Robbie Williams
Robert Peter "Robbie" Williams Born February 13, 1974 in Stoke-on-Trent (England). British singer, songwriter and actor.
Robert Williams was born on February 13, 1974 in Stoke-on-Trent to Peter and Janet Teresa Williams.
His mother and father - stand-up comedian Peter "Parp" Conway - divorced when their son was three years old. Robbie and his sister Sally grew up with their mother.
The singer first studied at primary school Mill Hill Primary School, and then at St. Margaret Ward High School and often participated in school plays. After leaving school, the singer's mother brought home an announcement stating that a boy group was being recruited all over England.
Group manager take that Nigel Martin-Smith planned to promote the group along the lines of New Kids on the Block. At first, the group gave concerts in clubs and schools, where they performed covers of famous pop songs. They also managed to release their first video for the single from the debut album Take That And Party - "Do What You Like", where the musicians appeared half-naked.
The video did not become popular, and in general, such an approach at an early stage seemed to be chosen incorrectly - this negatively affected the sales of their first singles and young artists had no best reputation at that moment, which can be attributed to the unconditional mistake of the manager.
Two years later, the group signed a contract with record company bmg. With the signing of the contract, the group's business went up and the singles "A Million Love Songs" and "I Found Heaven" hit the Top 20. But the song "Could It Be Magic" achieved the greatest success. The Take That And Party album itself was the second-best-selling record in the UK at the time.
The group's second album, Everything Changes, spent several weeks at the top of the charts and became one of the best-selling albums in England. And the singles "Pray", "Relight My Fire", "Everything Changes" and "Babe" became hits. The album played a huge role in the formation of the band as one of the most famous in the world.
After a long tour in support of the last album, the band announced the recording of the third LP. The main hit from the album was the single "Back For Good", especially in the United States, which made it possible for the album to be released in that country as well. But it was in the era of this album that the conflicts within the group began. And it was Robbie who became their instigator. He did not like the role of "good boy", and also he needed to stand out from the group, which did not like the management and the band's frontman Gary Barlow.
Williams made the decision to leave the group. Having played a concert tour, Take That found it difficult to continue working as a four-piece, so the team disbanded in the spring of 1996.
They released a best-of-songs compilation, which also included new and The last song How Deep Is Your Love. Immediately after this news, a wave of teenage hysteria swept the UK, which allowed soloists Gary Barlow and Mark Owen to release a couple of fairly successful solo hits. But quickly enough, their solo career went downhill and there was no news about the team until 2005.
At the end of 1995, Robbie began to appear on the pages of authoritative publishing houses not in the most sober form and became a regular at parties and drinking parties.
He also appeared at the Oasis concerts at Glastonbury.
After a high-profile row with the Gallagher Brothers, Noel Gallagher called Robbie "the fat dancer from Take That". Also, the singer has been suing BMG for six months over a clause in his contract preventing the release of any of his solo songs if he leaves Take That.
After long litigation Williams announced that he was signed to Chrysalis Records. Just at that time, the debut single of the singer was released Freedom, a cover of a song by George Michael. Later, the singer noted that releasing a cover as the first single was not a good idea. But the result was worth it: the single climbed 26 positions higher in the charts than the original (No. 2).
In March 1996, the recording of Robbie's first studio album began. Just at that time, the singer struggled with drug and alcohol addiction. Lead single from the album Old Before I Die became successful in the singer's homeland, but was ignored internationally.
The next two singles Lazy Days and South Of The Border were not successful, and the label became worried about the future of the artist, and then the single "Angels" was released, which today is one of the singer's most recognizable songs. The single sold around 2 million copies and helped the debut LP climb to number one on the UK Albums Chart. Two videos were made for this song: the original version and the single version as part of The Ego Has Landed compilation for American audiences.
In early 1998, the singer and collaborator Guy Chambers began working on a new studio album. The song was the first single Millennium inspired by the James Bond movies. The song became very successful in Europe, selling over 400,000 copies. The following singles from the album (No Regrets, etc.) became especially successful in Latin America. When the album itself was released in October 1998, it immediately took the lead in the charts and collected a huge number of awards and nominations at prestigious ceremonies.
In 1999, the singer begins his tour in support of the second album and simultaneously releases the first DVD Where Egos Dare, which included live show in Slane Castle and the "making of" album Sing When You're Winning. The first single from the third album was the song "Rock DJ", the video clip for this song was rejected by critics because of its bloody content (Williams dances a striptease and rips off his skin and muscles, trying to attract the attention of a girl), but the song itself has become successful even now takes 22nd place in the list of the best-selling singles in the singer's homeland.
"Rock DJ" was nominated for Best Song of 2000 from the MTV Europe Music Awards, Best Single of the Year from the BRIT Awards and from the MTV Video Music Award for Best Special Effects. The second single Kids in a duet with Kylie Minogue was included in the artist's album Light Years.
Williams also wrote another song for this album - Your Disco Needs You. Future singles like Supreme(which Williams also recorded in French) and "Better Man" became very popular and entered the 10 most popular songs in many countries around the world.
Robbie Williams - Supreme
"Eternity", a track not featured on the album, was released in the summer of 2001 as a b-side to the single "The Road to Mandalay". It was his fourth single to reach No. 1 in the UK and sold 70,000 copies in its first week of release in England alone, and topped the charts in many countries including Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy and many more.
