Wilkes has organised charity football matches called Soccer Aid to raise money for UNICEF UK A mixture of non football celebrities and professional football players have played Soccer Aid matches in 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 and 2018 at Old Trafford in Manchester and Wembley Stadium in London 195 Williams has been the Patron of the children s charity the Donna Louise Trust based in Stoke on Trent since 2002 The charity offers respite and palliative care to terminally ill and life limited children who are not expected to live past the age of 16 196 Awards and nominationsMain article List of awards and nominations received by Robbie Williams Williams has won various awards with some of his more recognised accolades being the Brit Awards He has won a record eighteen Brit Awards which also include the Brits he won with Take That making him the most successful artist in the history of the awards 2 He has also won 8 Echo Awards from the German music industry 137 DiscographyMain articles Robbie Williams discography and List of songs recorded by Robbie Williams Studio albums as a solo artist Life thru a Lens 1997 I ve Been Expecting You 1998 Sing When You re Winning 2000 Swing When You re Winning 2001 Escapology 2002 Intensive Care 2005 Rudebox 2006 Reality Killed the Video Star 2009 Take the Crown 2012 Swings Both Ways 2013 The Heavy Entertainment Show 2016 The Christmas Present 2019 See also Under the Radar Vol 1 2014 Under the Radar Vol 2 2017 Under the Radar Vol 3 2019 Studio albums with Take That Take That amp Party 1992 Everything Changes 1993 Nobody Else 1995 Progress 2010 Progressed 2011 Odyssey 2018 ConcertsSolo Show Off Must Go On Tour 1997 Ego Has Landed Tour 1998 One More for the Rogue Tour 1998 99 1999 Tour 1999 Man The Myth The Tax Bill a k a Born To Be Mild A Few Dollars More Get Your Coat Baby You ve Pulled The Sermon on the Mount Tour 2000 01 Weddings Barmitzvahs amp Stadiums Tour 2001 2003 Tour 2003 Weekends of Mass Distraction Cock of Justice Aussie Typo Close Encounters Tour 2006 Take the Crown Stadium Tour 2013 Swings Both Ways Live 2014 Let Me Entertain You Tour 2015 The Heavy Entertainment Show Tour 2017 18 XXV Tour 2022 23 Take That Party Tour 1992 93 Everything Changes Tour 1993 94 Pops Tour 1994 95 Progress Live 2011 Residencies Robbie Williams Live in Las Vegas 2019 Robbie Williams bandAlong the tours Robbie Williams had various members in his band Current members Robbie Williams lead vocals guitar tambourine 1997 present Gary Nuttall lead guitar backing vocals 1997 present Guy Chambers keyboard guitar backing vocals 1997 2002 2012 present Jeremy Meehan bass guitar backing vocals 2004 present Karl Brazil drums 2009 present Tom Longworth rhythm guitar backing vocals 2012 present Choristers Denosh Bennett backing vocals 2012 present Sara Jane Skeete backing vocals 2012 present Nayanna Holley backing vocals 2012 present Brass Atlantic Horns Ben Edwards trumpet flugelhorn percussion 2012 present Mike Kearsey trombones sousaphone keyboards percussion 2012 present Mark Brown saxophones bass clarinet acoustic guitar keyboards backing vocals 2012 present Former members Fil Eisler bass guitar backing vocals 1997 2001 Andy Wallace keyboard tambourine 1997 1998 2002 Steve Smiley Barnard drums 1997 Chris Sharrock drums 1998 2008 Alex Dickson guitar 1998 2000 Claire Worrall keyboard guitar backing vocals 1998 2007 Chris White saxophone flute 1999 2003 Paul Spong saxophone flute 1999 2003 Dave Bishop trombone flute 1999 2003 Neil Sidwell trombone flute 1999 2003 Simon Gardner trumpet 1999 2003 Yolande Charles bass backing vocals 2000 2003 Tessa Niles backing vocals 2000 