News of July
2003
30/07/03
Football-mad Robbie Williams has splashed out £10m for an executive box at Premiership London club Chelsea. The singer is paying £1m a year for a 10-year lease of the Millennium Suite. He snapped up the box after a tour of the club with Rocky Horror Show actor Jonathan Wilkes, according to The Sun. "Chelsea are in Europe next season and Rob reckons there will be no better place to watch some of the world's greatest players performing," said a club insider. The Millennium Suite packages are the ultimate for mega-rich soccer supporters. Large balconies overlook the pitch and the boxes are decorated in walnut panelling with central heating and air conditioning. Robbie and his chums can enjoy home games on two giant plasma screens while being served champagne and luxury food from their own cocktail bar and kitchen.
29/07/03
Robbie Williams blames his
depression on taking too much ecstasy when he was younger. He opened up about
his illness in the hope it will help other people suffering from the same
problem. In an interview with Radio 1's Sara Cox, Williams said: "When you take
ecstasy, your brain releases an awful amount of this thing called serotonin, and
it makes you go: "Great!"
"The reason why you're going: "Great" is because the serotonin in your head's
going: "Wey hey hey, loads of it!" and then you use it all up and your brains
got nothing to bathe in."
He told Cox that depression was a taboo subject which he wanted to open up.
"There's this stigma of: "Oh he's weird", you know? And also, people go: "What've
you got to be depressed about?" And they're right, I haven't," he said. "Now I'm
on these pills! Depression isn't about: "Woe is me, my life is this, that and
the other", it's like having the worst flu all day, that you just can't kick."
25/07/03
Motorists not heading for the Robbie Williams concert are being advised to stay clear of Stevenage and Knebworth during the three-day pop festival. Over 30,000 cars and 400 coaches are expected to pour in and out of Comet country every day during the concerts. "I would advise people to avoid travelling in the area unless you have to," said County Councillor Derrick Ashley, executive member for environment. The biggest number of restrictions on car parking during the Robbie Williams concert will be in Stevenage itself. There will be no parking in Broadhall Way, Monkswood Way, Gunnels Wood Road, Six Hills Way and Lytton Way. There are four designated parking areas for fans. In Knebworth Park there is an east and west facility for those coming off the A1(M) at junction 7 and the B656 Hitchin road. Those travelling on the A1(M) from the north are being advised to exit the motorway at junction 8 and follow the signs to Fairlands Valley for parking. There will also be parking in the Gunnels Wood Road industrial area. Restrictions will be clearly signed and rigidly enforced in the interests of maintaining traffic flow and public safety, say the police. All event car parks will be cleared nightly and no food or alcohol will be allowed on the concer site. Hitchin will also be hit with concert traffic heading for Knebworth using the MI being directed through the town and around the Three Moorhens roundabout and down the B656.
14/07/03
COP Denise Rayner will lose
her title as European archery champion - because she's guarding Robbie Williams.
She was aiming to defend her top spot competing for Britain in Finland next
month. But the contest clashes with the megastar's concerts at Knebworth, Herts
- and police chiefs have cancelled all leave. PC Denise, 35, of Stevenage, said:
"I'm disappointed but hope to defend my world title in the US next year." A
senior officer said: "We expect 375,000 fans. It's a vast operation."
14/07/03
Robbie Williams was pulled
off stage during a gig in Germany because organisers thought his life was in
danger.Stage staff stopped the gig in Mannheim for 15 minutes after a video
screen came loose during the show.Robbie was half-way through a song when he
told his audience: "Something on the stage could fall down at any moment and
kill one of us." He eventually returned to perform in front of fans but
only had time for two more songs. The former Take That singer has asked for all
the show's equipment to be double-checked. "The crew are confident this was a
one-off," an insider told the Daily Star. "The problem has been identified and
there's very little chance of anything going wrong." Robbie is continuing with
his European "Escapology" tour.
11/07/03
Topsham Round Table has a big hit on its hands thanks to pop sensation Robbie Williams. The teen heartthrob has given the Round Table two pairs of VIP backstage passes for his sell-out concerts. And the kind-hearted fundraisers will be auctioning them tonight - with all the profits going to local children's charities. Topsham Round Table was given the tickets after one of its members, Brian Sansom, helped Robbie to continue his passion for motorcycling by tailoring a set of leathers for him. Brian was contacted at his Exmouth firm, BKS Leathers, by Robbie's bodyguard, who frequently takes the star around Los Angeles on the back of a high-powered Ducati motorcycle. However, the bodyguard, who lives in East Devon, refused to let him continue to ride pillion until he got a decent set of leathers for protection. Robbie, who is currently in the middle of a European tour, promptly ordered a £1,800 suit from BKS. Surprisingly, the flamboyant star asked for a suit in understated, plain black. Many of BKS's clients come to the firm to have measurements taken, but Robbie's tour prevented that. Instead the bodyguard took 40 measurements, tapped them into a computer and emailed them to Exmouth. Grateful for the special efforts Brian was making on his behalf, Robbie asked if he could reciprocate. When told that Brian was a member of Topsham Round Table and it was holding a charity auction he offered the tickets as a star lot. One pair is to a gig in Dublin and the other is to a massive concert at Knebworth. Brian, who has also made leathers for Dire Straits guitarist Mark Knopfler and Hollywood actor Daniel Day-Lewis, was delighted with the tickets. After next month's Knebworth concert Robbie will try on his new suit for a final fitting. Brian, managing director of BKS, said: "We thought he might donate a T-shirt, or some other merchandise so we were over the moon when he donated these tickets which are for two concerts which have both sold out. "Topsham Round Table is hoping to raise more than £16,000 for various children's charities in Devon this year. The tickets should give us a real boost." The tickets will be among many items auctioned off by the Round Table at a Spanish-themed event at the Matthews Hall, Fore Street, Topsham, from 7pm tonight. The event is open to the public.
02/07/03
Robbie Williams says he has given up casual sex - and is ready to start a family. The singer admitted he was a "little terror" when he first came to his adopted home of Los Angeles. But he says he now wants a wife and has already named the first of their two future children. "I could have a lot of sex here. But there's no wife, and that's what I want. And with an awful lot of girls they think they'll be moving in within a couple of weeks," he told music magazine Q. "That's subsided over the past couple of years because along with soulless sex comes self-hatred." Talking about his future children, he added: "The first one is going to be called Sunny, whether it's a boy or a girl."
