Williams, Robbie

ROBBIE WILLIAMS

Born: Robert Peter Williams; Stoke-on-Trent, England, 13 February 1974)

Genre: Rock, Pop

Best-selling album since 1990: Escapology (2002)

Hit songs since 1990: "Angels," "Millennium," "Feel"

When Robbie Williams auditioned for the British boy band Take That in 1990, no one imagined that he would later emerge as one of the biggest pop celebrities in British history. Take That, a band equivalent to the 1980s American pop band New Kids on the Block, broke all sales records set by the Beatles. Of the five members in Take That, Williams stood out as the defiant and rebellious boy who could not fail to attract a British media addicted to lads showing off.

In 1995 Williams was reportedly fired from Take That. Despite a large fan following, Williams was not considered a likely candidate for a solo career because of his seemingly dissolute private life and his less-than-stellar vocal abilities. Yet five years later he had become England's most celebrated pop star, with sales of some 20 million albums.

Williams's first attempt with a solo single came in June 1996, when he did a cover of George Michael's "Freedom." This surprisingly good performance and arrangement peaked at number two in the British charts. In 1997 the singles "Old Before I Die," "Lazy Days," and "South of the Border" preceded Williams's first album, Life thru a Lens, which was released by Chrysalis. The album is a blend of catchy pop/rock songs and beautifully crafted ballads that are made endearing by Williams's delivery. Throughout the album, there are conscious musical references to other British artists, such as Elton John and the group Oasis. Although it sold slowly in the beginning, the British critics were cautiously optimistic. Eventually the album made it to number one in the U.K. This marked Williams's first success and allowed him to publicly demonstrate his scorn for Take That, who by this time had just broken up.

The main turning point of Robbie Williams's career came with the release of his single "Angels" in December 1997; it was co-written with Guy Chambers, a former member of World Party and Lemon Trees who had emerged during the 1990s as one of the most praised songwriters in the U.K. Williams instantly won over British audiences and was nominated for two Brit Awards for the category of best newcomer and best single for "Old Before I Die." In March 1998 the single "Let Me Entertain You" was released while the song "Angels" was still in the charts. By June 1998 he was playing sold-out concerts, most notably a show at London's Forum that was broadcast on pay-per-view. Following a spate of gigs and a major appearance at the legendary Glastonbury festival, his song "Millennium" was released in the U.K. in September 1998. With a theme borrowed from John Barry's score for the James Bond film "You Only Live Twice," this song became Williams's first solo number one single.

The album I've Been Expecting You was released the following month and immediately registered huge sales. It debuted at number one and remained in the top seventy-five for seventy-seven consecutive weeks. November 1998 saw the release of the song "No Regrets," with backing vocals by the Pet Shop Boys' Neil Tennant and Neil Hannon of the Divine Comedy.

By 1999 Williams was a superstar in Britain, with six nominations for the Brit Awards and awards for Best British Male Solo Artist, Best Single (for "Angels"), and Best Video (for "Millennium"). During 1999 he leveraged his celebrity to support several political causes such as the group Jubilee 2000, which sought cancellation of the Third World's $11 billion debt to advanced countries. Later in the year he took part in the Wembley Stadium segment of the NetAid concert that aimed to combat world hunger. During this year his single "Strong" peaked at number four in the charts. In 1999 Williams was runner-up to Elvis Presley for the title of Best Male Artist in a "Music of the Millennium" poll organized by HMV and Channel 4. By November Williams had completed a tour of the United States, where "Angels" was released as a single; in the same month a compilation of highlights from his two U.K. albums, The Ego Has Landed, was certified gold in the United States.

During 2000 Williams's success continued to soar as he received a spate of music awards. His first single in 2000, "Rock DJ," debuted at number one, selling almost 200,000 copies in its first week, the highest weekly total for any single in U.K. history. The video of this song was censored by BBC's "Top of the Pops" because it features Williams stripping off his clothes and then, by special effects, his flesh. Not surprisingly, this video won an MTV Video Music Award for best special effects in 2001, the same year the album Swing While You're Winning was released.

In 2002 Williams signed the biggest recording deal in British history with EMI for $125 million, only weeks before the release of his album Escapology, which became the best-selling album in the world. Finally, after years of struggling to break into the American market, it seemed that he had made it with this album. Escapology signals a newfound maturity, featuring songs geared to a more adult public. Songs such as "Feel" and "Love Somebody" are two of the ballads he performs with sincerity and deeply felt passion. The styles on the album are diverse, encompassing gospel, soul, pop, and middle-of-the-road rock. Notwithstanding the media's lurid preoccupation with Robbie Williams's personal life, his public popularity has yet to descend from the stratosphere.

SELECTIVE DISCOGRAPHY:

Life thru a Lens (Chrysalis, 1997); Angels (Chrysalis, 1998); I've Been Expecting You (Chrysalis, 1998); The Ego Has Landed (Emd/Capitol, 1999); Sing When You're Winning (Chrysalis, 2000); Swing When You're Winning (Chrysalis, 2000); Escapology (Chrysalis, 2002).

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

P. Lester, Robbie Williams: The Illustrated Story (London, 1998); R.Williams and M. McCrum, Robbie Williams: Somebody Someday (London, 2001).

stan hawkins