Robbie Williams Turns His Back on Max Cady

Quoted from: http://www.hecklerspray.com

'Filed in in Celebrity Astronime Domini

Robbie Williams has nearly as many tattoos as Robert DeNiro's white trash serial nutcase in Cape Fear. Now though, he's decided he doesn't want them anymore.
Barely a chart release goes by without pop's very jotter pad deciding he wants any piece of body art to celebrate the occasion. Can't he just chill a bottle of Cava instead?
"I do like getting them done but I wish it was like an Etch-a-Sketch where I can wipe them all out and start again, "Robbie Williams commented on his unwanted tattoos, "It would be nice to have a pure, clean body again."
Pure might be pushing his luck a tad. All the drugs Robbie ingested during his infamous 'Keith Allen' stage can’t have worked their way out of his system entirely.
Moreover, what would be the point in losing the tattoos now? Sure, he's bored of looking at them, but wouldn't he just be bored of looking at bare skin - because that's not gonna change much either.
Whether Robbie (DVDs) will take the plunge and have any of his tattoos removed is for him to decide. With everyone saying that laser removal thing hurts more than getting the tattoos scratched on in the first place, he might be wise to just wear long sleeved sweaters.
We hear you, that's not very rock and roll, but then neither's the new 'ragga' sound Robbie's pushing for his new album.
The greatest cross-cultural pity party since John Candy waddled onto the set of Cool Runnings (DVDs)? Put it this way, how would you like to hear Sean Paul covering Foster and Allen?
Precisely. You dubbing wouldn't.
[story by Chris Laverty] '

Robbie's up early

Quoted from: http://www.mirror.co.uk

'Kiki King, Eva Simpson And Caroline Hedley

HEARTY congratulations to Robbie WIlliams, whose album Intensive Care went straight in at number one. And the good news was broadcast to a grateful nation by voices Robbie knows only too well - on JK and Joel's Radio 1 Chart Show. The sleep-troubled singer often listens to the pair's other slot at the station, which starts at 4am. "Robbie knows JK and Joel from the Chart Show, and they've always kept in touch," our insider says. "He tunes in to their early show as they keep him company when he can't sleep."
The 31-year-old's album shifted an impressive 373,832 copies. That means he'll be doing battle for best-seller of the year with Coldplay's X&Y - the only CD to do better in its first week.
Something else to keep him awake at nights...'

Robbie Willy-ams

Quoted from: http://www.thesun.co.uk/

'I'M beginning to worry ROBBIE WILLIAMS has developed a dangerous clothes allergy. The pop god has earned a reputation for enjoying baring his bottom. But amazingly, he has taken it one step further. Rob has filmed an eye-watering 30-second teaser clip to promote his new website. Fans can catch a glimpse of the willy-ams in a naughty internet advertising campaign.

The clip starts with close-ups of the singer's naked tattooed torso. Then the viewer is confronted with a full frontal shot of Robbie waggling his wedding tackle. The words: "Get more of Robbie" flash up on screen and Rob smirks suggestively and tweaks his nipple.

An insider said: "Robbie was happy to film the virtual teaser. He was keen to do anything to help promote the new website and gettting his kit off guarantees plenty of hits"." It certainly caught a lot of people off guard at the record label when they saw it for the first time"." Robbie isn't exactly shy about his body but this is pretty brave." But i reckon there could be serious repercussions. It is very close to the, Ahem, bone, and Robbie has a lot of young fans. I'm not sure watching a 30-plus man touching his undercarriage is appropriate for pre-pubescent pop fans.

There isn't anything preventing ten-year-old girls going online and ogling Robbie touching his tadger. And it's hardly as if Robbie is in need of publicity stunts. He is well on course for the no1 spot after shifting more than 250,000 copies of his new album Intensive Care.

In the process, he has outsold the rest of the top 25 put together.'

Nordic Music Awards (pictures)

AAP Image has 2 photos of the Nordic Music awards:
And ehm.. is that a new tattoo (left arm)?

'British singer Robbie Williams performs on stage during the Nordic Music Awards at Forum Hall in Copenhagen 29 OCtober 2005.

AFP PHOTO/Nils Meilvang/Scanpix'

Robbie Williams: Intensive Care

Quoted from: http://www.smh.com.au

'By Bernard Zuel
October 29, 2005

This time it's personal - again. Robbie Williams returns to his favourite subject.

ROBBIE WILLIAMS
Intensive Care (EMI)

The point of this Robbie Williams album, like the point of all Robbie Williams albums, is Robbie Williams. What he fears, what he wants, with whom he sleeps, from whom he runs.

Not that there's anything wrong with that when one of the strangely rewarding aspects of Williams's career has been the way he has made unabashed self-absorption so entertaining.

Hence it is not by accident that Williams opens his sixth album with the vainglorious "here I stand victorious/the only man who made you come". Just as it is typical that he ends the album admitting that - single, searching and selfish - he is "no longer king of bloke and bird".

Get incensed if you want to about either position, or indeed both - you won't be alone. But don't be blind to the way that here again Williams can weave nostalgia and poignancy (Spread Your Wings) as smoothly as he combines hero worshipping, horniness and bitterness (Advertising Space).

What has changed is his writing partner. Guy Chambers has been replaced by Stephen Duffy, a man who has written dozens of wonderful songs but had a hit with only one of them. Business sense says it shouldn't work but, except for a couple of merely OK and two mostly dull songs, this partnership already feels right.

Mind you, although Duffy's signature guitar lines, brightly lit backing vocal arrangements and winsome folkish pop tunes are everywhere, the new combination has not made great leaps away from what has sustained Williams for a decade now. We are still talking pop spiced with a bit of cabaret, a not always successful hint of '70s rock pomp and old-school balladry.

But what Williams and Duffy have encouraged each other to explore is a shared love of the '80s and a willingness to be amused (the catchy cod-ska single Tripping).

Put those factors alongside intrinsically attractive songs such as Make Me Pure and Advertising Space and you've got something worth spending time with.'

Robbie Williams and EMI demand damages from Finland's MTV3

Quoted from: http://newsroom.finland.fi

'28.10.2005 at 14:04

British pop singer Robbie Williams and EMI, his record company, are demanding compensation from MTV3, a Finnish television channel, for using one of Mr Williams's songs - Let Me Entertain You - in a television spot promoting Idols, a talent show.

Ilta-Sanomat, a Finnish tabloid, reported in its Friday edition that EMI Finland filed an action for damages at the Helsinki district court last week.

"We are demanding a total of 200,000 euros in compensation and damages for a copyright infringement. Both the artist and the record company are entitled to compensation," Tapio Susiluoto, a barrister for EMI, said in court Friday.

The defendants in the case are MTV3 and Kuubi, the advertising agency that created the spot. Fremantle Media, the London-based company that owns the Idols franchise, is not involved in the case.

"As I understand it the situation is a sum of many coincidences. No one had taken care of getting a permission to use Mr Williams's music. However, that permission would probably have been denied as Robbie Williams does not approve of the concept of the Idols competition," Mr Susiluoto added.

/STT/

© Copyright STT 2005 '

CD Review: Robbie Williams: Intensive..

Quoted from: http://jam.canoe.ca

'Theatrics ... and talent
By ANDREW CARVER -- Ottawa Sun
Robbie Williams
Intensive Care
(Chrysalis/EMI)

Robbie Williams is full of himself. Fortunately he has a fair amount of talent to go with it and a knack for working with the right people.

The first boost to Williams' output has been the addition of Duran Duran founder and twee pop guru Stephen "Tin Tin" Duffy as a guitarist and -- more importantly -- songwriter. Duffy's charming wit, talent for self-deprecation and skill with a pop hook make him an ideal foil for Williams' grandiose personal theatrics and stadium-rocking heart.

Grandiose? The ridiculously bombastic liner photos recast the less-than-humble Williams as everything from Vitruvian Man to the Second Coming, which makes some sense since a number of the tunes on Intensive Care sound like the work of other British acts recycled with all the edges sanded off and a whopping section of Elton John's DNA wired in.

Ghosts borrows the vocal style of The Manic Street Preacher, while Tripping snags the dance beats of Happy Mondays and adds several layers of oh-so-shiny production. (Williams' intellectual fancies also turn up when he paraphrases St. Augustine on Make Me Pure.)

In contrast you have tunes like the low-key closer King of Bloke and Bird and other Duffy touches that provide contrast and depth to Williams' over-the-top personality.

Add in a very able band and you've got all the ingredients for a roaring success.

Track Listing:
1. Ghosts
2. Tripping
3. Make Me Pure
4. Spread Your Wings
5. Advertising Space
6. Please Don't Die
7. Your Gay Friend
8. Sin Sin Sin
9. Random Acts Of Kindness
10. Trouble With Me
11. Place To Crash
12. King Of Bloke & Bird

Oasis/ Robbie Williams spat

Quoted from: http://www.mirror.co.uk/

'Kiki King, Eva Simpson And Caroline Hedley
ROUND 487 (we've lost count) in the Oasis/Robbie Williams spat goes to... the mouthy Mancs, of course.
Noel Gallagher has branded his nemesis a "sad man" confused about his sexuality. The rocker snipes: "I wouldn't walk a mile in Robbie's shoes because nobody ever mentions his music. He doesn't know whether he's straight or gay. He's forever going on about wanting a girlfriend and seems lonely."
We guess that Christmas collaboration's still on ice then.'

