News of December 2004
21/12/04
British pop heart-throb Robbie Williams, who has given up cocaine, ecstasy and alcohol, says he would still be doing drugs if they didn't make him gain weight. "I'd still be doing it if I could make good judgment calls, and I'd still be doing it if I didn't blow up to the size of an aircraft hangar, you know, because it was a great time," he told Real Radio FM. "Some of the best times in my life happened under the influence of drugs. I'm not saying 'go out and do drugs, kids,' but I enjoyed them," said 30-year-old Williams. Asked whether he was confident about staying off mind-altering substances, he replied: "No, I'm not confident at all." Williams fell into addiction after leaving the boy band Take That in 1995. His condition became so dire that pop star Elton John, a close friend, famously "kidnapped" him and got him into a rehabilitation clinic. In the two-hour radio interview, to be aired Saturday, Christmas Day, Williams also told how he would spend his time if he could have a week off from being famous. He said he would go home to Stoke-on-Trent, enjoy a kebab, then watch his favourite football team Port Vale, "sing songs with them all" and take a ride on a bicycle.
17/12/04
Pop hunk Robbie Williams' internet message board has been shut down after his official website was bombarded with hate mail. The ROCK DJ star was devastated his site ROBBIEWILLIAMS.COM was inundated with obscene notices over the weekend (11-12DEC04) so asked the web masters to close it down to protect his reputation. A statement on the website explains, "Unfortunately, the Robbie forum has been subject to attacks over the weekend, and in order to protect the content on the rest of the site we have had to close this section for the foreseeable future."
17/12/04
It's set to be yet another lonely
Christmas for Robbie Williams. The single popstar has launched an international
appeal - to find himself romance in time for Christmas. The fed-up singer claims
he can't find the right lady, and has begun to feel like Cinderella.
Williams, whose career is going from strength to strength thanks to his Greatest
Hits album and single Misunderstood, is depressed at spending another festive
season surrounded by just family.
The 30-year-old has confessed: "I want to find a princess, I need to find
somebody in the run-up to Christmas. "My Christmas Day is going to be just me by
myself - I should do a Government advertising campaign with me sitting there
sadly on my own." Since the early 90s, when Rob first hit the music scene with
boy band Take That, he's tried and failed to find a woman to settle down with.
Rampant Robster has been linked to a seemingly endless string of gorgeous girls
- including four Spice Girls, Nicole Appleton, Anna Friel, Rachel Hunter and
telly presenter Tania Strecker.
He recently dated probation worker and mum-of-two Lisa Brash. But Rob ended the
affair when the 31-year-old Geordie sold a kiss-and-tell story about their
relationship to a newspaper.
Only this week Scandinavian porn star Aylar Lie, 20, claimed she'd had a
threesome with the crooner and her pal Alexandra Oien - which he denies. But it's
hard to feel too sorry for Rob when he says: "It's not right, nobody wants me."
Get the violins out. He also claims that because there's no one special in his
life, he's spending Christmas with family at his mansion in LA instead. Misery!
"My mother and father are coming over and a few friends, so we'll be in the
sunshine in LA," he confided. "I'll walk the dogs and watch football on TV and
eat turkey. But I won't have a lady.
"I don't know what's happened. I feel as though I've got my own glass slipper
for my princess, but it doesn't fit anyone." The year past he told the same
thing.
15/12/04
British singer Robbie Williams
has taken a break from criticising fellow celebrities to offer words of
encouragement to fledging solo star Brian McFadden.
Williams is full of praise for the former Westlife singer's debut single Real
For Me, and his album Irish Son - partly because they were mainly co-written
with Guy Chambers, Williams' former song-writing partner.
The 30-year-old says, "Real To Me is nearly a great song. He looks great, he
sings great and the song is nearly great. Well, I keep prefacing the 'great'
with 'nearly' to make it sound a bit bitchy, but I've done loads of songs that
are nearly good.
"It's funny he said that musically he wasn't like me - nine tracks on the album
are written by Guy. I don't want to slag him off because he's a nice guy."
14/12/04
British pop hunk Robbie Williams
has infuriated the German media by banning photographers from his public
appearances.
The former Take That singer was promoting his Greatest Hits album and new single
Misunderstood on TV show Wetten Dass on Saturday (11DEC04) when he made a series
of demands to the producers.
As Williams flirted with two female audience members and opera singer Anna
Netbreko, all accredited photographers were led from the stage by security.
German journalists association DJV are furious, with president Micheal Konken
fuming yesterday (13DEC04), "To take pictures was accepted by the law."
A spokesman for TV channel ZDF said Williams' management informed them of the
ban just before the show broadcast and described it was an "unfortunate
situation".
14/12/04
Kylie Minogue and Robbie Williams
will be on the big screen from February 2005, at least their voices will be,
when the movie version of The Magic Roundabout is released.
Kylie plays Florence. Robbie Williams is Dougal. It will mark the first time the
pair have collaborated since their musical recording 'Kids'.
"I think she is such an endearing character" Kylie says about her character at
her website. "There's just not a bad bone in her body, and the relationship
between her and Dougal is... It's just so sweet!" The movie also stars Dr Who
star Tom Baker as ZeBadDee and Sir Ian McKellen (Lord of the Rings) as Zebedee.
