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Biography
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.
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...
Now: 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' lifestyle:
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.
Recent career:
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.
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