Robbie at Tros TV Show tonight

Tonight in the Tros TV Show Ivo Niehe will show a documentary about Robbie Williams (before he became famous). In the archives Ivo found a performance of Williams in the Tros TV Show of 1993 of which he did not know the existence...
Ned 2, 21:00

Robbie Williams to set UK chart record

Quoted from: http://breakingnews.iol.ie

' 28/10/2005 - 18:29:31
Robbie Williams' new album Intensive Care will set a record when it tops the UK album chart on Sunday, because British acts will have occupied the number one spot for 25 consecutive weeks. The previous record, set in March 1990, stands at 24 weeks - and the chart dominance of UK artists and bands this year has been attributed to the boom in internet downloads and the resurgence of adult interest in contemporary music by industry experts. Max Lousada, Managing Director of Atlantic Records, says: "The adult orientated audience have become a forceful part of the albums market and they have more records than ever to choose to purchase." Suddenly with iTunes and certain publications doing music spreads they have re-engaged with music. And the really successful live music scene has re-engaged the youth market." Non UK acts have spent just five weeks at the top of the album chart since January. '

Robbie Williams AIM chat

Quoted from: http://www.aol.co.uk/

'Robbie Williams is back with Intensive Care, the most critically acclaimed album of his career.
In the midst of European live shows and a mile-high stack of promotional duties, the gazillion-selling entertainer IM'd us and spent a good hour getting fruity*. Enjoy.
To get a copy of AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) - download it for free here.

*This interview contains strong language.

AOLMusicEd: Good evening
RWIntensiveCare: Hi
AOLMusicEd: How has your day been?
RWIntensiveCare: Really good, except my arm is all bruised from falling over at football
AOLMusicEd: Ouch. On Astroturf?
RWIntensiveCare: No, grass
AOLMusicEd: Well, that's better.
AOLMusicEd: So, I just heard your album over at EMI HQ. Congrats - it's sounding fabulous
RWIntensiveCare: ty
AOLMusicEd: Check you, with the IM lingo!
RWIntensiveCare: I play Scrabble online
RWIntensiveCare: lol
AOLMusicEd: Ah - the secret online life of Robbie Williams
RWIntensiveCare: Indeed
AOLMusicEd: I'm loving the first single
RWIntensiveCare: ty
RWIntensiveCare: I'm loving angels instead
RWIntensiveCare: lol
AOLMusicEd: Aw, c'mon you can do better than that
AOLMusicEd: :-D
AOLMusicEd: And the video is v cute
RWIntensiveCare: The vid is a few of my dreams scrambled together
AOLMusicEd: I was going to say, it's very dreamlike
AOLMusicEd: I mean, duh, you're in bed
RWIntensiveCare: Yeah... there was a dream I had the other night...
AOLMusicEd: Go on...
RWIntensiveCare: With Jennifer Aniston....
AOLMusicEd: Uh-oh
RWIntensiveCare: We were on a date...
RWIntensiveCare: And it was going really well...
AOLMusicEd: Phew
RWIntensiveCare: And I thought to myself... wait till she sees me levitate... so
RWIntensiveCare: I levitated and she didn't like it... weird
RWIntensiveCare: In fact, she looked repulsed
AOLMusicEd: Aw, that's so awful
RWIntensiveCare: Date over... oh well
AOLMusicEd: I wonder what it means
RWIntensiveCare: Don't levitate with Hollywood stars
AOLMusicEd: Gotcha
AOLMusicEd: Have you met her?
RWIntensiveCare: No
RWIntensiveCare: I saw her in a bar once
RWIntensiveCare: That's about is 'a kind'
AOLMusicEd: So true
RWIntensiveCare: Where r u?
AOLMusicEd: In Hammersmith. Where r u?
RWIntensiveCare: In Chelsea
RWIntensiveCare: U in an office or home?
AOLMusicEd: In my office
RWIntensiveCare: Are u fit?
AOLMusicEd: Of course
AOLMusicEd: Shall we talk about music?
RWIntensiveCare: No
RWIntensiveCare: Describe yourself pls
AOLMusicEd: Erm
RWIntensiveCare: Go on
RWIntensiveCare: Hair colour?
AOLMusicEd: I'm dark-haired
AOLMusicEd: Brown eyes
RWIntensiveCare: Collars and cuffs?
AOLMusicEd: So cheeky!
RWIntensiveCare: Well, what d'ya expect?
AOLMusicEd: Who am I kidding?
RWIntensiveCare: I'm Cheeky Robbie, aren't I?
AOLMusicEd: It's all good
RWIntensiveCare: Good
RWIntensiveCare: Let's not talk music - let's flirt!
AOLMusicEd: Anyway, Mr Cheeky Robbie, do you like chatting online? Presumably it's easier than chatting to people in bars
RWIntensiveCare: I have to be in the right mood to talk at all
RWIntensiveCare: u?
AOLMusicEd: Same - sometimes I'm v chatty, sometimes I can't be bothered
RWIntensiveCare: Yeah... I'm getting better though... used to be s***
AOLMusicEd: Is that coz you're mellowing?
RWIntensiveCare: Just forgot how to chat
AOLMusicEd: The drugs?
RWIntensiveCare: Yeah... and the meds are working... lol
AOLMusicEd: I'm glad to hear it - you do need to take care of yourself
RWIntensiveCare: Do u work for AOL all the time?
AOLMusicEd: I do - I produce all the live AOL sessions
AOLMusicEd: You did one for AOL US
RWIntensiveCare: Ages ago?
AOLMusicEd: Ya
RWIntensiveCare: Where will this go out?
AOLMusicEd: This will be on AOL UK
RWIntensiveCare: When?
AOLMusicEd: As soon as I can edit the flirty bits out :)
RWIntensiveCare: Nooooooooooooooo!
AOLMusicEd: We're playing two tracks from your new album every day next week
RWIntensiveCare: u musn't
RWIntensiveCare: They're the best bits
AOLMusicEd: OK, I won't
RWIntensiveCare: ty
AOLMusicEd: Can we talk about the album now?
RWIntensiveCare: No
RWIntensiveCare: r u English?
AOLMusicEd: OK fine, I tried :)
AOLMusicEd: Yes, from Yorkshire
RWIntensiveCare: Where do you come from?
RWIntensiveCare: Oh... a Yorkshire lass
RWIntensiveCare: How old?
RWIntensiveCare: I'm 31
AOLMusicEd: 29
RWIntensiveCare: Oh nice
RWIntensiveCare: Blind date
RWIntensiveCare: :-O
AOLMusicEd: You're brave
AOLMusicEd: Where you taking me?
RWIntensiveCare: I didn't get where I am today... etc
RWIntensiveCare: Dunno
RWIntensiveCare: It's difficult for me to get about really
AOLMusicEd: I'm sure
RWIntensiveCare: Got any good films you'd like to watch?
AOLMusicEd: Wallace & Gromit?
AOLMusicEd: First thing I thought of
RWIntensiveCare: They had a fire, didn't they?
AOLMusicEd: I know!
RWIntensiveCare: Has someone famous died today?
AOLMusicEd: I mean get a sprinkler system
AOLMusicEd: I don't think so
RWIntensiveCare: Just had the news on with the sound down
AOLMusicEd: Ronnie Barker's funeral
RWIntensiveCare: Oh bless
AOLMusicEd: And Maggie Thatcher having a birthday bash
AOLMusicEd: We could go to that
AOLMusicEd: It's at the Mandarin
AOLMusicEd: You might be alright there
RWIntensiveCare: Oh maybe we go there
RWIntensiveCare: How old is she?
AOLMusicEd: 80
AOLMusicEd: A bit old for you
RWIntensiveCare: Yeah
AOLMusicEd: Can we talk about LIVE 8 now?
RWIntensiveCare: OK
AOLMusicEd: I was working there
AOLMusicEd: We web-streamed most of the shows
RWIntensiveCare: ic
AOLMusicEd: And yes, I'm actually doing some work now
RWIntensiveCare: k!
AOLMusicEd: I'm not flirting now - you were brilliant
AOLMusicEd: Honestly - a total highlight, I'm sure you've been told
RWIntensiveCare: ty vm
AOLMusicEd: Did it register how massive it was?
RWIntensiveCare: People said some really nice things about it...and the audience were f****** brilliant
AOLMusicEd: You just seem to know how to work them though
AOLMusicEd: Push the right buttons
RWIntensiveCare: To be honest, I react to them
AOLMusicEd: Is that your 'evil twin'?
RWIntensiveCare: Yeah
AOLMusicEd: Interesting...
RWIntensiveCare: He's useful sometimes
AOLMusicEd: So I read that you were v scared before you went on at LIVE 8 but relieved to see David Beckham was more scared before he went on
RWIntensiveCare: Yeah, in a perverse way it made me very calm... I mean ... he's the captain of England!
AOLMusicEd: Did you watch the game last night? Silly question
RWIntensiveCare: Of course
RWIntensiveCare: It was kind of an anti-climax... no one seemed to be that thrilled that we'd qualified
AOLMusicEd: I know what you mean - I just noticed there was a LOT of touchy-feely going on at the end
AOLMusicEd: Everyone was just stroking and patting each other - quite bizarre
RWIntensiveCare: They're all secret gays
AOLMusicEd: That must be it
AOLMusicEd: So the Stephen Duffy writing partnership seems to be working out OK for you?
RWIntensiveCare: Yeah, its magic... he's got a great record collection... so we've got really good points of reference
AOLMusicEd: What's your record collection like?
RWIntensiveCare: About too much space on my hard drive
AOLMusicEd: How much musi c do you buy?
RWIntensiveCare: I buy a couple of albums a day
AOLMusicEd: What did you buy today?
RWIntensiveCare: Soulwax... Electronic by Electronic... and... wait a min
AOLMusicEd: The Soulwax one is wicked - is it the new one?
RWIntensiveCare: Yeah, I think so... Belle and Sebastian... Madonna... Kanye West
AOLMusicEd: All today? Which Madonna?
RWIntensiveCare: No, not all today... last few days... the Immaculate Collection
AOLMusicEd: Such a classic
RWIntensiveCare: Yep
AOLMusicEd: So how long are you in London for?
RWIntensiveCare: Another 3 weeks
AOLMusicEd: Then back to LA before it turns really cold?
RWIntensiveCare: No, I gotta go to Mexico...
RWIntensiveCare: ...cos I'm an international popstar
AOLMusicEd: Oh yeah
RWIntensiveCare: :-)
AOLMusicEd: What other international pop duties do you have this evening then? RWIntensiveCare: Ever been to Ramoush Juice on the Kings Road?
AOLMusicEd: Nup
RWIntensiveCare: I'm eating the world's best kebab
AOLMusicEd: Noooooooooooooooo !
AOLMusicEd: I'm so hungry
RWIntensiveCare: It's lovely
RWIntensiveCare: And clean and healthy too
AOLMusicEd: Chicken or lamb?
RWIntensiveCare: Lamb
AOLMusicEd: Do you have chilli sauce on the keyboard?
RWIntensiveCare: y
RWIntensiveCare: Not my keyboard
AOLMusicEd: I won't tell you about the levels of bacteria on a keyboard now then...
RWIntensiveCare: Oh dear
AOLMusicEd: I can tell you're distracted by the 'bab now
RWIntensiveCare: Finished
AOLMusicEd: I can't compete
AOLMusicEd: Oh k
AOLMusicEd: Are you alright to carry on for a bit?
RWIntensiveCare: Yeah
AOLMusicEd: k - well just let me know when you're over it
AOLMusicEd: It's not like I can see you looking bored
RWIntensiveCare: Anything on telly 2night?
AOLMusicEd: I'm just looking
RWIntensiveCare: k
AOLMusicEd: Mike Bassett - Manager
AOLMusicEd: It's a TV series based on the film
RWIntensiveCare: Oh
RWIntensiveCare: I had a song called Summertime in that film... good tune too... even if I do say so myself
AOLMusicEd: What TV do you like?
RWIntensiveCare: Repeats of 321 and Catchphrase
RWIntensiveCare: If you see it, say it
AOLMusicEd: Say what you see!
RWIntensiveCare: Keep pressing, keep guessing!
AOLMusicEd: It's good but it's not right!
AOLMusicEd: What's Mr Chips up to now?
RWIntensiveCare: What's Mr Chips doing there?
AOLMusicEd: Etc
RWIntensiveCare: lol
AOLMusicEd: Haha
RWIntensiveCare: riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT
AOLMusicEd: I'm also a fan of Bullseye
AOLMusicEd: Keep out of the black and in the red!
RWIntensiveCare: Me too - haven't seen any repeats yet
AOLMusicEd: There's nothing in this game for two in a bed!
AOLMusicEd: How good's that?
RWIntensiveCare: Now it's going to take me a few minutes to count out the money... we'll be back after the break!
RWIntensiveCare: bfh
AOLMusicEd: BFH - bus fare home
AOLMusicEd: Too good
RWIntensiveCare: I like Most Haunted 2
RWIntensiveCare: Anything ghosty
AOLMusicEd: Not seen that - do you believe in ghosts then?
RWIntensiveCare: Yeah, spose so... beginning to believe a lot less
AOLMusicEd: Why's that?
RWIntensiveCare: Just had a few things happen that make me go, oooooh f*** it! But I still love the whole thing... ghosts... ufos... time travel... Egyptology... etc
RWIntensiveCare: You're 5ft 9 then?
AOLMusicEd: Sadly not
AOLMusicEd: Is that your ideal ladyheight?
RWIntensiveCare: I don't have 1... how tall r u then?
AOLMusicEd: About 5'5
AOLMusicEd: How tall are u?
RWIntensiveCare: 6.1
AOLMusicEd: Blimey - you look a lot smaller on telly
AOLMusicEd: Just kidding - people always say that
RWIntensiveCare: People always say that
AOLMusicEd: lol
RWIntensiveCare: I think it's because I've got dumpy footy legs!
RWIntensiveCare: I'm just gonna check to see if there are any repeats. If so, wanna watch them with me?
AOLMusicEd: Could do
RWIntensiveCare: Could do! You've gone all coy... cos u know I mean it
AOLMusicEd: Not sure what to think...
RWIntensiveCare: Oh... give over
RWIntensiveCare: Indeed... perfect revenge
AOLMusicEd: I am all shy about it now
RWIntensiveCare: Silly
RWIntensiveCare: You're were all brave when u thought i was joking... u know all my fave catchphrases
RWIntensiveCare: Come on, it'll be a laugh
AOLMusicEd: I'm crap at Scrabble, before you ask
RWIntensiveCare: lol
AOLMusicEd: So is the interview over now?
RWIntensiveCare: Spose so... but don't edit all the good stuff... it makes the interview interesting... people would rather read this stuff than wittering on about music...
RWIntensiveCare: Not that that's the reason for flirting
AOLMusicEd: You're right - the beauty of talking on IM rather than a straight interview
AOLMusicEd: You must get so bored of doing all the interviews
RWIntensiveCare: Not really... only when people r comedy-less or planks
RWIntensiveCare: Keeps me of the streets
AOLMusicEd: That's fair enough
AOLMusicEd: It's been nice chatting
RWIntensiveCare: You 2
RWIntensiveCare: x
RWIntensiveCare: Bye bye'
AOLMusicEd: Bye bye'