2003 Katie Kissoon backing vocals 2000 2003 Neil Taylor guitar backing vocals 2002 2012 Max Beesley piano percussion instrument 2002 2006 Stephen Duffy guitar 2004 2006 Paul Beard keyboard 2009 2012 TimelineReferences Robbie Williams lanzara nuevo album en noviembre Universal Music Magazine Retrieved 24 April 2014 a b ROBBIE WILLIAMS BRITs ICON Brits co uk 8 November 2016 a b Brit Awards 2017 The winners BBC News 22 February 2017 Retrieved 22 June 2018 Certified Awards Bpi co uk Archived from the original on 27 June 2019 Retrieved 24 April 2014 a b c Fans go wild for Robbie BBC 17 June 2018 Rota Alma 2 September 2022 Robbie Williams on new album XXV and 25 years of solo fame Rolling Stone Retrieved 9 September 2022 Robbie Williams XXV Deluxe Edition Apple Music 9 September 2022 Retrieved 9 September 2022 Yahoo News UK amp Ireland Latest World News amp UK News Headlines Uk news yahoo com 20 April 2011 Archived from the original on 24 November 2010 Retrieved 24 April 2014 Take That LP posts huge sales Digital Spy 16 November 2010 Retrieved 2 October 2011 Robbie Williams quits Take That again after 10m Comeback The Telegraph not specific enough to verify Glorious Gooner 12 November 2016 Robbie Take That flood and Back For Good Troxy archived from the original on 28 October 2021 retrieved 21 March 2019 BBC 25 February 2017 Take That perform The Flood Let It Shine 2017 BBC One archived from the original on 28 October 2021 retrieved 21 March 2019 Life Unscripted 2 December 2018 TAKE THAT with Robbie Williams X Factor UK FINAL 2018 archived from the original on 2 September 2019 retrieved 21 March 2019 Robbie Williams and Gary Barlow team up for single Daily Telegraph 3 September 2012 ISSN 0307 1235 Archived from the original on 11 January 2022 Retrieved 21 March 2019 Crossan Jamie 4 November 2012 Robbie Williams scores first UK Number One single in eight years with Candy NME Retrieved 21 March 2019 a b Sherwin Phil 2010 The Port Vale Miscellany Brimscombe Port The History Press p 10 ISBN 978 0 7524 5777 2 Robbie Williams grandfather came from Kilkenny KCLR96FM 12 September 2012 Archived from the original on 15 September 2012 Retrieved 28 June 2013 Robbie doing it for the kids with awards The Sentinel 19 September 2008 Retrieved 8 August 2010 Robbie Williams The ego has flown NZ Herald Retrieved 14 June 2018 Robbie Drugs gave me best times of my life The Telegraph Retrieved 14 June 2018 Robbie Williams early career Discographies biographies news StarPulse com Archived from the original on 3 March 2016 Retrieved 19 March 2013 Broken promises as Take That can take no more Independent Retrieved 14 June 2018 Robbie Williams ready to rejoin Take That The Daily Telegraph London 27 March 2009 Archived from the original on 1 April 2009 Retrieved 23 December 2009 Robbie Williams and Take That reunite in New York studio News Nme Com 28 September 2009 Retrieved 24 April 2014 Take That Interview Student Pocket Guide Online Thestudentpocketguide com Archived from the original on 30 September 2011 Retrieved 2 October 2011 a b Wembley Stadium Press Releases Archived from the original on 28 December 2010 Retrieved 6 February 2016 Martinovic Paul 9 June 2012 Take That George Michael to feature in London 2012 closing ceremony Digital Spy Barlow says Robbie can return to Take That any time RTE ie 19 March 2017 Retrieved 20 May 2018 Savage Mark 8 November 2016 Take That join Robbie at Brits gig BBC News Retrieved 20 May 2018 Robbie reveals he got Take That reunion details wrong Digital Spy 13 December 2017 Retrieved 20 May 2018 a b Robbie Williams 8notes com Retrieved 23 December 2009 Award Certification for Angels BPI Archived