Robbie Williams Biography

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A man so maddeningly cool he can hold an audience in the palm of his hand while, ahem, adjusting himself with the other. Small wonder (ahem again) that the man is hailed as the UK’s most gifted and celebrated star.

His debut album, Life thru a Lens was released on September 29, 1997 on EMI Records. The album produced a string of successful singles, including “Angels”, which has became one of his well known songs to date. Other successful singles from the album include “Old Before I Die” and “South of the Border”. Williams followed up the success of his first album with his second album I’ve Been Expecting You, released on EMI Records on October 26, 1998. Like his debut, the album charted at number one on the UK Album Charts and was successful on other worldwide album charts. The album produced Williams’ first UK number one single to that point, “Millennium”.

His third and fourth albums, Sing When You’re Winning released on August 28, 2000 and Swing When You’re Winning released on November 19, 2001 were well received by music critics, and like his previous albums; debuted at number one in the United Kingdom. Sing When Your Winning is more of a pop album, while Swing When Your Winning is more a jazz/big-band led album, in which William’s claimed that “he always wanted to do a jazz album”. From both albums, successful singles were released including, “Rock DJ” which was released from Sing When Your Winning and “Somethin’ Stupid” (featuring Nicole Kidman) which was released from Swing When Your Winning.

Follow up album to Sing and Swing When Your Winning was Escapology, released on November 28, 2002. No surprise came that Escapology debuted at number one on the UK Album Charts; making this William’s fifth UK #1 album. Singles released included “Feel”, “Come Undone”, “Something Beautiful” and “Sexed Up”, all of which were top 10 hits in the UK. In 2004, William’s released a Greatest Hits album.

His 2005 Intensive Care album was one of the best selling album of 2005, and was the 53rd best selling album of the decade in the United Kingdom. Follow up album, Rudebox was however less successful in chart sales. After the release of Rudebox, Williams took a musical hiatus; and returned in 2009 with his long awaited Trevor Horn produced album, Reality Killed the Video Star, which became his first album throughout his career not to chart at #1 on the UK Album Charts.

But, as true artists so often are, Robbie Williams is a complex and quixotic soul. Despite a gold-certified U.S. debut in The Ego Has Landed, record-breaking worldwide sales (approximately 5 million combined for previous LPs Life Thru A Lens and I’ve Been Expecting You), unfailingly incendiary live shows and rabid worldwide acclaim, Williams has spent his share of time shrouded in confusion…

That was then… Robbie Williams returns with Sing While You’re Winning. This time, he’s on top of his game and, perhaps more importantly, totally naked. (And we’re not just talking about his October British VOGUE cover with Gisele…)

“In the past,” he admits, “it’s been difficult for me to talk about things I believe in and not dress it up in irony in case someone takes the piss out of me. I think I’ve gotten to the point where I’m prepared to be sincere.”

Quite a claim following the supreme mind-fuck of the last year: Rarely off the international radio or radar, amassing armfuls of accolades for superb songwriting and showmanship, setting his sights on the United States and going home with a gold record and Entertainment Weekly Album of the Year honors, our Rob seems to have weathered it all by sticking to a single modus operandi: Being himself.

And on August 28th 1999, Robbie Williams took on the single biggest challenge of his career, headlining at Slane Castle in Dublin. The full capacity of 80,000 tickets sold out five weeks in advance. Expectations could not have been higher. Ever the consummate showman, Robbie delivered a show that everyone in attendance-and the 50,000 who logged on for the simultaneous webcast-will never forget.

Somehow, amidst the madness, media and mayhem of that same year, Robbie Williams managed to find time to conceive, write and record Sing While You’re Winning. A fearless leap forward for Robbie as a lyricist, singer and artist, Sing?features 12 songs, co-written once again with musical mastermind Guy Chambers, immediate and mysterious, unashamedly populist and beguilingly intelligent.

As with The Ego Has Landed and the two solo LPs from which it was compiled, Sing While You’re Winning makes ample use of the musical rulebook?as kindling. All bets are once again off: Guitar-fueled rock anthems sit happily alongside country-tinged love songs while super sexy funk nestles cheek-by-jowl with the classic balladry that has become synonymous with the name Robbie Williams.

Speaking of which, like “Angels” before it, Sing?standout “Better Man” is a song so simple and emotionally direct, it will both break your heart and fill you with hope. Honest, tender and raw in its search for self and promise of redemption, it is quite possibly the best song Robbie Williams has ever written-or at least the one of which he’s most proud.