Robbie Williams to set UK chart record

Quoted from: http://contactmusic.com

'ROBBIE WILLIAMS' new album INTENSIVE CARE will set a record when it tops the UK album chart on Sunday (30OCT05), because British acts will have occupied the number one spot for 25 consecutive weeks.
The previous record, set in March 1990, stands at 24 weeks - and the chart dominance of UK artists and bands this year (05) has been attributed to the boom in internet downloads and the resurgence of adult interest in contemporary music by industry experts.
MAX LOUSADA, Managing Director of Atlantic Records, says, "The adult orientated audience have become a forceful part of the albums market and they have more records than ever to choose to purchase.
"Suddenly with iTunes and certain publications doing music spreads they have re-engaged with music. And the really successful live music scene has re-engaged the youth market."
Non UK acts have spent just five weeks at the top of the album chart since January. 27/10/2005 17:41'

Robbie Williams gets, er, sensitive

Quoted from: http://www.metronews.ca/

'The newly sensitive Robbie Williams.
Robbie WilliamsIntensive CareChrysalis/EMI*** (out of five)
For all the cocky bravado this British megastar has been known to exude on past solo efforts - and in concert, for that matter - Intensive Care will come across as something of a shock: Robbie gets sensitive.
Sure, this fifth studio album's opener Ghosts begins with the bold pronouncement: "Here I stand victorious/the only man who made you come;" but the rest of his co-writes with Stephen 'Tin Tin' Duffy forces Britain's bratty singer of Let Me Entertain You, Angels and Millennium fame to take a good look inward lyrically and musically. Sometimes, as on the Trouble With Me and King Of Bloke And Bird, this personal reflection isn't such a bad thing - at the very least, it shows the 31-year-old Williams is willing to put his past bad-boy reputation to rest. There's still a smidgen of pop-star Robbie on A Place To Crash, Your Gay Friend and Spread Your Wings, but despite the heavy anti-violent rhetoric on Tripping, Williams' Jamaican-pop fusion doesn't quite cut it.

ian nathanson/metro Toronto
mailto:ian.nathanson@metronews.ca

Gallagher likes new Williams single, ends feud

Quoted from: http://contactmusic.com/

'OASIS wildman LIAM GALLAGHER has ended his decade-long feud with ROBBIE WILLIAMS, after admitting he likes the singer's latest single TRIPPING.
The WONDERWALL star and Williams have famously criticised each other in the press since the mid-1990s, but Gallagher has now had a change of heart when it comes to Williams' new song.
He tells MTV, "I think it's f**king amazing, actually. Really entertaining. I think it's the best one he's ever f**king done. It's top, man. Top tune."
25/10/2005 09:04'