In the summer of 2001, Robbie Williams held a European tour. The album spent 91 weeks on the British Singles Chart, sold 2.4 million copies, was certified 8x platinum and ranked as the 51st best selling album in British music history. Over 4 million copies of the album have been sold in Europe.
In the summer of 2001, Williams interrupted his tour to record his fourth studio album. The album was recorded in the quality that the performer himself had always dreamed of. The album contains recordings in the swing genre. The first single to be released was a duet with "Somethin' Stupid". A remake of the song by Frank and Nancy Sinatra was Robbie Williams' fifth hit, reaching number one on all UK charts, and top five in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Holland, Belgium and New Zealand.In addition, the song became one of the best songs of 2001 and went silver with over 200,000 copies sold.
Robbie Williams and Nicole Kidman - Somethin' Stupid
When Sing When You're Winning was released in late 2001, it was an immediate hit in the UK, Ireland, New Zealand, Austria, etc., selling over 7 million copies worldwide.
Also, the song from him "Beyond the Sea" was the soundtrack to the cartoon Finding Nemo.
In support of the album, the singer performed at the Albert Hall and in December 2001 a film was released called Robbie Williams Live at the Albert Hall. It soon became the best selling album in Europe and went 6x platinum in the UK and 2x in Germany.
In 2002, the singer signed an £80 million deal with EMI. It was the most successful deal in the history of British music. Due to a dispute with his regular collaborator Guy Chambers over the writing rights to "Angels" and "Let Me Entertain You", "Nan's Song" and "Come Undone" were recorded without him. Most of the tracks were recorded in Los Angeles, where the singer moved in 2002.
First single from the album feel was recorded as a trial version. When they tried to re-record the vocals while working on the album, Williams didn't like it, so he decided to keep the trial and released it. When the single was released at the end of 2002, it immediately became very popular all over the world.
The album itself, released in November 2002, immediately became successful in more than 10 countries around the world. In the US, the album only took 43rd place on the Billboard Albums Chart.
Second single from the album Come Undone became a hit all over the world, which was in the top ten songs. But a rather controversial video was filmed for the song, where the singer (fully clothed) has sex with two women, which drew condemnation from MTV Networks Europe.
The third single "Something Beautiful" was written in Barbados. The song was first offered to Tom Jones but was later remade for the Robbie Williams album. The single was released in the summer of 2003, but was not particularly successful, although it reached the top ten in Britain, New Zealand and Denmark. The video for this song showed a casting call among people who wanted to meet Robbie Williams in person. 3 versions of the video were released, where 3 winners from different regions of the world were presented.
In the summer of 2003, he went on a tour, during which he also visited Russia. In October 2003, Williams released his first live album Live at Knebworth. This album sold out very quickly in the UK, selling over 120,000 copies in its first week. It was a Top 10 album hit across Europe, Australia and Latin America. This album went platinum twice and sold over 2,000,000 copies in Europe alone.
Winning another award as "Best foreign performer» at the German Echo Awards, Robbie took part in the filming of Hollywood movie"Beloved" (De-Lovely) - a biopic about the great American composer Cole Porter - playing a cameo role as a song performer during the ball of the main characters. A cover of It's De-Lovely led the soundtrack to the film, which also featured Sheryl Crow, Elvis Costello, Alanis Morriset and others.
The album featured two new songs from Radio and Misunderstood which became singles. And the second of them became the soundtrack to the film "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason." Both compositions were recorded in collaboration with new author - Stephen Duffy (Stephen Duffy), leader bands The Lilac Time. Together they will continue to work on Rob's next studio album.
Almost simultaneously with Greatest Hits, a new one was released official biography Feel, written by Robbie's journalist and friend Chris Heath, in conversation during the 2003 tour. This book is highly regarded by fans and critics for its frankness of the hero, and it has rightfully become a national bestseller.
Rob also joined the cast of stars for the charity single "Do They Know It's Christmas", timed to coincide with the Live 8 World Forum, which took place in July 2005. In February 2005, eight years after "Angels" was released, it won the best single of the past 25 years at the 2005 BRIT Awards.
In July 2005, after the Greatest Hits Tour, the singer performed on charity concert Live 8, where he performed 4 songs: "We Will Rock You", "Let Me Entertain You", "Feel" and "Angels".
Soon he announced the end of work on the sixth studio album. The album was recorded with new collaborator Stephan Duffy. The Intensive Care era saw the release of three successful singles Tripping (very successful on radio stations in Europe), Advertising Space and Make Pure. In November 2005, the singer received an award at the EMA, "Best Male Artist". At the ceremony, the singer performed the song Tripping.
In 2005, the singer was listed in the Guinness Book of Records for the fact that in one day after the announcement of the singer's world tour, 1.6 million tickets were sold out. After a long break in the summer of 2006, the album's third single was released. "Sin Sin Sin" was the first song written by Williams and Duffy together, the video for the song was shown in Cape Town, South Africa just before the start of his tour. It was the first single by Robbie Williams not to hit the top 20 in Britain, only reaching number 22. In the end, the album sold 5 million copies in Europe alone, which allowed it to become 5 times platinum (and now sales have reached 8 million copies). But at the same time it was the worst in terms of sales. studio album Robbie Williams in the UK at the time with 1.6 million copies.
