Robbie Williams

Not to be confused with Robin Williams.
For other people with the same name, see Robbie Williams (disambiguation).

Robbie Williams
Williams in 2016
Williams in 2016
Background information
Birth nameRobert Peter Williams
Born (1974-02-13) 13 February 1974 (age 50)
Stoke-on-Trent, England
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
Years active1990–present
Labels
Member ofLufthaus
Formerly ofTake That
Spouse
​
(m. 2010)​
Websiterobbiewilliams.com
Children4

Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974)[1] is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, launching a solo career in 1996. His debut studio album, Life thru a Lens, was released in 1997, and included his best-selling single "Angels". His second album, I've Been Expecting You, featured the songs "Millennium" and "She's the One", his first number one singles. His discography includes seven UK No. 1 singles, and all but one of his 14 studio albums have reached No. 1 in the UK. Six of his albums are among the top 100 biggest-selling albums in the UK, with two of them in the top 60, and he gained a Guinness World Record in 2006 for selling 1.6 million tickets in a single day during his Close Encounters Tour.[2]

Williams has received a record 18 Brit Awards, winning Best British Male Artist four times, Outstanding Contribution to Music twice, an Icon Award for his lasting impact on British culture, eight German ECHO Awards, and three MTV European Music Awards.[3][4] In 2004, he was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame after being voted the Greatest Artist of the 1990s. According to the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), he has been certified for 20.36 million albums and 9.2 million singles in the UK as a solo artist.[5] Five of his albums have also topped the Australian albums chart, and has sold 75 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. He also topped the 2000–2010 UK airplay chart. His three concerts at Knebworth in 2003 drew over 375,000 people, the UK's biggest music event to that point.[6] In 2014, he was awarded the freedom of his hometown of Stoke-on-Trent and had a tourist trail created and streets named in his honour. Williams' latest compilation album, XXV, was released on 9 September 2022.[7][8]

After 15 years, Williams rejoined Take That in 2010 to co-write and perform lead vocals on their album Progress, which became the second-fastest-selling album in UK chart history[9] and the fastest-selling record of the century at the time.[10] The subsequent stadium tour, which featured seven songs from Williams' solo career, became the biggest-selling concert in UK history when it sold 1.34 million tickets in less than 24 hours. In 2011, Take That frontman Gary Barlow confirmed that Williams had left the band for a second time to focus on his solo career, although he stated that the departure was amicable and that Williams was welcome to rejoin Take That in the future.[11] Williams has since performed with Take That on three separate television appearances,[12][13][14] and collaborated with Barlow on a number of projects[15] such as the West End musical The Band.[16]

  1. ^ "Robbie Williams – A Biography". BBC. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  2. ^ "Robbie Williams, lanzará nuevo album en noviembre". Universal Music Magazine. Archived from the original on 28 December 2013. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  3. ^ "ROBBIE WILLIAMS – BRITs ICON". Brits.co.uk. 8 November 2016. Archived from the original on 9 December 2019. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  4. ^ "Brit Awards 2017: The winners". BBC News. 22 February 2017. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  5. ^ "Certified Awards". Bpi.co.uk. Archived from the original on 27 June 2019. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Knebworth was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Rota, Alma (2 September 2022). "Robbie Williams on new album 'XXV' and 25 years of solo fame". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  8. ^ "Robbie Williams – XXV (Deluxe Edition)". Apple Music. 9 September 2022. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  9. ^ "Yahoo News UK & Ireland – Latest World News & UK News Headlines". Uk.news.yahoo.com. 20 April 2011. Archived from the original on 24 November 2010. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  10. ^ "Take That LP posts huge sales". Digital Spy. 16 November 2010. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
  11. ^ "Robbie Williams quits Take That again after 10m Comeback". The Telegraph, [not specific enough to verify]
  12. ^ Glorious Gooner (12 November 2016), Robbie/Take That flood and Back For Good Troxy, archived from the original on 28 October 2021, retrieved 21 March 2019
  13. ^ BBC (25 February 2017), Take That perform 'The Flood' – Let It Shine 2017 – BBC One, archived from the original on 28 October 2021, retrieved 21 March 2019
  14. ^ Life Unscripted (2 December 2018), TAKE THAT with Robbie Williams – X Factor UK FINAL 2018, archived from the original on 2 September 2019, retrieved 21 March 2019
  15. ^ "Robbie Williams and Gary Barlow team up for single". Daily Telegraph. 3 September 2012. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
  16. ^ Crossan, Jamie (4 November 2012). "Robbie Williams scores first UK Number One single in eight years with 'Candy'". NME. Retrieved 21 March 2019.