“I was heartbroken,” says Williams of the time in his life that spawned the song. “Nothing to do with relationships, but I was thinking, ‘Well, you’ve got it, son. You’ve sold eight million albums, made money, you’re more famous than anyone would want to be and it’s not doing it, is it?’ So I sat outside with my guitar and I thought, ‘I’ll just pray to John Lennon and if he’s listening maybe he’ll give me something.’ Now that can be taken as raging arrogance or plain loony but I started strumming these chords which became the verse and the whole thing was written in an hour. And I mean that song. It’s me being honest. Not ironic or smart-arse. It’s just me.”

On the other hand, virtually all of Sing While You’re Winning vies for the “Robbie’s Best Work To Date” prize: The opening call to arms of “Let Love Be Your Energy” has been likened to bastard-spawn of Lenny Kravitz and Marilyn Manson. First single “Rock DJ” is a HUGE Daft Punk-meets-Parliament party stomper inspired in part by the late great Ian Dury. “Forever Texas” is a bionic rocker that pushes the testosterone levels into the red, while “Kids” is a powerhouse Who-indebted duet with none other than Kylie Minogue.

(As is always the case, each of these influences is balanced out by equal parts Robbie. In the case of the “Rock DJ” video, Robbie’s?parts are actually distributed amongst a roller-disco-ing throng in a future burlesque that sees its star quite literally stripped down to the bone?But more on that another day.)

Of course, Sing?has its tender moments too. “If It’s Hurting You” is a gentle lament underscored by poignant curlicues of pedal steel guitar. The song was written about Robbie’s painful break-up with former fiancee’ Nicole Appleton, as is the touchingly poetic meditation “The Beach.”

“I saw Nicky recently,” says Robbie. “It was great because we did that thing for a year where you’d bump into each other: ‘I’m really happy and doing absolutely fine without you. Look! I’m telling jokes and I’m laughing and I’m just so relaxed in company and at ease in any social situation! And I’m walking like John Travolta in Grease!’ It was good to meet up and go ‘You alright?’ ‘No.’ ‘You alright?’ ‘No.’ It was such a relief to stop pretending we were fine without each other. It felt good.”

These are good times for Robbie. He looks great-imagine James Dean alive and well and joining the Clash!-he’s writing like a dream and America is once again beckoning. But, more crucially these days, Robbie Williams is looking life square in the eye, confident with himself, finally prepared to deal head-on with his triumphs, his failures and the myriad challenges ahead.

“I wouldn’t change this for the world,” Robbie says. “It’s my job. I’ve been dealt a fantastic deal and I’ve just got to learn how to handle it. You’re not given tools to learn how to cope with this. There’s no celebrity support group you can go to.”

“Actually there are,” he reconsiders. “They’re called awards ceremonies.” The man beyond the boy band, behind the awards?Let him entertain you all over again.

Williams is regarded with bafflement by some observers, who note that he seems to have achieved huge success in the UK with only moderate looks, a mediocre singing voice and an unimpressive musical background. This criticism was perhaps effectively summed up by Noel Gallagher’s assessment of Williams as the “fat dancer from Take That”.

Much of Williams’ success can be attributed to his ‘cheeky chappy’ persona and ironic sensibility much loved by his UK fans. This is perhaps a major reason why Williams has failed to make any impact in the USA – without appreciating his ironic persona Williams comes across to Americans as arrogant and self-aggrandising. Yet UK fans highlight the energy and entertainment value of his live performances as a major part of his appeal.

Williams is currently single and now lives in Los Angeles, California. Speculation about his ambiguous sexuality and romantic life is rampant in the British media. Williams seems to encourage an image as a smooth womanizer and there are numerous widely-circulated Internet accounts allegedly written by Williams’ female sexual partners extolling his considerable prowess as a lover. A regular feature of his live performances is full-on french kisses with female fans plucked from the audience.

In 2002, the UK public voted Williams to be on the BBC’s list of the 100 Greatest Britons. He was also voted 17th in Channel 4′s 100 Worst Britons poll.

A best-selling official biography written by Chris Heath “Feel”, was published in 2004, and chronicled events that led up to to the “Live Summer Tour 2003″, during which Williams performed live to more than a million people over three days in August at Knebworth Park in Hertfordshire; while 3.5 million more watched live on television and on the Internet. Leading up to Knebworth, in December 2003, Williams toured Australia and New Zealand alongside Duran Duran.