from the original on 3 January 2008 Retrieved 4 January 2008 Award Certification for Life Thru A Lens BPI Archived from the original on 31 December 2007 Retrieved 4 January 2008 IFPI Platinum Europe Awards 2002 IFPI 2002 Archived from the original on 20 March 2007 Retrieved 29 November 2008 a b c d e UK Top 40 Database everyhit com Retrieved 17 December 2015 Robbie Williams Millennium GfK Dutch Charts Retrieved 17 December 2015 Award Certification for I ve Been Expecting You BPI Archived from the original on 31 December 2007 Retrieved 4 January 2008 IFPI Platinum Europe Awards 2001 AWARDS IFPI 2001 Archived from the original on 22 February 2012 Retrieved 29 November 2008 Yahoo Big Idea Chair A feast of Fred amp Farid Campaign Controversial Robbie single hits the shops BBC News 31 July 2000 MTV Video Music Awards 2001 MTV Retrieved 17 June 2018 Robbie Williams Sing When You re Winning album GfK Dutch Charts Retrieved 17 December 2015 Award Certification for Sing When You re Winning BPI Archived from the original on 6 November 2007 Retrieved 4 January 2008 Somethin Stupid first week sales in the United Kingdom Theofficialcharts com 22 December 2001 Archived from the original on 29 May 2008 Retrieved 23 December 2009 Award Certification for Something Stupid BPI Archived from the original on 6 November 2007 Retrieved 4 January 2008 Award Certification for Live at the Albert Hall BPI Archived from the original on 6 November 2007 Retrieved 4 January 2008 Gold Platin Datenbank Robbie Williams in German Bundesverband Musikindustrie Robbie signs 80m deal BBC News 2 October 2002 Robbie Williams Feel Single GfK Dutch Charts Retrieved 17 December 2015 Platinum Awards Content 30 September 2007 Archived from the original on 18 June 2008 Retrieved 24 April 2014 Are you ready for Robbie Seven great Robbie Williams live videos Birmingham Mail Retrieved 17 June 2018 Live at Knebworth AllMusic Retrieved 17 June 2018 a b Booth Jenny Gray Sadie UK s 100 best selling The Times London Retrieved 26 November 2006 IFPI Platinum Europe Awards 2006 IFPI 2006 Archived from the original on 7 May 2012 Retrieved 12 November 2008 Brits25 Did your favourites get awards BBC 9 February 2005 Robbie Williams Enters The Guinness Book of World Records Softpedia 26 November 2005 Archived from the original on 6 October 2014 EMI Music Mexico Time Emimusic com mx Archived from the original on 19 October 2007 Retrieved 23 December 2009 NME Magazine on Rudebox NME UK 23 October 2006 Retrieved 23 December 2009 IFPI Certifications November 2006 Ifpi org 1 September 2005 Archived from the original on 7 May 2012 Retrieved 23 December 2009 Goodbye to the hard sell Thefirstpost co uk 12 March 2007 Archived from the original on 11 October 2007 Retrieved 23 December 2009 Michaels Sean 28 January 2009 robbie williams album mark ronson The Guardian London Retrieved 23 December 2009 New album title Page 4 MTV Retrieved 23 December 2009 Glastetter Jason 5 August 2009 Robbie Williams is back for good Theendofirony net Retrieved 23 December 2009 X Factor Home Xfactor itv com Retrieved 24 April 2014 BBC Electric Proms Robbie Williams BBC News Retrieved 23 December 2009 a b Petridis Alexis 21 October 2009 Concert Review The Guardian London Retrieved 23 December 2009 Sehr Andres 3 November 2009 Robbie Williams new album to debut exclusively on Spotify in the UK Spotify com Archived from the original on 7 January 2010 Retrieved 23 December 2009 ARIA Awards 2009 History Winners by Year 2009 23rd Annual ARIA Awards Australian Recording Industry Association ARIA Archived from the original on 24 November 2009 Retrieved 13 June 2012 Robbie Williams splits with EMI