Robbie Williams' alien saviours

Quoted from: http://www.femalefirst.co.uk

'October 24, 2005, 6:40:04

Robbie Williams believes San Francisco was saved from a huge natural disaster - by aliens. The pop heartthrob has revealed he used to have a recurring dream the US city, which has a history of devastating earthquakes, was being destroyed and he had to save it.
Robbie has now confessed the premonitions have stopped and he has been told that extra-terrestrials prevented the potentially fatal disaster.
He told Britain's Times 2 magazine: "Latest news about San Fran is aliens fixed it.That's seriously what I heard - they fixed the fault." It is not the first time Robbie has admitted to extra terrestrial beliefs.
Last month, the 'Tripping' singer claimed the world will soon be invaded by little green men and warned fans to be prepared.
He said: "I've been dreaming every night about UFO's I can't wait to go to sleep at night because those dreams have been so brilliant "I think they are definitely on their way, seriously Mark my words From now until 2012 - watch out kids" '

Robbie Williams - Intensive Care review

Quoted from: http://www.musicomh.com

'As opening lines go, Ghosts' "Here I stand victorious, the only man who made you come" is amongst the higher echelons of bombastic ballsiness. Guy Chambers, Robbie Williams's co-writer for all his big hits including Angels, has been replaced by The Lilac Time's Stephen Duffy, yet it's clear that Intensive Care is a Robbie Williams album, but a development on its predecessors.
Lyrically, Stoke's stratospheric son is a Jekyll and Hyde character of self-adulation and self-loathing. Lines like the one above are so absurd as to be laughable, but there are plenty of moments when he comes across as tragic rather than comedic as he craves attention, understanding and respect as a serious artist. It's this personality trait writ large through Intensive Care that steers its lyrics clear of the buffers of the banal, though several points threaten such a diversion.
Perhaps this is also why this record's press release is one of the largest I've ever seen for an album (only Mariah Carey could trump it), and why the "brief biog" is a raft of statistics - biggest audiences, biggest sales, biggest... well, he doesn't quite go that far.
The trouble is, unless one has recently returned from an extended sojourn to Jupiter, one is well aware of who Robbie Williams is. He's scarcely been out of the limelight since he was a teenager. The constant need to restate how big he is becomes ever more irritating.
Yet for all the pretence, boasting and cocky swagger, the man has undeniable talent for creating songs people sing. On this record, depending on one's point of view, they're more fully realised or more bloated and self-indulgent than anything he's done before. But certainly his magpie-like quality of picking the best bits of other people's music to create something of his own remains intact.
Eighties revivalism is alive and well here too, not least on Tripping, the lead single. It's an odd song that reaches into ska and electroclash and somehow still became a single (amusingly described as "his attempt at a mini gangster opera"). It's one of the better tracks on what turns out to be a surprisingly varied record.
It's Robbie The Rogue's least immediate album and needs several listens to get to grips with, but Intensive Care feels like Robbie has allowed himself freedom of expression, even if he doesn't always know how best to use it. Sparking off Duffy he seems to have selected a range of vocalists to imitate and adapt to his own ends. So it is that we find the spoken-sung vocals of Spread Your Wings sounding remarkably like Lou Reed in the verses before heading back to a made-for-drivetime chorus.
Further on we have a Rolling Stones homage with A Place To Crash, one of the most overblown blasts on the album that even finds time for a Blaze Of Glory type acoustic guitar twang or three before the rollercoaster gets going again. This is bound to be a live favourite, with vocals that lie somewhere between Jagger and David Bowie.
Also energetic is Your Gay Friend, a power-pop stomper that features some lovely lyrics about having an affair with a married woman. It's Robbie all grown up.
Sin Sin Sin, one of the album's catchiest tracks, proves Robbie's vocal ability when he reigns in the histrionics and lets the lovely lower end of his range loose. A metronomic, Human League-like arpeggiated synth pulse accompanies our hero's musings in the verse. There's a token babble about being made in Jesus's image, but the song seems to be about pining for a lost love - in common with much of the album. With a chorus curiously bereft of a rhythm section first time, it's an oddball arrangement that suddenly changes by the second verse to radio friendliness.
It may be indicative of Robbie's desire to head in an experimental direction, but he always brings himself forcibly back from the brink to MOR, making sure those EMI shareholders get their dividends.
Random Acts Of Kindness plays like an MOR Smiths attempt, all hanging electric guitar notes while his voice sounds just a little like fellow LA-residing expat Morrissey, but The Trouble With Me, which starts promisingly aside from some characteristically vulgar lyrics, becomes repetitive, is too long and lacks any spark. It's the sort of thing Ronan Keating might aspire to if only his music was in any way interesting. Scarcely better is Advertising Space, described by Robbie as his own Candle In The Wind - and his voice does remind of Elton John.
The final notes of maudlin closer King of Bloke and Bird are all ambient synth and guitar drones - an unexpected, Sigur Ros-like reflective conclusion to an album, but Robbie delights in unexpected endings. It's also a welcome change of pace, and one of the real growers of the record.
Robbie The Ridiculous is, it seems, a smart cookie let down only by the UK's comprehensive education system. His motivation seems to stem from an expectation that he is better, deep down, than he appears, but he doesn't seem to have the wherewithal to demonstrate his considerable talents to his own satisfaction, and this annoys him. It might annoy him less if he noticed a world beyond himself from time to time and perhaps set about writing material addressing it, but I'm not holding my breath.
He's a sentient, though not intellectual, being who remains one of pop's most interesting characters. "Please don't read my mind, I tell the truth to me" he says. However pervasive his demons are, they don't stop Robbie Williams's tightrope balancing act between pub bore self-laceration and swaggering, rogueish entertainer par excellence. Intensive Care suggests this revitalised man who is muse unto himself will be entertaining anyone who doesn't mind his self-regarding bombast for some time yet.
- Michael Hubbard'

Ant and Dec hit 30 in style at a glitzy bash

Quoted from: http://www.hellomagazine.com

'24 OCTOBER 2005

The kings of light entertainment, Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, celebrated hitting 30 with some of the big names who've helped make their shows a prime-time fixture. Among the A-list guests was Robbie Williams, eye-catching in a military-style jacket and a white shirt.
The Angels singer was returning the honours: the showbiz twosome had spiced up his five-day 30th birthday celebrations at Skibo Castle last year by staging a spoof edition of Family Fortunes. Blonde favourite Denise Van Outen arrived on the arm of Little Britain performer David Walliams for the bash, which took place at a trendy London club. Ever since appearing together in Byker Grove, Ant and Dec have been best mates and screen partners, and their programmes hailed as ratings magic. After revolutionizing Saturday-morning viewing with their cheeky-chappy personas on SM:TV Live, they turned their attention to night-time. The Geordie friends went on to rack up a string of hits including Pop Idol and Saturday Night Takeaway. Currently riding higher than ever, the small screen golden boys have been nominated in three categories for this week's National TV awards.'

robbiewilliams.com updated

Today robbiewilliams.com was updated, untill the final version will be published right before Xmas. The site now is now divided into 3 sections:

- www.whatsyourfuture.com
- Revelation, pre-subscription for the renewed Inner Sanctum
- The brand new RobbieWilliams.com shop

It appears that the long waiting has been all worth it, for the robbiewilliams.com webmasters seem to really have done a good job and have met most of the things people like to see in a good website: the latest robbienews, TV and Radio broadcast dates, a webshop, and interviews for starters.

Ow and ehrrmm...is this the fourth section??
http://www.robbiewilliams.co.uk/getmore/
At least it's the most revealing...

*BLUSH*

Intensive Care - reviews

Read the reviews that some papers have written about the new album, Intensive Care:

- The Independant
- The Guardian
- Daily Mail
- Scotsman

Listen to Intensive Care! V

Quoted from: http://www.whatsyourfuture.com/

'A Place To Crash

'A Place To Crash', Robbie says with no little pride, is the only Rolling Stones riff Keith Richards has yet to write, and so Stephen Duffy wrote it instead. Cocksure, robues tand posessed of a swagger that suggests it was born in leather trousers, this brash anthem is undoubtedly a furure live favourite, its 'AH YEAH!' tailor-made for a full stadium singalong. After one minute and 29 seconds, Robbie shouts 'GUITAR!' He's not done that before.

King Of Bloke And Bird

The final song on 'Intensive Care' is also the most maudlin, a profoundly affecting acoustic paean to the futility of searching for love, Robbie casting himself here as disaffected and dejected. Its poignancy is, at times, unbearable, its lip tremors genuinly affecting. At the time of writing, Robbie reckons he won't be playing this song live as it is simply 'too painful'. But catch him on another day, and he is much more positive about it. 'This is me trying to imitate Neil Young but sounding, instead, like Kermit the Frog,' he says. Miss Piggy should be so lucky...'

Robbie Williams for weddings?

