News of October 2002

30/10/02

FROM THE MIRROR:

It was his first concert since taking his much-publicised break from the music industry a year ago. So what better time for Robbie Williams to get things off his chest and have a pop at everyone?First up on the cheeky singer's hit list was his beleaguered ex-girlfriend, Nicole Appleton. She's already confessed to the world in her and sister Nat's autobiography, Honest, how she aborted his child. But he finally got his own back on the former All Saints singer when he recorded a BBC special at Pinewood Studios, in Bucks, on Sunday. To an audience of 450 guests, Robbie sensationally revealed how he dumped Nicole by singing the caustic lyrics of one of his songs to her. Before performing Sexed Up - which includes the lyrics "why don't we break up?" - he boasted: "The day I wrote this I played it to my then-girlfriend and I'd closed my eyes to sing it. "When I opened them again she was curled up in a ball in the corner of the room... Still, time heals all wounds. "If you haven't figured out who she was, I dated her back in 1998 and she's now in a relationship with a singer in a rock band." Ouch. Next up was TV talent shows Popstars: The Rivals and Fame Academy. "There's a lot of talent but it's such cruel television - f***ing with people's lives for entertainment," he ranted. Robbie's final target was former songwriting partner Guy Chambers. Before performing a new, untitled effort, he bragged: "I wrote this song last week. I wrote it. Me, me, me. "Yes, it was me, me, me who wrote the song - and no one else." Yes, we got it first time round, love.

29/10/02

Robbie Williams returned to the stage for the first time in more than a year to tell fans: "It's brilliant to be back." The singer said it felt like an "eternity" being away, and he was suffering from nerves. Williams had promised to be on his best behaviour for the recording of the BBC special, but he told the audience: "I'm s****ing myself." Williams dipped into both his pop hits and the big band sound of last album Swing When You're Winning for his performance. And he reassured them he has no plans to quit the UK for tax purposes. "I would never ever do a tax year out - it's only money and I love Britain. But I don't suppose anyone will mind if I go off and get some sun now and again," said Williams, who has spent much of the year living in Los Angeles. The showman performed on a circular stage with his normal band and a 50-plus piece orchestra. He mopped his brow with monogrammed towels and handed them on to adoring fans during a 90-minute performance to the 450-strong audience. And there were some light-hearted moments. His tailor, Nick Hart, had to shield him from the crowd as he adjusted his trousers when he noticed his flies were undone, and Williams had to do two retakes when he forgot the words to songs. The singer has not performed since a show-stopping performance at the Royal Albert Hall on October 10 last year. He said: "I've been away for 12 months and I haven't been on stage. The minute I came on, the welcome I got, it feels brilliant to be back working."

26/10/02

FROM THE SUN:

ROBBIE WILLIAMS takes a pop at former lover GERI HALLIWELL on his new album Escapology.
He gives a revealing insight into his relationship with the former Spice Girl on the track Cursed.
The most eagerly awaited album of the year hits shops on November 18 but I've had the world's first listen.
Cursed reveals how inseparable friends fell out. Robbie, who once called Geri a "demonic little girl", sings:
"Cursed, since your birth dear. And your worst fears have all come true. I was naked when it penetrated. Told everyone I'd slept with you. Thought you' d like it, knew you wouldn't deny it." People close to the singer believe his song reveals what happened between the pair. One pal said: "No one really knows whether Robbie and Geri actually slept together. "It's been admitted, it's been denied - but Cursed tells the real story. "Everyone knows that there's no love lost now between them. They were once the best of friends. Now they are the bitterest of enemies. "Robbie reckons Geri's solo success turned her into someone who scared him. He wants to tell his side." Robbie refused to appear on MICHAEL PARKINSON's Christmas special at the same time as Geri last year. He also cut her out of his documentary Nobody Someday.
Another track, Love Somebody, shows how Robbie is desperate to find true love - the time might be right for him to settle down with current girlfriend RACHEL HUNTER.
 

I was the first journalist to be allowed to hear all 14 tracks on
Escapology. It is worth every penny of Robbie's £80million deal. See the singer's track-by-track review and my marks out of ten below.