At this time, Gary Barlow, Mark Owen, Howard Donald and Jason Orange decided to rehabilitate the Take That group and released a fairly successful record, Beautiful World, but Robbie refused to reunite with his former comrades.
The single "Rudebox" was first played on BBC Radio 1 on The Scott Mills Show. The single was aired despite the not-quite-censored text, but Rob himself insisted on this, which immediately caused public outrage, and besides, disputes began among the fans about a radical change in his performance style. No one was ready for such a change after the lyrically and musically penetrating Intensive Care (2005). The British newspaper The Sun even called "Rudebox" the worst song ever. However, the correspondent of the same newspaper, Victoria Newton, insisted that it was one hundred percent hit. The song was officially presented in September 2006 and ended up at number 4 in the UK charts, but in Germany, Switzerland and Italy it was a number one hit.
Williams unveiled his most unexpected album ever Rudebox October 23, 2006. It received mixed reviews: Allmusic gave it a 4, the NME gave it an 8 out of 10, and both Music Week and MOJO gave it an equally positive rating, but some in the UK press gave it a very poor rating. Despite topping the charts, sales left much to be desired, with overall UK sales lower than those of Take That Beautiful World's comeback album. By the way, Rob categorically refused to return to his former comrades, which even documentary, dedicated to the group and released around that time, showed Rob apart from all the other guys.
Rudebox sold around 520,000 in the UK and became the worst-selling album in the country for Rob himself, but even so, it was certified double platinum and hit number one in the UK charts. But in other countries, such as Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Australia, Finland, he took first place in the charts and was received more warmly. Two weeks after the release on November 8, 2006, the album was also certified double platinum in Europe, which is equivalent to a circulation of 2 million copies, and thus became the best-selling album of 2006. It ranked 18th on the 2006 best-selling albums list worldwide.
Promotion for the album was practically impossible due to Williams' problems. personal nature on the final part of the international Tour, because of which a number of concerts were even canceled. But at some performances he performed the single "Rudebox", and in December in Australia there was a place for the next single - "Lovelight".
The second single was released after the release of the album on 13 November. He took the top places in the charts (the highest position in Britain - No. 8), but not for long.
But the third single "She's Madonna", including interesting remixes from world DJs, was presented on European radio at the end of the next year, in January 2007, ahead of the release on physical media, which was scheduled for March 5, 2007.
It peaked at number 16 on the UK Singles Chart, but spent 4 weeks at number 2 on the European Airplay Chart and was in the top ten in many European countries. This single was not released in Latin America and Australia, but it appeared on the radio of these two countries. Despite this, it was released separately in Mexico in 4 different formats. In August 2007, it hit number 12 on the US Billboard dance music chart.
Robbie Williams - She's Madonna
A curious moment was the story with the track "The 90's". The fact is that it is biographical in nature and it initially contained text that hit hard on the reputation of the former Take That manager Nigel Martin-Smith, with whom Robbie had disagreements. The text had to be changed to a more decent one, because Nigel's lawyers were already ready to sue Williams. The changes were made a couple of weeks before the release of the album, otherwise there would have been a high probability that we would have seen Rob in prison - he himself admitted this in his blog in 2011. Despite this, at one of the concerts of the 2006 Tour, he "made happy" the fans and read them the original text.
The single "Bongo Bong and Je Ne T'Aime Plus" had a local character and was released as the third single in Latin America and some others European countries instead of "She's Madonna", and was popular on the radio.
To promote his album, Williams released a series of short films, setting up a competition between fans. It turned out to be a curious selection of songs that were not released as separate singles. These short videos were later released on the 2011 Rudebox re-release of the album.
The commercial failure of the album allowed the singer to go on a 2.5-year sabbatical. After a long rest, during which the singer met his future wife Ida Field, the recording of the new album has begun. The return turned out to be good and experiments with sound continued, and the honored producer Trevor Horn helped him in this, legendary song which, "Video Killed the Radio Star", was played on the album's title, although Robbie said it was a coincidence.
Despite the fact that the album contains no obvious hits, except for the first single "Bodies", the instrumental surprises with its variety and especially with the violin. The album returned popularity to the singer, despite the abundance of digital sales and the presence of younger competitors.
In June 2010, the second international greatest hits compilation was officially announced. In and Out of Consciousness: The Greatest Hits 1990-2010, summing up a 20-year musical career.
The album was released on October 11 different versions: from standard to deluxe, which included the concert in Berlin 2005, previously unreleased on DVD, as well as a disc of b-sides and rare songs. The new album, despite the collective nature, sold well, climbing to the first position in Britain, Germany, Europe, the World and a number of other countries.
With this achievement, Rob became the most successful British solo artist leaving behind. Only ahead The Beatles, U2 and .
In Germany, Greatest Hits was the ninth consecutive No. 1 album, cementing the fact that Robbie is the biggest selling artist in Germany in the 21st century, as well as in the UK, Italy and Europe. The release was preceded by the first and only single from the album - Shame (October 4), the song was written and performed together with Take That leader Gary Barlow, with whom the relationship was officially established. While headlining the British Soldiers Heroes Concert in the fall, Robbie and Gary performed the song live for the first time, Williams also sang some of his best songs to end the evening with the final Angels.