after 80 million deal that went sour 22 October 2011 Retrieved 9 April 2019 via www thetimes co uk Robbie Williams opens Queen s Diamond Jubilee concert The Telegraph 17 June 2018 Archived from the original on 5 June 2012 Robbie Williams Teases New Single Losers Entertainmentwise com 28 August 2012 Retrieved 24 April 2014 Robbie Williams crowned king of the charts with Number 1 single and al Officialcharts com Retrieved 11 November 2012 Take THAT Gary Robbie Williams equals Gary Barlow s career tally as Officialcharts com Retrieved 7 November 2012 Robbie Williams announces 17 date European stadium tour Music News Digital Spy 26 November 2012 Retrieved 24 April 2014 Robbie Williams Announces Tour 4Music 26 November 2012 Archived from the original on 12 May 2013 Retrieved 26 November 2012 Robbie Williams announces new album Swings Both Ways video Music News Digital Spy 12 September 2013 Retrieved 17 September 2013 Knight David 8 November 2013 Olly Murs Hand On My Heart by Vaughan Arnell Promonews tv Retrieved 18 August 2014 Robbie Williams Announces New Rarities Album Under The Radar Vol 1 Music News Reviews and Gossip on Idolator com 28 November 2014 Michaels Sean December 2014 Robbie Williams unveils surprise new album The Guardian Robbie Williams announces surprise new album Under The Radar Volume I is he challenging Take That The Mirror Retrieved 14 June 2018 Robbie Williams signs to Sony Music Music Week 8 May 2016 Retrieved 26 September 2016 Sexton Paul 14 November 2016 Robbie Williams Claims Heavy U K Album Record Billboard Prometheus Global Media Retrieved 11 December 2016 Robbie Williams has a new album coming out and he s climbed a tree naked to promote it NME Retrieved 14 June 2018 Under The Radar Volume 3 CD Under The Radar Robbie Williams Shop Retrieved 9 April 2019 a b World Cup 2018 Ronaldo and Robbie Williams star in opening ceremony BBC 14 June 2018 World Cup 2018 Opening Ceremony What time will it start and when will Robbie Williams feature The Telegraph 13 June 2018 Archived from the original on 11 January 2022 Retrieved 14 June 2018 a b c Fox apologises for Williams gesture BBC News 15 June 2018 Retrieved 15 June 2018 Robbie Williams explains why he gave planet Earth the middle finger at the World Cup Digital Spy 21 June 2018 Louis Tomlinson and Robbie Williams named new judges on The X Factor BBC Retrieved 17 July 2018 Robbie Williams Lands His Lucky 13th No 1 Album In The U K With The Christmas Present Forbes Retrieved 10 March 2020 Robbie Williams releases secret dance track The List 25 February 2022 Retrieved 22 February 2022 Duerden Nick 16 April 2022 That s it It s over I was 30 What a brutal business pop stars on life after the spotlight moves on The Guardian Retrieved 16 April 2022 Quinn Karl 2 May 2022 Robbie Williams Better Man concerts filmed for 2023 biopic The Sydney Morning Herald Retrieved 24 March 2023 Smith Carl 7 June 2022 Robbie Williams XXV album tracklisting release date artwork Angels 2022 version new song Lost and more Official Charts Retrieved 8 June 2022 Bassett Jordan 7 June 2022 Robbie Williams jokes he could play Knebworth again if he sold tickets as cheaply as Liam Gallagher NME Retrieved 8 June 2022 Angels XXV Spotify 7 June 2022 Retrieved 8 June 2022 Official Singles Sales Chart Top 100 10 June 2022 16 June 2022 Official Charts 10 June 2022 Retrieved 10 June 2022 Official Singles Sales Chart Top 100 17 June 2022 23 June 2022 Official Charts 17 June 2022 Retrieved 17 June 2022 Krol Charlotte 5 August 2022 Robbie Williams shares new XXV album single Lost about reckless behaviour NME Retrieved 5 August 2022 Robbie Williams announces new single Lost from XXV