Quoted from: http://www.entertainmentwise.com/

'Blessed be Robbie and Aretha…
By: Maria Lisbonz on 20/10/2005

Robbie William's 'Angels', Aretha Franklin's 'I Say A Little Prayer', and songs of similar ilk are given the go for playing in civil marriage ceremonies by bishops of the Church of England. Music and reading prohibitions in the past were considered excessive even by the bishops, leading Deputy Registrar-General Dennis Roberts to write a review proposing they be relaxed. Bishop of Newcastle, the Rt Rev Martin Wharton added; ' The church sees marriage as central to the stability and health of human society and so to be encouraged and supported. While there does need to be a clear difference between a religious marriage ceremony and a civil one, the House of Bishops doesn't see songs like 'Angels' and readings with some spiritual element as creating a religious service. They wouldn't be part of a usual Sunday service, for example.' In response to inconsistent interpretations of the rules Roberts said 'readings, songs and music that may contain an incidental reference to a god or deity in a mainly non-religious context' should be allowed. Bishops said; 'There is scope for a somewhat more generous approach, provided it does not start to blur the fundamental distinction between a civil ceremony and a religious event.' It's a case of 'Angels in their eyes' then.'

Is Robbie Williams seeing things?

Quoted from: http://www.gigwise.com

'He claims he sees ghosts...
by Layne Redfern on 10/21/2005

Robbie Williams really is losing the plot, not only is his new song diabolical but now he is claiming he can see ghosts……spooky, the popstar declared: "I think I have powers.”Or maybe he is just deranged? Speaking to the Mirror he said: "I've seen things - my sister's dog jumping up at her feet when it had passed away years before."Security locks opening and closing in front of my eyes. TVs switching on and off."Williams also revealed that he harbours ambitions of hosting a TV show on the paranormal just like Arthur C Clarke…"Where he left off, I want to take it up. I want to visit ghosts and goblins."They probably don’t want to see him though.'

Listen to Intensive Care! IV

Quoted from: http://www.whatsyourfuture.com/

'Random acts of kindness

Random acts if kindness is a song about magic. In the two years Robbie worked on 'Intensive Care', he also found the time to develop an interest in magic and the occult, studying the published works of occultist Aleister Crowley and dabbling in spells of his own. He likes to describe this particular song as 'mystical and magical', one made for the inner Gandalf in us all. 'I am just a simple man with simple expectations,' he sings, perhaps somewhat disingenuoulsy.

The Trouble With Me

It is, by now, common knowledge that few people write self-lacerating songs with the unflinchng eloquence of Robbie Williams, and 'The Trouble With Me' is one of his very best. Written by a man of maturity now desperate to find the woman of his dreams, he begins it thus: 'You see the trouble with me/I've got a head full of fuck/I'm a basket case/I don't think I can love.' Stephen Duffy, the album's producer, points to these lyrics - which, like all of Robbie's lyrics, come straight off the top of his head with the minimum of architecture - as confirmation of his genius wordplay.'

robbiewilliams.com relaunch!

Shortly before christmas the new official Robbie Williams website will be relaunched! On monday, the new robbiewilliams.com Shop will already be launched.
The new site will bring the latest news, releases and tourinformation, a discography section, a tours section, an Image Bank, and a section dedicated to documentaries, books, interviews and films. There will also be competitions, downloads, merchandise and a buzzing community (!). On top of this, there will also be a renewed subscription-only Inner Sanctum, which also will include a 'Robbie's Blog'. Subscription will cost 25 pounds a year, and you will receive a t-shirt worth 20 pounds a year...ehhr...is it also possible to do without the t-shirt and pay 5 pounds?
Great news!

Listen to Intensive Care! III

Quoted from: http://www.whatsyourfuture.com/

'Your Gay Friend

Starting with a jubilant "whoo hoo", 'Your Gay Friend' is Intensive Care's most frivolous moment, and also its most mischievous. I'll be your gay friend/ Cos your marriage never ends/ so we fuck and fight again,' he sings. Its author declines to say who the song's sunject is about - 'the less said about that the better'. Its Lucozade spritz is as infectious as its lyrical content is potentially contentious.

Sin Sin Sin

One of the first efforts Robbie wrote with his new songwriting partner Stephen Duffy, 'Sin Sin Sin', with its metronomic beat, is an engagingly hypnotic song about a dirty old man who craves a shag. 'Basically,' Robbie grins, 'it's about the kind of bloke I will turn into myself one day.' Despite its sly content, this features his most mannered vocal to date, reminiscent of Pet Shop Boy's Neil Tennant, but with an even finer annunciation. His mother would be proud; Stephen Duffy already is. 'As soon as we'd completed this track,' Duffy says, 'I thought we might just have a future together.'

Robbie Williams live on Radio 1

Quoted from: http://www.bbc.co.uk

'Robbie Williams has played a special live gig for Radio 1.
He'll also took part in a Q&A with fans.
You'll be able to hear tracks from the gig tomorrow on Radio 1. And we'll have the whole thing online for you to listen to.
Watch Chris Moyles interview Robbie
See the live photos

Promo in Mexico

Quoted from: http://rw-world.com/

'Source: www.terra.com

As EMI Mexico confirmed today Rob will be in the country in November to promote his new album "Intensive Care" '

A dark star shines brightly

Quoted from: http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/

'Robbie's a real star, but no one's noticed.
Interview by Caitlin Moran

Here is Robbie Williams's penthouse, on the 15th floor, overlooking Chelsea Harbour. To be fair, it's not a vast space - with a pool table, a tiny kitchenette and a corner filled entirely with a sofa, it's more like a pub in the sky. Or a youth club. It's not the apartment of a man throwing his money away on wholly meaningless acts of real-estate opulence. It's the apartment of a man who primarily sees a home as being somewhere you put a big telly and an ashtray, and can go to the toilet in peace.
It's the view, however, that marks it out as the home of a rock star. With 360 degrees across London, you can see the London Eye, the Gherkin, Westminster, Canary Wharf, Hampstead Heath and the South Downs. Or, if you're Robbie Williams, you can see trouble.
'See that apartment over there?' he says, lighting a fag, sliding open the doors and moving out on to the balcony. 'A woman does coke there every night. And see that apartment there? A really fat old ugly bloke walks around naked and never draws his curtains.' He crosses over to his second balcony and gestures. 'He does coke' - gesturing to a window - 'and she does coke. And down there - that's where this black woman - nothing wrong with that - naked - nothing wrong with that - came out dancing on her balcony. She started waving to me. Then she started singing and I thought, Im buggered if I'm waving back now.
I can't believe I left my night-vision binoculars in LA,' he says, slightly regretfully, as he steps back into the apartment and reaches for another cigarette. 'Chain-smoke, shall I? Why not.'
It's been another busy week for Robbie Williams, arguably the world's biggest pop star. On Friday, he broke his arm. On Saturday, he officially launched his new album in 'the heart of Europe' - a 7,000-capacity audience in the Velodrom, Berlin, complete with 12-piece orchestra and 12-piece choir. On Sunday, the chart-placing of new single Tripping was announced - No 2 in the UK, but Billboard's No 1 single in Europe, and the airplay No 1 across South America. On Monday, it was announced in the tabloids that Take That would be re-forming for a one-off gig. Ask him about the rumour and Robbie is unequivocal.
'I can say something nice about every single member of the band,' he says, looking down at his hands as he smokes his cigarette. The nails are so bitten that the tips look like stumps. God knows how he peels an orange.
'But when it comes to Nigel Martin Smith (Take That's former manager) . . . I want to rip his uterus out.'
Take That will not be reforming.
Having finally concluded his tour of the seedy side of life around Chelsea Harbour, we abandon the balcony. Williams sits on his big sofa and starts scratching his broken arm maniacally.
'I've broke my arm, by the way,' he says, holding it out, somewhat unnecessarily. A large purple bruise bisects his arm, in the middle of his Born To Be Mild tattoo. Playing football he fell - 'a proper cartoon fall, like Norman Wisdom' - and sustained a fracture. The arm should be in plaster, but it was 'too hot and uncomfortable', so he took off the plaster. He habitually returns to pawing at it, like a cat after an operation.
We do, of course, have a lot to talk about this afternoon. He is temporarily breaking his self-imposed two-year exile in Los Angeles to promote his new album, Intensive Care, in the UK. Intensive Care is an album with a lot on its mind. Darker, tougher and more savage than its more vaudevillian predecessors, and infinitely more accomplished, the album sees him admit to an affair with a married woman, finally mourn the break-up of his relationship with a famous ex-girlfriend, compare himself to Elvis, wish himself back as a teenager in a cheap nightclub in Stoke, turn to black magic to conquer his fears and, in the most ear-catching moment of the album, starkly claim that 'I've got a head full of f***/ I'm a basket-case/ I don't know how to love, love, love'.
Given this pressing agenda of subjects to be discussed, then - matters that touch on the very core of Williams's much-vaunted unhappiness and spiritual unease - it's no surprise that he starts our interview with a six-minute rant about his feud with the camp LIVINGtv psychic Derek Acorah.
A fan of Acorah's TV work, Williams summoned the psychic to the Chelsea penthouse for an audience, because that's the kind of thing you can do if you're Robbie Williams. However, when pressed by Williams to 'go on and do it' - contact the dead - Acorah came up with little more than what a search would yield on Williams's dead relatives, albeit rendered in a blaze of peerlessly camp Scouse dramatics.
Disappointed that his faith in Acorah's ability to contact the dead appeared to have been misplaced, Williams thanked him, saw him out of the flat and resolved not to see him again. Acorah, however, had other ideas. 'The next thing I know,' Williams says, lighting another cigarette while scratching at his broken arm, 'he rings up and goes 'Robbie! Robbie! I've just been on the phone to the head of LIVINGtv and he says - and listen Robbie, this is true - he says that you can do whatever you want. Whatever you want! Make any show you like!' And I'm on the other end going, erm, I think I could get ABC if I wanted, to be honest. I'll be OK, Derek.' '