On July 15, the news was announced on Take That and Robbie's websites that Robbie was returning to the group. In the original composition, they recorded the album Progress. The album became the fastest-selling album of the 21st century and was second only to Oasis' "Be Here Now" (1997) on the historical chart.
Having stayed at the first position for 6 weeks in a row, the album also became the best in the Christmas chart, as well as at the end of the year (about 1.800.000 copies). Take That became the best-selling artist of 2010, and Robbie took 13th position, adding 800,000+ albums to his albums in the past year.
Shortly before the release of the album, a European tour "Progress Live" was announced. Over 1 million tickets were sold on the first day, and this is another historical record.
In January, it was announced that the album's second single was "Kidz", released on February 21, 2011. Due to the fighting in North Africa, there was a delay in the release of the video, which was associated with the military. The song was first performed at the BRIT Awards 2011 on February 15 at the opening ceremony, and later Take That received the award " The best group", which was the first of its kind for the group.
As part of the traditional British action "Comic Relief" was released new single for the song "Happy Now", and with it the video in which the guys "met" with their counterparts from the far-fetched group Fake That (they were played by famous British comedians), however, the single did not appear on physical media, but was available only for download, as well as video.
Three new songs at once became the themes of new Hollywood films in turn: "Love Love" (OST "X-Men: First Class"), "When We Were Young" (OST "Musketeers)", "Collision Of Worlds" (OST "Cars 2" ), and if the first two tracks were recorded by Robbie as part of Take That and released not only as singles, but also as part of the re-release of the Progress - Progressed album (8 new songs), which brought them a return to the 1st line of the British chart, then the last one - duet of Robbie himself with country singer Brad Paisley.
October 21, 2011 was announced, of course, the main news of the year: Robbie signed a solo contract with Universal. By its terms new album comes out in autumn 2012.
On May 17, 2012, at the prestigious Ivor Novello Awards, Take That won the Music Outstanding Contribution to British Music award. Despite the fact that Rob himself did not come to the presentation, technically the award went to him. Received it from the group Gary, Howard and Mark.
On June 4, Robbie performed at the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Celebration Concert, performing two songs "Let Me Entertain You" and "Mack The Knife". On October 6, 2011, Rob's new project, Rudebox Radio, was released. This is a radio show, led by him as a host, recorded in a home studio, with the invitation of his friends and relatives. 2 hours of jokes, jokes, favorite music and hidden details of your plans. Until the end of the year there were 3 issues of RR, including a special Christmas one. Rob also shared two demo songs: "Cocaine" and "Ice Cream Headache".
Debut single"Candy" from the new album Take the Crown, released in the UK on October 28, debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart and peaked at number one on the album chart on November 11, just a week after release. Last time The artist had this only in 2001, during the era of the Swing When You're Winning album, when both the album and the lead single "Somethin" Stupid "(in a duet with Nicole Kidman) were in the leading positions.
On Christmas Day 2012, Robbie's other single (as part of the charity group Justice Collective) "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" went to number one on the UK Singles Chart, and in June 2013, a collaboration with Dizzee Rascal "Goin' Crazy" reached number five on the same chart.
New album released November 18, 2013 Swings Both Ways, consisting of covers and new songs in the swing genre.
On April 9, 2015, Robbie Williams performed for the first time in St. Petersburg as part of the Let Me Entertain You tour.
In September 2016, Robbie Williams released a resonant video "Have fun like a Russian" (Party Like A Russian). In the video, the musician dances in the interiors of a luxurious mansion along with ballerinas. The performer sings about a rich Russian who downplays cash entire nation, builds his own space station "because he can" and never smiles.
Robbie Williams - Party Like A Russian
According to polls, he is considered the most popular British singer performing songs in such genres as pop, pop rock, soft rock.
Despite poor CD sales in the US, worldwide album sales exceed 59 million, with over 18 million singles sold. In the UK alone, about 16.2 million discs have been sold. This data pushes Robbie Williams' global CD sales to over 80 million.
As of 2016, Williams' net worth is $200 million.
Robbie Williams has sold the most albums in the UK and also won the most BRIT Awards in the history of the award (12 solo awards and 5 with Take That). The singer has sold 70 million records worldwide and is the best-selling foreign artist in Latin America. Williams was listed in the Guinness Book of Records after he announced his tour in support of the Intensive Care album: 1.6 million tickets were sold in one day.
The singer was inducted into the British Music Hall of Fame after being chosen as "Best Singer of the 90s".
Six of his albums are in the Top 100 best-selling albums in the United Kingdom. He is also by far the best-selling non-Hispanic singer in Latin America with 3 million albums sold. And the most successful performer in Europe in the 21st century, in the world - the third after Eminem and.
Robbie Williams Height: 185 centimeters.
Robbie Williams Personal Life:
In 2006, Robbie met American actress Ayda Field, whom he began dating in 2007.
September 17, 2012 at Robbie Williams and Ayda Field a daughter was born, who was named Theodora Rose (Teddy). On October 27, 2014, their second child, son Charlton Valentine, was born.
British singer Robbie Williams (full name Robert Peter Williams, Robert Peter Williams) was born February 13, 1974 in Stoke-on-Trent (Staffordshire, UK). In 1977, his parents divorced, and he stayed with his mother, visiting his father for the holidays. After graduating from high school, Williams began working as an insulating glass salesman in 1990, but soon left this business, having passed the competitive selection for the Take That musical group.
