The Greatest Showman: Robbie Williams' Most Extravagant Moments
Wednesday, 18 December 2024
Written by Jack Butler-Terry
Robbie Williams has lived quite the life. Since he broke through as a fresh-faced 18-year-old with pop titans Take That, he has balanced one of the most eye-popping careers in British music — he’s had more number one albums than any solo artist, with only The Beatles and The Rolling Stones in his league on this front — with lifestyle choices that Keith Richards would be proud of and an admirable frankness with regards to the rigours of fame and his mental health.
Sure enough, his life has now been deemed worthy of its own movie. Better Man takes its name from his 2001 single and the poster is inspired by his Life Thru A Lens album cover, but front and centre is Robbie looking…a little different. There's not much longer to wait, either, with the film rolling out from Boxing Day.
With one eye on the forthcoming biopic and another on his latest mega shows — next summer’s plans include stops at Edinburgh's Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium, London's Emirates Stadium, Co-op Live in Manchester, Bath's Royal Crescent, Dublin's Croke Park and a headline appearance at the inaugural Come Together Festival in Newcastle — we’ve collated a few of the more extravagant moments from his creative story.
*That* Rock DJ video
Cast your minds back to the year 2000: a simpler time when whole TV channels were dedicated to music videos and we could see and hear all of the hottest songs of the year on a seemingly endless loop. Williams’ new single Rock DJ comes on and, just as you’re getting into the song, it abruptly ends. Well, that’s because the video had Robbie stripping all the way down to his bones while a gaggle of nonplussed women rollerskated around him. The detail was intense and the blood spatter even moreso, which consigned the full version to DVD in the UK even as it scooped an MTV award for Best Special Effects.
Releasing a swing album out of nowhere
In 2001, Robbie was at the peak of his powers. His first three studio albums had all hit the top of the UK charts, and he was belting out hit after hit with Millennium, She’s The One and Eternity/The Road To Mandalay all becoming major smashes. So, of course, he decided that the time was ripe to release…a swing covers. Launched with the Nicole Kidman duet Somethin’ Stupid, ‘Swing When You’re Winning’ teemed with glitz and sophistication, continuing to display his midas touch by becoming a cultural touchstone and another chart-topper. Covering the greats like Dean Martin and Nat King Cole, and featuring a posthumous duet with Frank Sinatra, this was a bold victory lap and a chance for Robbie to show he could get away with anything.
His record-breaking Knebworth shows
Between August 2 and 4, 2003, Williams brought more than 375,000 fans to Hertfordshire’s Knebworth Park. Those hallowed fields have played host to everybody from Pink Floyd and The Rolling Stones to Led Zeppelin and Oasis, but it was the boy from Stoke-on-Trent that hosted the largest gathering the park has ever seen. The weekend hosted three nights of his greatest hits, one surprise reunion with Take That’s Mark Owen and saw five women go into in labour on site — with the BBC reporting that one baby was born in a St. John Ambulance tent. Williams took his first live album from the shows, which of course also topped the UK charts.
Appearing as a chimp in his new biopic
Arriving courtesy of Greatest Showman director Michael Gracey, Better Man is a semi-biographical film about Williams’ life and career. The twist? Robbie himself is portrayed as a CGI chimpanzee. Over the years we have seen many great films made about some of pop’s greatest stars and Better Man seems to be taking notes from both the fantastical Elton John flick Rocket Man and the intimacy of Bohemian Rhapsody, meshing the two together into an abstract smash. While the jury is still out on how exactly this one will take shape, early indications are positive and the use of a digital ape is certainly as singular as Robbie himself.
Robbie Williams Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Sat May 31 2025 - EDINBURGH Scottish Gas Murrayfield
Wed June 04 2025 - NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE Town Moor
Fri June 06 2025 - LONDON Emirates Stadium
Sat June 07 2025 - LONDON Emirates Stadium
Tue June 10 2025 - MANCHESTER Co-op Live
Wed June 11 2025 - MANCHESTER Co-op Live
Fri June 13 2025 - BATH Royal Crescent
Sat June 14 2025 - BATH Royal Crescent
Sat August 23 2025 - DUBLIN Croke Park
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