Since the split with Chambers, Williams has begun to set out to prove his naysayers wrong. Armed with a new songwriting partner, Stephen Duffy, Williams has penned several new songs, including the retro electro-throb of the UK #1 hit “Radio” and the more reflective “Misunderstood”.

Both tunes are taken from Williams’ 19-track “Greatest Hits” album, released in October 2004. In February 2005, Williams received the British music industry’s award for the best song of the past quarter century, “Angels,” the song Williams credits with giving him a career.

Williams’ also performed at the Live 8 concert in London in 2005 where he was acknowledged as one of the stars of the show. An amusing incident happened at Live 8 when he asked the crowd to sing along with his hit song ‘Feel’, in which not everyone in the crowd in Hyde Park was familiar with. He jokingly covered it up and got a well-recieved laugh from the incident.

Following in the footsteps of Freddy Mercury from Live Aid twenty years before, Robbie got the entire crowd at Hyde Park to chant along with “We Will Rock You”, showcasing Williams’ ability to grab the crowd’s energy.

On 4 October 2007, Williams made a return to the live stage after almost ten months, when he made a guest appearance at Mark Ronson’s concert in Los Angeles. He performed The Charlatans song “The Only One I Know”, which features on Ronson’s album Version.

Rumours of a new studio album co-written with Guy Chambers had surfaced in early 2007, along with known commitments required by Williams to his EMI contract. British singer-songwriter Laura Critchley commented that she had sung vocals for three songs, and said that it would not be released until 2009.

On 16 January 2008 UK tabloid The Sun announced that Williams had been working on some songs with The Blockheads member Chaz Jankel. The article went on to state that the reunion with Chambers hadn’t worked out and that the material that Williams is working on with Jankel will form the basis of his next studio album. However, although it had been confirmed on the Blockheads official site that Jankel was writing with Williams, the rumour that Chambers was no longer working with him was not official. In late August 2008, Williams’s friend Callum Blue commented that he was still working on the album.

In February 2009, it was confirmed that Williams has written material with Guy Chambers and Mark Ronson. The singer’s spokesman, Tim Clark, said that the artist was planning to begin the recording sessions in March and that the new album would be released in late 2009. This will be probably the last Williams album released by EMI.

On his official website, Williams confirmed he is working with producer Trevor Horn on his new album; he described himself as “buzzing, it sounds big. Very, very big”. The new album will be titled Reality Killed the Video Star, a reference to the song “Video Killed the Radio Star” by Horn’s former band The Buggles. The album is now due 9 November 2009 for the United Kingdom. The new song “Bodies” had its first play on 4 September 2009 during the Chris Moyles Show on BBC Radio 1, where Moyles described it as “a grower”, with Williams later agreeing that it may take a few listens for people to like it.

On 11 October 2009 Williams published a 12-track compilation album, titled Songbook, as a free CD for the newspaper The Mail on Sunday. The CD is a one-off album of some of his biggest hits – including several rare live performances and images from his new album. The CD also included the latest software ‘completemyartist’ which gave access to more exclusive content and playlists online. That same evening, Williams made his “comeback” on The X Factor results show, performing his new single “Bodies” for the first time live. The appearance proved to be somewhat controversial as press and viewers alike questioned Williams’ well-being following a bizarre and erratic performance. A spokesperson for Williams later issued a public statement declaring that Williams had not been taking drugs.

On 12 December 2009 Williams appeared again on the show to duet with finalist Olly Murs. Despite the claims Robbie missed his cue, he was unaware of the long instrumental and therefore began too early. However, after laughing it off and picking up his place again from Olly Murs, he managed to complete the performance without any other negative incidents.

On 20 October 2009 Williams opened the BBC Electric Proms at the London RoundHouse. It was his first live concert for 3 years and was beamed across 200 cinemas around the world. 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 several of his greatest hits.

Reality Killed the Video Star was exclusively previewed in the UK on the Spotify music streaming service on 6 November 2009, three days before its official release on 9 November. 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 by 1500 sales with the 2 biggest selling albums of the year at that stage to the no.1 position, making Reality… Williams’ first studio album not to reach no.1 in the UK. However it reached number 1 globally that week.

The album was also released in the United States (Williams’ first album to be released there since 2002′s Escapology). However, the album peaked at #160 on the Billboard 200 album chart, and dropped out of the chart after only one week. In late November 2009, Williams travelled to Australia to perform at the ARIA Music Awards of 2009.