13/12/04
Pop star Robbie Williams says no one in the United States knows who he is -- and the obscurity makes him forget he's a celebrity. "I live in America and know one knows me there. I forget I'm famous," said Williams, who has struggled to gain a foothold in the United States despite his towering popularity around the world. "Then I come here and people know who I am and it feels good," Williams told Germany's ZDF television on Saturday after getting an enthusiastic reception.
11/12/04
Pop singer Robbie Williams
reportedly threw a secret Christmas party at an exclusive London nightspot this
week. The 'Angels' singer hosted the 100,000 pounds bash for 200 close friends
at the trendy venue The Penthouse on Tuesday night.
"Getting to the party was all very cloak-and-dagger. Guests had to call a number
on the day and find out where it was being held," a source was quoted by the
Mirror as saying. The singer reportedly spent the evening flirting with British
children's TV presenter, Fearne Cotton. "Robbie has met Fearne several times and
is always very flirty with her. He thinks she is very attractive," a source was
quoted as saying."As soon as she arrived he made a beeline for Fearne. But
although she was flattered, she's off the market," he added.
05/12/04
SIR Elton John regrets his
public fall-out with British singer Robbie Williams and would love to make up
with the Rock DJ hitmaker.
Elton has not spoken to the troubled star since Williams published his
autobiography Feel, in which he accused Elton of kidnapping him. But the Candle
in the wind singer is over his initial shock. He says, "I'm happy to put out a
message to him - and the message is: we love him dearly. "I don't bear any
grudge against him. I miss having Robbie in my life. "Come and see us, come and
have a laugh. I'm saying to Robbie, take a look at what you've done, what you've
achieved. Take a step back, applaud yourself - please, please enjoy it!"
02/12/04
Robbie Williams has a good
excuse for not turning up to next year's Brits - he's not been nominated for any
awards. The singer has been sensationally snubbed by the judges for all
categories despite having a No1 album and single. Robbie, who has won a record
14 Brits in the past, has failed to show up for the awards bash for the past two
years. Brit chiefs say he is not eligible for the 2005 awards - to be held at
London's Earls Court on February 9 - due to release dates for his CDs. But a
source close to the Robster told the Sun: "The Brits bosses make the rules up as
they go along.
"He's the UK's biggest male star and should get the recognition he deserves. A
Brits spokesman told the paper: "Robbie is a truly great artist and we would do
anything to persuade him to come to the ceremony. "It's just a shame his release
schedule means he is not eligible this year. Rules are rules."
02/12/04
Heart-throb singer Robbie
Williams finds the number of pages the British press devote to him hurtful and
laughable at the same time. The Radio star insists he would be leading the most
incredible double life if every rumour printed about him was true - ranging from
performing gay sexual acts to mooring his yacht by himself.
The 30-year-old rants, "Like, one week, before I came back to Britain, I was
having an affair with a married actor, an affair with an unmarried actress.
"I was going out with Samantha Mumba, I'd just parked my private yacht in Troon,
by myself, without any security, went to the pub, bought everyone a drink, I
drank orange juice and then there was a guy that said I sucked his c**k at the
Hacienda (club in Manchester, England). "And at the same time I was supposed to
be dating the TV star Valerie Cruz. Cos she's the one. Oh, no, I'd finished with
her by then cos she wasn't the one any more."
01/12/04
British pop star Robbie
Williams became friends with Eminem after a chance meeting in a Los Angeles gym.
The Rock DJ singer couldn't believe his eyes when he saw Eminem walk into the
exercise room and was amazed when the 8 Mile star was equally interested in him.
Williams recalls, "I saw Eminem at the gym once. It was in LA and I saw a load
of bodyguards come in first and thought 'aye, aye, who's this then?' And it was
Eminem. "He walks past and I say to my bodyguard 'hey, look, Eminem's in' and I
turned around and he was saying 'look it's Robbie Williams' and we both said 'Wassup?'
"He sent me his single once Without me. I suppose when I write one I like, I'll
send him one of mine."
01/12/04
Pop hunk Robbie Williams is
ashamed of the way he treated his fellow Take That star Gary Barlow after the
band split up. The Feel singer mocked Barlow's attempts at a solo career and has
now stunned fans by publicly apologising to the singer.
He says, "It was when (Williams' debut album) Life Thru a Lens came out. I made
a big public thing of going back and taking his album back and asking for my
money back. Didn't get it, but they let me exchange it.z "Actually, I should
leave it with Gary now. He's a decent fella. "It's almost like when I tell the
jokes now it isn't like I'm talking about the same person. I've invented a Gary
Barlow and I should leave him alone. I apologise to him, I genuinely do."
01/12/04
Hollywood actor Ben Affleck and
British singer Robbie Williams are going head-to-head in a star-studded $1.3
million (GBP700,000) poker competition.
Celebrity poker players from around the world will descend on Monte Carlo next
March (05) in a bid to scoop the big money jackpot in a competition which has
been described as the European version of the World Poker Series. The Daredevil
actor and Angels hitmaker are first to sign for the big game, but The Bourne
Identity star Matt Damon and Moulin Rouge! beauty Nicole Kidman are also tipped
to take part. The stars will join other famous names from the world of sport,
music and film and seasoned poker professionals and amateurs. Heartthrob Affleck
is a strong contender after scooping a $360,000 (GBP200000) prize by winning the
California State Poker Championship in June (04). However organiser John dutie
insists that British stars such as Williams will give the Hollywood pack a run
for their money. He says, "They're very good players. It's not just the American
celebrities that can play."