Advertising Space: the video

In the videoclip for 'Advertising Space', Robbie is disguised as Elvis Presley. http://www.robbiewilliamslive.com/ has some 5 pictures about that:

Photo's in The Observer

With thanks to: http://www.robbiewilliamslive.com

Here are some pictures from english magazine The Observer:

Photo's in Stern

With thanks to: http://www.robbiewilliamslive.com

Here are 2 pictures from this week's german magazine Stern:

Tie the knot to Robbie

Quoted from: http://www.itn.co.uk

'10.40PM, Wed Oct 19 2005
Robbie's song 'Angels' and Aretha Franklin's 'I Say A Little Prayer' have been given the stamp of approval by the Church of England for use in civil marriage ceremonies.
The bishops were responding to a review by the Deputy Registrar-General Dennis Roberts which proposed relaxing a ban on religious references in secular ceremonies.
They admitted that some of the prohibitions made in the past had been "excessive."
The Rt Rev Martin Wharton, Bishop of Newcastle, said: "While there does need to be a clear difference between a religious marriage ceremony and a civil one, the House of Bishops doesn't see songs like Angels and readings with some spiritual element as creating a religious service".
He added: "They wouldn't be part of a usual Sunday service, for example."'

He loves us! He loves us!

Quoted from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/

'18/10/05
He loves us! he loves us! Chris Moyles, the Radio One DJ here in the UK, has gone a bit Robbie mad (so he should...) with all sort of profiles, reviews and comps of our boy. Anyway, Rob did a radio advert with Chris - and guess what? He said on the "trail" that he reads the messageboard on this website - and he takes notice... Hmm - I wonder if he'll notice just how many of us would like tickets to his tour next year? Me first Rob!PS - if you fancy hearing a bit of Rob & Chris, you can download the audio on this page'

Williams the voyeur

Quoted from: http://contactmusic.com

'Pop superstar ROBBIE WILLIAMS has turned to voyeurism, and enjoys watching his London neighbours take drugs and walk around with no clothes on.
The ANGELS singer owns a 15th floor penthouse apartment overlooking the British capital's upmarket Chelsea Harbour and likes to spend his time monitoring the personal habits of the wealthy people who live around him.
Speaking from his balcony, Williams says, "See that apartment over there? A woman does coke there every night. And see that apartment there? A really fat old ugly bloke walks around naked and never draws his curtains.
"And down there, that's where this black woman - nothing wrong with that - naked - nothing wrong with that - came out dancing on her balcony. She started waving to me. Then she started singing and I thought, 'I'm b**gered if I'm waving back now.'
"I can't believe I left my night vision binoculars in LA."

20/10/2005 13:41 '

Williams: 'I see dead dogs'

Quoted from: http://contactmusic.com

'Singer ROBBIE WILLIAMS experiences supernatural visions and is uncertain whether he has spiritual powers or is suffering from extreme delusional paranoia.
The FEEL star and reformed drug addict admits his life could have been one of substance abuse but now believes he is blessed with mystical awareness.
He says, "If music hadn't worked out I would either have been a complete PETE DOHERTY, or I would have been a holistic man of medicine and spirituality. A spiritualist medium.
"I think I do have powers. I've seen things. My sister's dog jumping at her feet, when it had passed away years before. Green lights coming in at my window, too. Security locks opening and closing in front of my eyes. TVs switching on and off.
"I want to find out if these are real ghostly experiences or just my complete paranoia. It's one of the two that I want to get rid of. I just want to know."

20/10/2005 13:41'

Robbie Williams breaks arm

Quoted from: http://contactmusic.com

'British pop star ROBBIE WILLIAMS has broken his arm playing soccer - but he refuses to wear a cast to help his fractured bone heal speedily.
The MILLENNIUM singer is in the middle of a demanding promotional tour for his new album INTENSIVE CARE, and found the plaster cast too restrictive at such a crucial time.
He says his arm, which he injured following "a proper cartoon fall" on the soccer field, was "too hot and uncomfortable" in the cast for him to be able to concentrate on performing.

20/10/2005 09:15'

Robbie Williams: my problem is with Take That manager

Quoted from: http://www.contactmusic.com

'Pop icon ROBBIE WILLIAMS snubbed an $8.8 million (GBP5 million) offer to reunite with his former TAKE THAT bandmates, because he still holds a grudge against the boyband's former manager.
The British singer, who quit that chart-topping group in 1995 to pursue his solo career, has settled his differences with MARK OWEN, HOWARD DONALD, JASON ORANGE and GARY BARLOW - but still harbours animosity towards NIGEL MARTIN SMITH.
Williams, who is promoting his sixth solo studio album INTENSIVE CARE, says, "I can say something nice about every single member of the band.
"But when it comes to Nigel Martin Smith... I want to rip his uterus out."

20/10/2005 02:34 '

Robbie Williams upset by songwriting ignorance

Quoted from: http://www.contactmusic.com

'British pop superstar ROBBIE WILLIAMS is upset he passes unrecognised as the one of the most successful songwriters of his generation - but he can't be "bothered" to set the record straight.
The ANGELS star is annoyed by the common assumption that his former songwriting partner GUY CHAMBERS and current muse STEPHEN DUFFY create the music while he only provides the vocals on his tracks.
Williams has mastered a number of instruments since quitting boyband TAKE THAT 10 years ago (95), but he refuses to play on stage to prove his critics wrong.
He says, "It upsets me that no one knows I write the songs, or have any interest in music whatsoever. It breaks my heart.
"I mean, if people hate my music, I want them to hate it because I wrote it - don't hate it because you think I'm singing someone else's song.
"It's because I can't be bothered to play the guitar or the synthesisers on stage. That's (what it takes for) people (to) go, 'Oh, he did write them!' But I can't be bothered."
20/10/2005 02:34 '

Robbie Williams evening at W9

Source: http://www.robbiewilliamslive.com

Channel W9 has a Robbie Willliams evening on saturday 22 october:

- 20:50: concert Keulen 2001
- 21:45: W9 Hits special Robbie Williams

King Robbie

Quoted from: http://www.fans-supreme.de/

'He turns Blackpool into Las Vegas for Elvis video LEATHER-CLAD Robbie Williams brought traffic to a stop by strolling down Blackpool's Golden Mile dressed as Elvis. Thousands of fans turned out to see the superstar singer become the King as he filmed his new video.

And while Elvis had the lights of Las Vegas, Robbie had to make the most of Blackpool's Illuminations. The screaming crowds also laid siege to venues where the 31-year-old was filming. A delighted Robbie said: " It's amazing the amount of people who have come down to say hello. It's made my night." I haven't seen anything like this since my days with Take That. I feel loved." Robbie filmed scenes on the prom, outside the Lucky Star arcade, on a red London bus and inside the Belle Vue pub. At the height of the Robbie-mania, police had to divert traffic to allow filming to go on. Although the shoot was supposed to be top secret, rumours quickly spread that he was in town. Robbie, who was filming the promo for his new single Advertising Space, rewarded crowds outside the pub by appearing at a window and waving to them. Fan Melanie Crookall, 24, said: "He was lovely and very down to earth. He signed my Robbie book and then took my pen to sign autographs for other people

Source: Daily Record 19.10.05'

Listen to Intensive Care! II

Quoted from: http://www.whatsyourfuture.com/

'Advertising Space

Perhaps the most conclusive confirmation that the pairing of Robbie Williams and Stephen Duffy was a wise one, 'Advertising Space' posesses wraparound majesty, and is almost profoundly cinetmatic. 'This is my 'True Romance' song, he says, 'the one where, like Christian Slater in the film, I like to believe I have direct access to Elvis Presly every now and then. ' Eligiac and mournful, it describes a superstar's tragic fall from grace. Robbie jokingly describes it as his own 'Candle In The Wind'. It's not, of course. It's less cheesy by a full Edam, for starters.

Please Don't Die

'I would never presume to know how it feels to lose a loved one,' Robbie says, but 'Please Don't Die', by far the most poignant moment on the album, concerns a family member who died of cancer last year. And intimately personal lyric about love, memory and honour, this features the flipside of Robbie Williams, one a million miles away from the persona who sang 'Rock DJ'. 'Look around, there;s no one here to love me, hold me' he sings in a very quiet and very tender voice.'

Robbie TV this week

Quoted from: http://www.whatsyourfuture.com/

'19 10 05

Indulge yourself in some fatastic Robbie telly this week. Don't miss the chance to see the making of Intensive Care a well as a behind the scenes look at the album launch gig in Berlin. There's also a full concert special on saturday night, a Robbie Williams day in Germany and an exclusive interview on Sunday. Get these dates in your diary now:

Wednesday 19th October:BBC3 9pm- Robbie Williams: Intensive Care - The Making of...
Catch up with Robbie as he records and promotes Intensive Care. Featuring footage from the recording studio in his bedroom as well as behind the scenes capers at the Tripping video shoot and an amusing photo shoot for the glossy men's monthly GQ.
This show will be repeated on Friday 21st October at 9pm on BBC3

Wednesday 19th October:
Channel4 11pm - Robbie Williams: The Road to Berlin
Follow Robbie in the build up to the incredible show at Berlin's Velodrom on October 9th. The documentary features candid back stage interviews as well as some classic Robbie moments and includes footage from the warm up gigs in Paris, London and Amsterdam.