greatest hits collection Retro Pop Magazine 3 August 2022 Retrieved 5 August 2022 Rota Alma 2 September 2022 Robbie Williams on new album XXV and 25 years of solo fame Rolling Stone Retrieved 9 September 2022 Robbie Williams XXV Deluxe Edition Apple Music 9 September 2022 Retrieved 9 September 2022 Official Albums Chart Top 100 16 September 2022 22 September 2022 Official Charts 16 September 2022 Retrieved 16 September 2022 Robbie Williams breaks Official Chart records with XXV album only The Beatles now have more UK Number 1 albums Robbie becomes the solo artist with most UK Number 1 albums with only The Beatles now left to beat Official Charts 16 September 2022 Retrieved 16 September 2022 Delta Goodrem joins the 2022 Telstra Pre Match Entertainment as special guest afl com au Retrieved 25 September 2022 Singer John Farnham undergoes surgery after revealing cancer diagnosis ABC News 22 August 2022 Retrieved 23 August 2022 Warney Farnsy Delta and disco balls feature in AFL grand final pre match show by Robbie Williams ABC News 24 September 2022 Retrieved 25 September 2022 Love you Warnie Robbie s perfect tribute to late great spin king Aussie music legend Fox Sports 24 September 2022 Retrieved 25 September 2022 Robbie Williams and Lufthaus return with latest single Soul Seekers Retro Pop Magazine 7 October 2022 Retrieved 27 October 2022 Robbie Williams The O2 The O2 Retrieved 27 October 2022 Kaufman Michelle Tiny Qatar beats out America for World Cup Total Soccer Futbol Total The Miami Herald Archived from the original on 3 May 2011 Retrieved 22 November 2022 James Stuart 2 December 2010 World Cup 2022 Political craziness favours Qatar s winning bid The Guardian London Archived 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Novel THE BOY IN THE DRESS BroadwayWorld com Retrieved 27 May 2018 The One And Only BBC 5 January 2008 Reporter Shields Gazette 25 June 2014 Robbie Williams makes Jarrow girl s dream come true Shields Gazette Archived from the original on 2 February 2015 Retrieved 27 January 2015 Robbie Williams Enters The Guinness Book of World Records News softpedia com Archived from the original on 15 May 2011 Retrieved 23 December 2009 Is Robbie Williams the last great showman of modern pop music News com au 17 June 2018 Robbie Williams review a perfect meeting of ego self deprecation and hits The Guardian Retrieved 16 June 2018 The BRIT Awards 2005 BRIT Awards Archived from the original on 2 July 2007 a b Echo Verleihung mit hohem Kreischfaktor in German Rhein Zeitung Online Robbie joins UK pop Hall of Fame BBC News 12 November 2004 Robbie Williams comeback concert sets world record The Telegraph 19 June 2018 Archived from the original on 11 January 2022 Angels favourite funeral song BBC 10 March 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2004 Feel Robbie Williams London Ebury ISBN 978 0 09 189753 6 a b Barnes Anthony 29 August 2004 Robbie s red top revenge Or how a star got his own back on the paparazzi The Independent London Archived from the original on 6 February 2009 Retrieved 29 August 2004 Robbie Williams Williams Suffering From Hormone Imbalance Contactmusic 6 October 2010 Retrieved 2 October 2011 Take That singer Robbie Williams admits to injecting himself with testosterone weekly The Daily Telegraph Australia 2 June 2011 Retrieved 2 October 2011 Simms Drew 3 July 2020 Robbie Williams has an addiction to playing golf online DrewReportsNews Retrieved 3 July 2020 Ronson Jon 19 April 2008 I m loving aliens instead The Guardian London Retrieved 19 April 2008 Ronson Jon 2012 Lost at Sea The Jon Ronson Mysteries Riverhead Hardcover p 94 ISBN 978 1594631375 He s loving aliens