Together with the rest of the band, Williams recorded three albums and six singles, which brought the band worldwide popularity. In 1996, Robbie Williams decided to leave the group and start a solo career.
The singer signed a contract with the record company Chrysalis Records, which released his first single Freedom - a cover version of a song by George Michael (George Michael). Robbie Williams released his debut solo album Life Thru A Lens in September 1997. Soon the first solo concert of the singer took place. It took place on the stage of the Elysee Monmatre theater in Paris. The record Life Thru A Lens was not a big success until the fourth single from this album, Angels, became a bestseller in the UK, going platinum. The song was also a hit in Europe and Latin America and sold over two million copies worldwide.
Williams recorded his fourth Frank Sinatra-influenced album at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles in early 2001. The new album featured the singer's duets with Jonathan Wilkes, Jaine Horox, John Lovits, Rupert Everett and Nicole Kidman. The song from the album Beyond the Sea was featured on the soundtrack to the 2003 animated film Finding Nemo and was nominated for an Academy Award.
After releasing the album Escapology and the first live album Live at Knebworth, Williams played a cameo role in the film De-Lovely, a biopic about the great American composer Cole Porter. In 2004, the official biography of Robbie Williams, Feel, was published by journalist and musician friend Chris Heath.
In 2006, Williams released the album Rudebox "74. It was created in collaboration with the Pet Shop Boys, Soul Mekanik, William Orbit, Mark Ronson and other famous bands and artists.
In 2007, Robbie Williams found himself in rehabilitation center the city of Tucson, where he tried to get rid of addiction to narcotic analgesics, which the singer began to use during the breakup of Take That. Having completely recovered, the singer gave a concert at the Albert Hall on December 3, 2007, and then posted two new tracks on his official website: Break America and In And Out of Love.
In 2010, Robbie Williams joined the re-created Take That group, after which the team had a successful tour in the UK and Europe and released the Progress album, which put the musicians on the first lines of the charts. However, already in October 2011, Williams left the pop group again. At the same time, he broke the contract with EMI and announced that he would record a new solo record on the Universal Music label. At the same time, Williams' book, You Know Me, was published, co-written with journalist friend Chris Heath.
Williams' ninth studio album, Take the Crown, was released on November 5, 2012. The album featured 11 new songs, including a duet with American folk singer Lissie - Losers. The first single from the album was the song Candy, written in collaboration with Harry Barlow of Take That.
Robbie Williams is the winner of 12 BRIT Awards, five more times he received this award as part of Take That. In 2005, Williams received the MTV Europe Music Award for "Best Male Artist" and was listed in the Guinness Book of Records for selling 1.6 million tickets on the day the singer's world tour was announced. In 2004, the singer was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame as the most successful British musician of the 1990s.
Robbie Williams is married to American actress Ayda Field. On September 20, 2012, the couple had a daughter, Theodora.
The material was prepared on the basis of information from open sources
FULL NAME: Robert Peter "Robbie" Williams
DATE OF BIRTH: 02/13/1974 (Aquarius)
PLACE OF BIRTH: Stoke-on-Trent, UK
EYE COLOR: Olive
HAIR COLOR: brunet
FAMILY STATUS: married
FAMILY: Parents: Peter Williams, Janet Teresa Williams. Wife: Ayda Field.
HEIGHT: 180 cm
OCCUPATION: singer, actor, composer
Biography:
Peter Williams' father was a comedian in his youth and later became a pub owner. Janet Teresa Williams' mother was a florist. Robert has stepsister on the paternal side - Sally. When Robbie was three years old, his parents divorced. Together with his sister, they stayed with their mother. The singer studied first at Mill Hill Primary School, and then at St. Margaret Ward High School and often appeared in school productions. After leaving school, the singer's mother brought home an announcement stating that a boy group was being recruited all over England. After learning about the recruitment to the group Take That, he came to the audition, where he performed the song "Nothing Can Divide Us" by Jason Donovan in front of the other members of the group. To his surprise, he was accepted into the group as the fifth member.
For the next five years, Robbie Williams was a member of Take That. At first, the boy band performed in educational institutions and clubs, performing cover versions of popular songs. Then the group gained popularity and in 1991 released their first album "Take That And Party". Two years later they signed a contract with BMG. This album topped the UK charts and became the second best selling album in the UK.
In 1993, the group released their second album "Everything Changes", which also turned out to be successful and occupied the top lines of the charts for several weeks. In 1994, the group went on a concert tour, which lasted until 1995. Upon their return, they began recording their third album, Nobody Else. At this time, disagreements began in the group, initiated by Williams. Robbie was not satisfied with the role of "good boy", he wanted to stand out, which was not pleased with the manager and leader of the group Gary Barlow. In the summer of 1995, Williams left the group. Shortly after his departure, the band disbanded, releasing a final best-of album in February 1996.
Robbie was considering a solo career, but a clause in his contract with BMG prevented him from releasing solo songs if he left Take That. For about six months, Williams was suing BMG. During this time, Robbie led a wild life, drinking and using drugs.