Thusday 20th October:
Pro 7 - Robbie Williams Day
The channel will be showing various Robbie features throughout the day concluding with 'Robbie Williams - Live in Berlin' at 11.15pm

Saturday 22nd October:
Channel4 9.35pm - Robbie Williams: Live in Berlin
A sensational concert special, recently filmed in the futuristic setting of Berlin's Velodrom, sees Robbie unveiling new songs from Intensive Care and blasting through past classics.

Sunday 23rd October:Channel4 1.30pm - T4 Presents Robbie Williams
Robbie Williams joins T4's June Sarpong and Vernon Kay for an exclusive television interview to talk about his career and life in LA. He performs three new tracks from Intensive Care, including new single Tripping. Look for the special Q&A taking place on the T4 website at 2pm.

Ken Bruce show

Source: http://rw-world.com /www.bbc.co.uk/radio2

'Listen to Ken Bruce Show on BBC Radio 2 all week from 9.30 am. He will play tracks from Intensive Care all week and will talk to Rob about the songs.'

Liam angry at Robbie

Quoted from: http://www.robbiewilliams-tr.com

'Former All Saint singer Nicole Appleton, the long-term girlfriend of Gallagher, was once engaged to the Williams, and is said to be terrified that the Stoke boy would dish details of their relationship. Nicole infamously revealed in her autobiography that she had aborted Robbie's baby, and feared that Robbie would now make his own revelations about their romance. Oasis superstar Liam was furious at Robbie for upsetting his woman, and was overheard in a swanky Primrose Hill pub threatening to break his legs if he upset her again. According to a Daily Star source, Liam warned that while Robbie had escaped a bashing this time, if he caused his girlfriend any more pain, it would be a different story. In the past, Williams and Oasis haven't exactly got on like a house on fire. Before Live 8, which Oasis were unable to appear at because of prior engagements, Liam launched a typically refined attack on the pop megastar. "We'd have been there [Live 8] without a doubt. I'd love to. Y'know why I'd love to do that gig? First of all, it's f*cking awareness and all that stuff. "I just love to go on and do four fucking songs and really f*cking rip it up. . . and walk off and f*cking flick Robbie Williams in the eye and say: 'Follow that, you d*ck!'" While Liam and Noel had been friends with Williams shortly after he left Take That in 1995, the relationship soured. At one time Noel called Robbie that "fat dancer from Take That". However, Williams later got his revenge by trumping Oasis's "historic" two-date sell-out Knebworth shows, by playing three. Keep it nice, boys, keep it nice.

Source: inthenews'

We've been expecting you

Quoted from: http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/

'In an exclusive first hearing of Intensive Care, Robbie Williams's new album, Dafydd Goff questions whether the self-professed 'King of Pop' will keep his newly acquired title His regal showmanship in Berlin last week may have crowned Robbie Williams the new King of Pop, but a first hearing of his new album suggests that he needs to put more effort into his songs if he is to retain his throne.

As with the expectation surrounding his Live8 performance this summer, there is pressure on EMI's hit machine to make a definitive statement, especially now that he is no longer working with his erstwhile song-writing partner Guy Chambers. But if this album is it, it's worrying.

Intensive Care, his fifth album of original material, is a play on the idea that he laboured for two years over the song-writing process, as well as the fact that much of the album eschews his characteristic charm for an on-the-psychiatrist's-couch confessionalism.

Robbie, now 31, appears to be in a crisis of masculinity. In a recent interview, he admitted that he plunged into depression after turning 30 and realising there was a void in his life. Posing as a sensitive soul in a 'spiritual lull', he has plied journalists with sob stories about addiction, feeling terrified of being single, and claims that deep down he is just a little boy who wants to be loved. Bless.

These maudlin, attention-seeking sentiments are very much a part of album on which Williams presents himself as a penitent playboy who wishes to atone for past indulgences, expressing the desire for clean living but at the same time wanting to continue the perks of his millionaire lifestyle.

Another recurring theme is a pining for the past, a need to revisit childhood haunts and old flames. Indeed, much of this album is a nostalgia feast, awash with wistful yearning. Co-written and produced by Stephen Duffy (formerly of Duran Duran and the Lilac Time), Intensive Care has been misleadingly hyped as 'wildly experimental', although it does expand his pop palette, referencing early-1980s bands that, thanks to Franz Ferdinand, are now de rigeur, namely Gang of Four, Human League, New Order and other stars in the electro pop firmament.

The opening track, Ghosts, begins with Robbie boasting to an ex-lover: 'Here I stand victorious, the only man who made you come ...' This is Robbie posing as a New Lad, all swaggering braggadocio and pride. Touches of the early 1980s - particularly New Order - about, Early-1980s touches abound, and the title of the track alludes to song by Japan.

Tripping, the current single, finds Williams mimicking the reggae-infused post-punk swagger of the Clash but instead his strained falsetto sounds like Sting. Touted as a 'mini-Gangster opera' this is Robbie in the guise of Guy Ritchie. It surpasses Rock DJ, perhaps my least favourite of his hits, in the annoyance stakes.

Make Me Pure finds Robbie posing as the ambivalent sinner asking for forgiveness while wanting to continue, at least to some extent, with his self-destructive lifestyle. 'Lord, make me pure...but not yet,' pleads Robbie as a Gospel choir adds emotional oomph to the swelling sound. Here, his ego reaches monolithic heights, 'I look for love, I like the search, I'm standing for election across the known universe.' It will probably be the next single.

Spread Your Wings is a jangly pop number that the La's would have discarded even on a bad day. It name checks forgotten 1980s artists such as Oran Juice Jones and Jocelyn Brown and revisits Robbie's hometown of Stoke-on-Trent as he searches for an old flame.

Advertising Space is a grandiose orchestral pop song that will probably be a single. It draws from Quentin Tarantino's story True Romance, where Christian Slater's character is able to speak to the spirit of Elvis Presley. When Robbie sings about Marlon Brando, it reminds me of the scene in The Godfather, where Don Corleone's son Fredo comes crawling for guidance, a spectacle of self-pity. 'Oh, Godfather, I don't know what to do with myself,' he simpers. Brando springs out of his seat and snaps, 'You can act like a man for a start!' He'd tell Williams the same thing.

Please Don't Die, concerns a family member who died of cancer. Unfortunately, the dear-diary sentiment of lines like, 'Look around, there's no one to love me, hold me,' render this confessional song the wrong side of mawkish. Your Gay Friend can be generously described as a less catchy version of the theme tune from Friends. Sin Sin Sin, bears the hallmark of Duffy's production, adopting the metronomic pulse of Kraftwerk, although the result sounds more like the Human League.

Random Acts is Robbie's risible account of flirting with black magic, having recently confessed in an interest in the occult, spoken all kinds of nonsense about wanting to conjure the spirit of Horus, the mythological Egyptian deity, and not ruling out the possibility of entering one of the fashionable faiths such as Scientology, Buddhism and Kabbalah. Here, he sings of putting a spell on a lover who spurned him. Perhaps unsurprisingly, he comes across as more David Blaine than Aleister Crowley.

A Place to Crash shamelessly steals the Rolling Stones' riff from Jumpin' Jack Flash while Robbie shouts 'Guitar!' without any sense of irony. He's back in New Lad mode on this one as the following pastiche of David Bowie's Queen ****** attests: 'I'm on a mission to abuse my position with love. I'm a cynical ******, I'm gonna scratch that itch, with a ****** like you.' Note the ingenious rhyme scheme of ******, itch and ******.

The egregiously titled closing track King of Bloke and Bird, aims for the plaintive strains of country music, but falls short, as he fails to understand that by simply adding pedal steel to your songs doesn't make you Neil Young. Robbie refuses to play this song live as it is 'too painful'. His fans should thank him. What I used to respect about Robbie Williams was that he was always careful to refer to himself an 'entertainer' rather than an artist. Here, he seems to have lost sight of his grounding self-deprecation as preciousness gets the better of him. Lyrically, he's less inventive. On his first two albums he proved himself a smart lyricist providing a witty commentary on his rise to fame, but here this has given over to solipsistic self-analysis and mawkish sentiment.

His referencing of Oran Juice Jones' The Rain, Prefab Sprout's When Love Breaks Down and the Human League's Louise may be a revealing insight on the music that informed his adolescence but will no doubt lose resonance with his core audience who are too young to remember these songs.

There is nothing on Intensive Care that comes close to scaling the emotional heights of Feel, the soaring sentiment of Angels, the arms-aloft chorusing of Millennium, or the infectious ebullience of Let Me Entertain You. His introspection prevents any rousing stadium appeal, which is really what he does best and what his fans love about him. On the evidence of his last two albums, his best work is behind him. If anything, Intensive Care proves that some nostalgia trips are best embarked upon alone, and for some Robbie fans this album may prove a journey on which they do not want to join him.'