instead Robbie Williams goes on a Hunt For The Skinwalker NME 11 September 2018 Retrieved 6 March 2022 Robbie Williams set for alien documentary Eyewitness News 2018 Retrieved 6 March 2022 Robbie Williams swaps paranormal for the normal RTE 1 April 2020 Retrieved 6 March 2022 Bonthrone PJ 20 March 2002 Robbie Williams conducts wedding The Daily Telegraph London Archived from the original on 11 January 2022 Robbie Williams 4 year old daughter wants tattoos and wife Ayda isn t happy Coventry Telegraph Retrieved 14 June 2018 Robbie Williams pays homage to James Bond s Roger Moore with Saint inspired tattoo Metro 10 June 2017 Retrieved 14 June 2018 Baggaley Michael 3 December 2019 Robbie Williams will be cheering on Port Vale at tonight s game stokesentinel Retrieved 3 December 2019 Robbie Williams suggests debunked Pizzagate conspiracy theory is true NME 25 June 2020 Retrieved 18 March 2021 Rosseinsky Katie 25 June 2020 Robbie Williams faces backlash over bizarre Pizzagate conspiracy theory comments Evening Standard London Retrieved 15 February 2022 Ex Spice Girl Mel C opens up on affair with Robbie Williams Mirror 18 December 2007 Jon Ronson heads deep into the Nevada desert with UFO obsessed Robbie Williams The Guardian London 19 April 2008 Retrieved 23 December 2009 And Robbie Williams Investigate UFOs at Gilliland Ranch page 1 Abovetopsecret com Retrieved 23 December 2009 McIntyre Samantha 7 August 2010 Pop Star Robbie Williams Weds Archived from the original on 15 August 2010 Retrieved 8 August 2010 Robbie I Take That woman to be my wife Archived 26 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine peoplestar co uk Retrieved on 8 August 2010 Robbie Williams marries Ayda Field the wedding in detail Telegraph co uk Archived from the original on 11 January 2022 Retrieved 9 March 2017 Robbie Williams and Ayda Field welcome surrogate baby BBC News 1 March 2019 Archived from the original on 1 March 2019 Retrieved 29 December 2019 Robbie Williams and wife Ayda Field delight fans with surprise baby news 14 February 2020 Jewish bridesmaid will be part of the royal wedding party on Friday www thejc com Retrieved 27 February 2023 Grant Brigit Robbie Williams talks about his Jewish kids www jewishnews co uk Retrieved 27 February 2023 Robbie Williams Swings Both Ways But Is Really Just Straight Pretending To Be Gay Queerty 18 November 2013 Archived from the original on 18 November 2013 Retrieved 29 December 2019 Robbie Williams duets with Lily and Olly on new swing album 17 September 2013 Archived from the original on 17 September 2013 Retrieved 29 December 2019 No Robbie Williams you re not 49 gay But you are 100 stupid Patrick Strudwick Comment is free theguardian com TheGuardian com 29 November 2013 Archived from the original on 29 November 2013 Retrieved 29 December 2019 BBC Stoke amp Staffordshire Robbie buys into Vale Retrieved 17 December 2006 Port Vale formally enter administration BBC Sport 9 March 2012 Retrieved 9 March 2012 Robbie s Givin It Sum BBC Archived from the original on 12 December 2004 Retrieved 26 May 2007 Robbie Williams Kicks for Charity Novinite Sofia News Agency 23 March 2006 Donna Louise Trust Donna Louise Trust Retrieved 23 December 2009 Further readingChris Heath Feel Robbie Williams 2004 Ebury ISBN 978 0 09 189753 6 External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Robbie Williams Wikiquote has quotations related to Robbie Williams Robbie Williams at IMDb Official website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Robbie Williams amp oldid 1146329474, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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