In 1996, Williams signed with Chrysalis Records and released his first solo single, Freedom, which was a George Michael cover. In March, the singer began recording his first album, Life Thru a Lens. At first, the album went unnoticed. Everything changed with the single Angels, released in December 1997, it became an instant hit and drew attention to the album, which soon went to number one in the UK charts.
In early 1998, Robbie began work on his second album, I've Been Expecting You.
The next album "Sing When You're Winning" in 2000 was more successful. The Rock DJ single became one of the best-selling in the UK and was nominated for many prestigious awards: MTV Europe Music Awards, BRIT Awards, Best Single of the Year.
In 2001, Williams released his fourth Swing When You're Winning album.
In 2002, Robbie Williams signed an £80 million contract with EMI, becoming the highest paid pop artist. After that, in November 2002, the album "Escapology" was released. In the summer of 2003, Robbie went on a world tour during which he also visited Russia. The album went platinum twice.
In 2005, Williams released his sixth album, Intensive Care, with Stephen Duffy. In November 2005, at the MTV Europe Music Award, Williams received the award for "Best Male Artist".
After taking a short break after the failure of "Rudebox", Robbie recorded his next album "Reality Killed The Video Star" in 2009, which returned the singer's popularity.
The British court recognized that all press reports about Robbie's homosexuality are slander. The singer sued a "substantial amount" in compensation for the moral damage caused. Rob himself was not present at the court session, but his lawyers obtained an official apology from the publishers: their representatives admitted that they had slandered the singer
On May 8, 2012, at the Old Trafford Stadium in Manchester, the next, fourth Soccer Aid charity match was played, in which Rob was the team captain. The event brought in £4 million, which went towards UNICEF's support for children. Before the match, Rob visited the Mexican capital, preparing a documentary about the problems in these areas, which would be shown before the match. For 4 matches (2006, 2008, 2010, 2012) Soccer Aid earned 11.5 million pounds. The performer is also a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.
In 2006, Robbie met American actress Ayda Field, whom he began dating in 2007. On August 7, 2010, they got married in Los Angeles. On September 17, 2012, the couple had a daughter, Theodora Rose Williams (Teddy). October 27, 2014 their second child was born - son Charlton Valentine
Celebrity biographies
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13.02.15 13:21
British music legend Elton John compared his colleague Robbie Williams, whose biography is a bizarre alternation of resounding success and struggle with own demons, Frank Sinatra of today. After all, the British have a unique timbre and a special manner of performance. No wonder his compatriots called him the most popular singer in the UK.
Biography of Robbie Williams
little clown
Robbie Williams was born in the large industrial center of England - Newcastle on February 13, 1974. But the parents separated when the boy was only 3 years old, and his mother took Robert and his sister Sally to the provincial Stoke-on-Trent. There the childhood of the future singer passed. His full name is rather ostentatious: Robert Peter Maximilian - no wonder that, having become famous, he shortened it to the usual "Robbie".
The biography of Robbie Williams did not start at all stellar. At St. Margaret's School, he was known as a varmint and a clown, the schoolboy's grades left much to be desired. But gradually the singing and artistic gifts of the boy began to appear. He successfully performed at school concerts, played in an amateur theater troupe - in musicals he was entrusted with central roles. It became clear - the artist is growing!
In a successful boy band
The mother shared the aspirations of the teenager, it was she who advised him to go to the casting in the Take That group. The audition was successful, and for five years the biography of Robbie Williams was closely associated with this team. Later there will be reunification attempts and joint projects. In the meantime, young Williams was glad to be among like-minded people. The most cheerful member of the group, he was known as a joker and a joker. And the affairs of "Take That" confidently went "uphill". It was the most successful boy band in England at the time. Since the days of the Beatles, the country has not seen such huge sales of discs and sold-out performances.
Break out of the dungeon
The crisis came in the sixth year. At first, author and vocalist Gary Barlow disagreed with his comrades, but he did not have the courage to express his dissatisfaction directly. But Williams did not stand on ceremony. He stated that he did not intend to continue to vegetate in this "prison" and hit all the hard. Sprees, a sharp change in image (bleached hair), bad companies - everything went to ensure that Robbie parted ways with his associates. And in July 1995 it finally happened. And when he celebrated his twenty-two anniversary, the group itself "ordered a long life."
The thorny path to success
After the revelry and binges, it was difficult to regain a good name, so it took some time for "single skater" Robbie Williams to win the trust of the public and producers. Only at the end of 1997, having released the single "Angels", he was able to break through to the top of the charts. The listeners turned to debut album Robbie (which has been on sale for a long time) and swept him off the shelves. Surprisingly, this disc ("Life Thru a Lens") took first place in the UK chart. Thus rose the star of vocalist Robbie Williams.
The singer had to fight not only with his bad habits, but also with accusations of non-traditional sexual orientation (clips of the former group sometimes suggested that the guys were gay). Collaboration with vocalist Nicole Appleton (and romance with her) should have dispelled these rumors. The second disc ("I" ve Been Expecting You ") became a sensation. In 1998, the biography of Robbie Williams was replenished with the title of "best-selling" singer in Britain, and "the conquest of America" was just around the corner.
Unexpected duet: Robbie Williams and Nicole Kidman
New compositions, promotions, meetings, the right contacts - the mechanism worked like a clock. Europe adored the sharp-tongued idol, the States reluctantly, but accepted the Briton into their arms. Indeed, in the album "Swing When You Are Winning" the singer paid tribute to the memory of Sinatra, and the rock legend's single "Somethin' Stupid" was recorded together by Robbie Williams and Nicole Kidman. Music lovers liked the unexpected duet, the song topped the British chart for three weeks.