Review Intensive Care

Quoted from: http://www.fans-supreme.de/

'by Paul Flynn
When Robbie Williams invited Attitude into his lovely Chelsea pad last year to participate in the new legendary How Gay Are You? questionnaire, he bounded over to his computer and played us a song that he had fashioned with his new song-writing spar, Steven Duffy (ask your granddad). It was called Your Gay Friend - geddit? - and Robbie was considering whether or not to include it on his next album. As he made merry with an air guitar, ciggie hanging delightfully and omnipresently from lip, it was easy to see where his new sessions had taken him. If his buddies Coldplay had essentially taken the component parts of the Echo and the Bunnymen sound of the very early 80s and made them mass, he was happy to do the same with Morrisey. To cement the nod to his errant idol, he'd added a touch of palare at the end, a clever little reference at which he by now excels. Your Gay Friend is the centrepiece of today's new Robbie Williams record, and the one bound to inaugurate the controversy around it.

The ghost of Mozzer is everywhere on this, Robbie's fifth full album of new material in an astonishing 10 year solo career. You can actually sing along to his old Smiths favourite Girlfriend In A Coma, during the introduction to the buoyant Spread Your Wings. A decade in and there is still no need to roll out the centenary edition of his debut - a la Oasis - to drum up support for the new record. Williams is now an old pro. What he does, he does singularly, and even with some heavy referencing running through the record - a lot of chiming guitars, whipcrack choruses and cunning wordplay - and a new Guy Chambers to buffer the chord sequences under his unique talent, he is an artist in roughly an arena of one where British pop music is concerned. The album declares itself with the typically bold and saucy opening line 'Here I stand victorious/ the only man to ever make you come', yet it immediately undercuts itself - whenever has Robbie's confidence been unmitigated? - and by the end of the album, on the deeply mournful King Of Bloke And Bird, he is singing 'from the chaos in my heart'. There is something deeply post-coital about the lyrical content of Intensive Care, but this is not a man nestling in a lover's arms, or kicking back with a fag. It is one standing naked by the windowsill and wondering what he's just done ('Look around: there's no-one here to love me/ hold me' he intones on Please Don't Die). There is a running tributary feel to an old teenage girlfriend on Ghosts and the aforementioned Spread Your Wings, but largely this is a man wondering what he should do in place of being in love. It can be heartbreaking. Musically, it's very much a case of 'Guy who?' as Duffy paves the way for a more roving, exploratory feel to the tunes, evinced most provocatively on the opening single Tripping, a record which doesn't but ought to include in parentheses: (Hard-Fi? Nope. This is how you do suburban ennui) as it rolls around the tin pan alleys of estate violence to a tricksy ska rhythm. The bhangra strings and falsetto chorus are just showing off, frankly. There's more: the big Christmas ballad is Advertising Space, there are echoes of New Order on Sin Sin Sin and if you want a Robbie hating himself choral escapade to beat up Coldplay's Fix You in the playground of 2005's pop supremacists, well, take a listen to Make Me Pure, his Robbie in Memphis moment. I think it is by now time to embrace Robbie Williams, unreservedly. It may be time to concede that where legends are concerned, he is ours.'

Williams decides to postpone his love search

Quoted from: http://www.contactmusic.com/

'Pop superstar ROBBIE WILLIAMS has ruled out trying to find a girlfriend for the rest of this year (05), because he's not ready for love.
The ANGELS singer, who was a self-confessed drug addict in the late 1990s, still doesn't believe the time is right to find a life partner.
Williams, who yesterday (17OCT05) confessed he's never been in love, says, "I'm not spiritually bankrupt this year but I know there's something missing.
"I've got a few things to sort out before I'm ready to go into relationships again. I've realised that more than ever this year.
"I just thought it would be about getting sober and then you'll have a fulfilling relationship. Well, I'm nearly five years into (remaining sober) now."

18/10/2005 09:13 '

Robbie Williams: 'Pop works in mysterious ways'

Quoted from: http://www.contactmusic.com

'British popstar ROBBIE WILLIAMS is convinced the key to pop greatness is a magical ingredient which only a tiny proportion of bands and artists are blessed with.
The ANGELS hitmaker has pinpointed a special something in only a small number of acts ranging from highly credible rock groups to chart-topping manufactured bands.
He says, "When I first saw OASIS I recognised a thing - I don't even know what you'd call it, just a thing - that was greatness. It's outside of pop in the way it's meant now but it's pop brilliance to me.
"I thought I saw it again with THE STROKES, but I might've been wrong. And then I think people have seen that thing in THE LIBERTINES and PETE DOHERTY.
"But you know that thing? I got the same feeling watching the SPICE GIRLS. When GERI (HALLIWELL) came down the stairs in the (union jack) dress... it was so f**king powerful seeing those girls together."

18/10/2005 09:13'

Robbie Williams to be godfather

Quoted from: http://www.contactmusic.com

'Pop idol ROBBIE WILLIAMS will become a godfather when his best friend's baby is born.
The MILLENNIUM singer will be honoured by his pal JONATHAN WILKES, whose wife NIKKI is three months pregnant with their first child.
It is hoped the news will ease Williams' longing for a loving relationship - he has endured six years without a lasting romance.
Wilkes says, "I hope being a godfather will cheer him up a bit.
"Rob was the first to know about the baby and of course he's going to be godfather.
"He's proud of me and I'm proud of him. That's the way best mates should be. He is not jealous of what I have got."

18/10/2005 02:58'

Williams warns of Doherty's 'pretty' drug addiction

Quoted from: http://www.contactmusic.com

'British singer ROBBIE WILLIAMS has warned PETE DOHERTY's drug addiction looks glamorous to impressionable youngsters, because he parties all night and boasts a supermodel girlfriend on his arm.
Williams believes BABYSHAMBLES frontman Doherty, who has had a well-publicised battle with drugs and is the on/off boyfriend of catwalk queen KATE MOSS, cannot continue living the way he has been, no matter how "pretty" his existence might seem from the outside.
FEEL star Williams, who once battled a drug habit himself, says, "Addiction is different with Pete Doherty. He's different and we live in very different times. It isn't the 1960s anymore. People don't have to die because of their addictions - they get clean.
"It's not as if people haven't reached out to Pete.
"And I'm not being funny, but there's a sense of his addiction being quite pretty. You know? He stays up all night off his head and then the next day at midday he goes down to the beach with a supermodel wearing a silver ball gown to shoot tin cans off a wall. It's appealing.
"My addiction did not look like that. I'd end up with any old idiot who'd talk s**t with me till the early hours. That wasn't pretty."
17/10/2005 21:19 '

Robbie Williams: 'Ive never been in love'

Quoted from: http://www.contactmusic.com

'British pop star ROBBIE WILLIAMS has never been in love.
The ANGELS heart-throb, who was a self-confessed drug addict in the late 1990s, hoped he would fall into a longterm relationship after going through rehab in 2000 - but true romance has eluded him ever since.
He says, "I have never been in love. I don't think it's anybody's fault other than my own - but no one's ever fallen in love with me.
"I thought it would be about getting sober then having a fulfilling relationship. Well, I've been sober for five years and out of a relationship for six."
17/10/2005 02:33'

Williams and Flatly fight for Croker

Quoted from: http://breakingnews.iol.ie/

'16/10/2005 - 11:47:07

Singer Robbie Williams and Irish dance star Michael Flatley are at war, because both want to perform at the same stadium on the same night next summer. The Angels hitmaker already has one date booked at the Croke Park Stadium, but when he tried to book a second slot the following day he faced competition from Lord Of The Dance Flatley, who also wishes to perform.Ireland's largest sporting organisation, The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) owns the venue and only grants permission to three shows a year. US rock band Bon Jovi and Williams have reserved two of these places. Flatley hopes to grab the third and fulfil a lifelong ambition by dancing his new Celtic Tiger extravaganza at Croke Park. Negotiations are still under way.'

Listen to Intensive Care!

Quoted from: http://www.whatsyourfuture.com/

' Make Me Pure

'Make Me Pure', as Robbie will tell you and producer Stephen Dufffy will confirm, is a song without chorus, ''just six or seven verses, and a bit at the end'. This is the singer in conversation with himself, a 31 year-old man off the drink adn drugs but wanting, nevertheless, to push the barriers of his newly-found sobriety, and to still have occasional illicit fun. 'It's also about turning 30 and realising that there is still a big void in my life,', he says. 'And that's a woman, a partner, a wife.' Heartache clearly suits him, for this fabulous song.

Spread Your Wings
(beloved section)

'Spread Your Wings', a lyrical sister to the opening 'Ghosts', finds Robbie in nostalgic moos once more, returning, in spirit, to his native Stoke-on-Trent and a girlfriend of old. Celebrating the 1980s, its name checks the long-forgotten Oran Juice Jones and Jocelyn Brown, and suggests that we should'n't 'let the dreams out of your head'. His motivation for this one? 'I want to write songs that will still break people's hearts in 20 years time, ; he says. 'And I hope, and reckon, this one will do just that.'