Behind were 4 superbly sold discs, a solo concert in London, a lucrative contract with a recording studio (for releasing a new album by Williams, the EMI corporation laid out, according to various sources, from 50 to 80 million pounds). The Escapology CD was recorded in Los Angeles and became very successful on both sides of the Atlantic.
Made it to Peter!
The news of the 2006 world tour excited the vocalist's fans, and he got into the Guinness Book of Records (1,600,000 tickets for the singer's concerts were sold on the first day).
The work continued, the former "bad boy" finally settled down. There were many more performances and discs. Released in autumn 2013, Swings Both Ways was a real treat for Williams fans. And in April 2015, for the first time, he made St. Petersburg fans happy by arriving in the Northern capital with a concert.
Personal life
Fight with yourself
Problems with drugs and alcohol for a long time prevented the personal life of Robbie Williams from entering the normal family course. He had to painfully get rid of drug addiction (Xanax and Vicodin for some time replaced the singer with all the blessings of life).
won the heart
American Ayda Field has become a real "lifeline" for the star. A little-known actress of Turkish origin captured the heart of the British in 2006, and in 2007 they declared themselves a couple. They traveled for a long time, "grind" their characters - both were not too young and were afraid to make a mistake. But at the end of the summer of 2010, Ayda and Robbie Williams, whose personal life was completely dependent on her lover, got married.
Robbie Williams' daughter is daddy's joy
In the spring of 2012, the singer told the press that he would soon become a father. Robbie Williams' daughter was born on September 17th. The baby was named Theodora Rose. The middle-aged dad loves the baby, like her brother Charlton Valentine, who was born at the end of October 2014.
Robbie Williams has been at the top of the music charts for years now, but achievements in music are by no means the only outstanding moment in his biography. Kind character, good-looking appearance and boundless love for his own fans - these are the main features of Williams's personality that attract the public so much.
Childhood and youth
Robbie was born in the UK, in a provincial English town called Stoke-on-Trent, in the family of an actor and florist. Representatives of the zodiac sign Aquarius are rightfully proud of the achievements of Robbie Williams, because his date of birth was February 13th. At 3 years of age little boy together with her foster sister, she had to face the hardships of family troubles - her parents divorced, and two kids stayed with their mother.
Young Mr. Williams liked to fool around from an early age, so he did not go well with his studies. First, in elementary school, and then in high school, he gained a reputation as a "talentless" and lazy person, and the desire to please the girl from the class once again encouraged the guy to take risks and get involved in problem situations. It was difficult for Robbie's mother to cope with the rebellious temper of the child, but teenagers rarely pay attention to such nuances.
Music
Robbie's first acting experience was by auditioning for a local band called Take That. The line-up auditioned in the hope of finding a fifth member for themselves, and, to the great surprise of the guy, after performing the song “Nothing Can Divide Us” by Jason Donovan, he was accepted into the Take That group.
Robbie Williams and "Take That"Over the next five years, Robbie was in this musical group and performed with four other guys in city pubs. "Take That" was originally engaged in rehashing famous hits, but already in 1991 the guys released their first album, which not only gained popularity, but became a pass to the world of show business.
The album "Take That and Party" was considered one of the best in history for several years in a row. music business Great Britain. A couple of years later, the second collection of hits from the group called "Everything Change" is released. Repeated success turned the heads of the Take That guys so much that in 1994 they decided to tour the country and perform live.
Numerous concerts, crowds of female fans and public recognition were madly captivated and captivated, but after the release of the third album, Robbie wanted to change.
Every musician dreams of solo performances, but for Mr. Williams there was one detail that he could not ignore after breaking off relations with former colleagues. According to the terms of the contract with BMG, Robbie could not pursue a solo career if he decides to leave the group. For several years, the guy was suing representatives of the company, and at that time depression led the musician down a crooked path - he began to use alcohol and drugs.
After finishing litigation the musician released the first solo song, which is a cover of the work of authorship. After that, Robbie recorded the first solo album, the songs of which did not attract the attention of the audience, but success came immediately after creating a hit called "Angels".
Robbie Williams - "Angels"Not every musician or actor manages to achieve the same success in his career as Robbie Williams did. His song "Angels", having been released, became a hit and brought the title of "Best Hit of the Last 25 Years".
Having conquered Europe and his native country, Williams did not want to stop there, and already in 1999, immediately after signing a contract with the American company Capitol Records, Robbie was creating the first album aimed at potential fans from the USA.
Robbie Williams - "Millennium""The Ego Has Lended" reached only 63rd place in the US charts upon release, which could be called a complete failure. The next attempt a year later brought more success, and the song "Rock Dj" ("Rock DJ") won many international awards on popular festivals, after which the musician's career went up again.
For numerous merits in the British show business, Robbie received another BRIT Awards, which forever perpetuated the name of the hero in the annals of the musical history of Great Britain and the whole world.
Russia has always attracted the attention of foreign show business stars, and Robbie was no exception. Being in Moscow on tour in 2015, the artist appeared in the studio at a humorous show, where he performed a number of songs along with his musicians.
In 2016, a new project of the musician and singer called "Party Like A Russian" was released, in which Williams performed in the form of a sort of modern one. The main purpose of creating the single was an attempt to ridicule the behavior of Russian oligarchs who "buy cars and transport them in their planes."
Robbie Williams - "Party Like A Russian"The singer touches on a problematic topic, since social inequality has long been the reason for many public scandals and revelations. In addition, not only in the Russian Federation, this topic disturbs the minds and souls of ordinary people. Maybe Robbie didn't just want to release another musical project but also to draw the attention of those in power to the problems of ordinary people and compare their current deplorable situation.
Others believe that with a similar theme, the singer wanted to attract fading attention to himself. By the way, after the release of "Party Like A Russian", Robbie's activities again drew attention in the Russian segment of show business. The musician was invited for a conversation - popular TV presenter program "Let them talk." The recording of the broadcast took place in London, where Williams and Malakhov talked on various topics. The broadcast was replicated on the Internet, and this became the second sensational story for Andrei Malakhov after his meeting with a Hollywood actress.
In 2017, during the broadcast of the March edition of the program “Let them talk”, where Robbie Williams reappeared, the Briton offered to speak on behalf of Russia at the Eurovision 2017 contest, which was to be held in Kiev. According to the artist, he follows the international competition and is impressed by Russian performers. Williams was especially impressed with the number.
Personal life
From the very beginning of his musical career, Robbie fueled interest from the press, creating the image of a bold representative of sexual minorities, and the ambiguous lyrics did not give an unequivocal answer to this question. But in 1998, the public became aware that Williams started a relationship with the vocalist musical group"All Saints" - Nicole Appleton.
During a short romance, the singer became pregnant, but after some thought, the girl had an abortion. As she herself told reporters, such a decision was dictated by the terms of cooperation with the group's investors. After a short period of time, Robbie and Nicole broke up.
After such a failure, the singer started relationships with famous girls Geri Halliwell (" spice girls") And . But these romances with women ended too quickly, and the artist's personal life did not work out. Then Robbie decided to use a different method of dating.
In the late 90s, dating via the Internet only gained popularity, but this is how the singer met his future wife, a Turkish actress. In the period from 2007 to 2010, the lovers met, after which both decided that it was time to legalize the relationship. In union with Ayda, the musician had a daughter in 2012, whom her parents named Theodora Rose. Two years later, the wife gave Robbie an heir - the son of Charlton Valentine. Now the singer lives with his wife and children in a mansion in Los Angeles.
According to Robbie himself, Aida helps him in everything and has a positive effect on his rebellious character. Before meeting the girl, the man smoked 3 packs of cigarettes a day, drank a lot of energy drinks and ruined his own body, but Ayda became the person who completely changed his life.
“I quit drinking and smoking, and it's all thanks to my charming Ayda. I finally felt in my place, fate itself was destined for us to meet. And I'm extremely happy,
- says the happy father and husband to all the paparazzi who seek to find out if the spouse is faithful to his current wife.
Robbie Williams' official profile "Instagram" dedicated to his work, but the artist sometimes posts family photos there. He often appears bare-chested in front of the camera, showing off his athletic figure and favorite tattoos. About 20 images gathered on Williams' body, the first of which - a Celtic cross on his right thigh - appeared at the dawn of his musical career. Then tattoos in the form of a lion were engraved, inscriptions in the language of the New Zealand Maori tribe.
Over time, the first letters of the initials of grandparents appeared on the neck and on the wrists. Also on the neck appeared the symbol of the "eye of the god Horus". As a tribute to his mother, the artist engraved an inscription on his hands in gothic style"Mom, I love you". The singer showed himself as an adherent to images in the form of inscriptions. They show off everywhere: under the collarbone, on the lower back, on the fingers of the hand, and on the stomach, Robbie depicted a swallow in flight.
Robbie Williams now
Robbie Williams was the guest star at the opening of the 2018 World Cup. At the solemn ceremony, the star performed in front of the 80,000th audience of the Luzhniki stadium and the army of millions of football fans. In the government box were the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman and the head of FIFA. The artist himself was happy to participate in the opening of the World Cup, calling such a performance "a childhood dream come true." Together with the British singer, the Russian opera diva.
Robbie Williams in a creative impulse before the end of the song "Rock DJ" showed to the camera middle finger, while singing the words: “I did it for free”, which are not provided for in the main text of the song. Later, the artist himself, in the program “This Morning” on the British ITV channel, explained this gesture by saying that there was one minute left before the match between Russia and Saudi Arabia. Robbie was worried that he would not have time to finish the song and started counting the seconds. The fact that the gesture turned out to be provocative, Robbie realized after a while, when he had already left the stage.
Discography
- 1997 - Life Thru a Lens
- 1998 - "I"ve Been Expecting You"
- 2000 - "Sing When You're Winning"
- 2001 - "Swing When You're Winning"
- 2002 - Escapology
- 2005 - "Intensive Care"
- 2006 - "Rudebox"
- 2009 - "Reality Killed the Video Star"
- 2012 - "Take the Crown"
- 2013 - "Swings Both Ways"
- 2014 – "Under The Radar" Vol.1
- 2016 - "Heavy Entertainment Show"
- 2017 - "Under The Radar" Vol.2