ESCAPOLOGY: The first review

HOW PECULIAR
"I am all of the above."
ROB SAYS: I'd got a massive crush on somebody and what was sung was thefirst take - no lyrics written beforehand.
DOM SAYS: A strange opening, with Beatle-y hints, distorted vocal and slideguitar. 7/10

FEEL
"Come and hold my hand / I want to contact the living."
ROB SAYS: It's about someone who's not really sure of his place in the world. DOM SAYS: Irresistible house-style piano and one of Rob's best songs yet. 10/10

SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL
"You can't manufacture a miracle / The silence was pitiful that day." ROB SAYS: It's about being in bed at night, thinking: "I wish I wasn't by myself." DOM SAYS: Van Morrison-style jaunt which passes pleasantly but not very
memorable. 5/10

MONSOON
"I've sung some songs that were lame / I've slept with girls on the game." ROB SAYS: An awful lot of stuff is written about me and there's a lot of speculation. Monsoon is a very honest version of what I think is going on. DOM SAYS: This is a rockier Queen-meets-Oasis effort. A grower. 8/10

SEXED UP
"Loose lips sunk ships / I'm getting to grips with what you said." ROB SAYS: I wrote it about a person I was going out with. A lot of it is reality but some is poetic licence.
DOM SAYS: A ballad about lost love. You wonder if it is about ex-love Nicole Appleton, with lines such as "I'll go out and find another you. I hope you blow away." 8/10

LOVE SOMEBODY
"Always and forever is forever young / Your shadow on the pavement, the dark side of the sun."
ROB SAYS: I do want to love somebody. I'd like to settle down now. DOM SAYS: A real epic, with dramatic strings and attitude. I can imagine him closing his live set with this one. 9/10

REVOLUTION
"Don't fight the feeling, relax / Oh child, the knots are in your back." ROB SAYS: We asked gospel singer Rose Stone to sing with me on it. DOM SAYS: A soulier side to Robbie is showcased on this slice of pop heaven. 8/10

HANDSOME MAN
"Hello. Did you miss me? I know I'm hard to resist / Y'all can come and help me pick the sweetcorn out of this."
ROB SAYS: It will annoy loads of people who don't like me, and the people that do like me will hopefully see the funny side of it.
DOM SAYS: It is a message to Britain: "Give in and love it. what is the point in hating me? You can't argue with popularity." 7/10

COME UNDONE
"So unimpressed but so in awe / Such a saint but such a whore."
ROB SAYS: Tupac once said: "You put me down but I'm a product of your environment, and I'm still your son, America." That touched me. I am England's son. And I'm not scum, but I've felt like it. DOM SAYS: He is revisiting his drug and booze demons on this one. 8/10

ME AND MY MONKEY
"It was me and my monkey, him with his dungarees and rollerblades / Smoking filter tips, reclining in the passenger seat of my supercharged jet-black Chevrolet." ROB SAYS: It was interesting to bring in characters and leave the ending open for the listener to choose. DOM SAYS: This is Robbie's trip into Americana. Brilliant. 9/10

SONG 3
"Come join the band, come shag the damned, got to blow them away." ROB SAYS: I think the majority of it is just the excitement of being in Los Angeles and feeling I'm indestructible. DOM SAYS: This is the rawer, rockier sound we were told dominated Escapology and a nod to Blur's Song 2. 8/10

HOT FUDGE
"Queen bitch eat the rich / I'm on the second course today."
ROB SAYS: A Los Angeles song. I've been dreaming of this feeling since 1988.DOM SAYS: A bluesy feel and a live sound. 8/10

CURSED
"Dig your polished nails into the dirt / Rip the skirt off, wipe the hurt off." ROB SAYS: I've tried to do it as rock 'n' roll as I could. DOM SAYS: There are some real digs at someone here - "Dig your polished nails into the dirt. Told everyone I'd slept with you." Geri Halliwell, anyone? 8/10

NAN'S SONG
"You said when you die that you'd walk with me every day / Then I start to cry and say, 'Please don't talk that way.'"
ROB SAYS: It's about my Nan who passed away about five years ago. DOM SAYS: The first self-penned Robbie track and an admirable effort. 8/10

BIZARRE VERDICT
ON first listen, Escapology seems all over the place - a mad mix of sounds from slow ballads, soul, grunge and Robbie's characteristic pop for good measure. But if you thought he had boxed himself in, this album proves he is master of the great escape. It is hard to listen to all in one go but standout tracks are new single Feel and Me And My Monkey in which Robbie proves he is one of the greatest lyricists of his generation. Feel is sheer genius and shows a different direction for Robbie. Heavily influenced by Queen, I reckon it could be the record to break him in America. I hereby crown Robbie the new Queen of pop.

MY ALBUM 9/10

25/10/02

The singing superstar has replaced booze and alcohol with playing cards and has organised a gambling circle in Los Angeles. Robbie's Beverly Hills neighbour, the large voiced Tom Jones, told The Sun:
"He's addicted to cards these days and he's started a poker circle in LA. He's bought a house up the street from me and has been asking me to join in but I can't play. He says he's going to teach me."He's asked me over for a card night and says he has a lot of fellas over for them.
"There's always something with that lad. But he does seem to be sorting himself out now though, which is great news."

22/10/02

Rachel Hunter's mother Janeen says Robbie Williams is the perfect candidate for a son-in-law.
She describes Robbie as a "lovely young man" and reckons he and Rachel are serious. The pair are thought to have been dating since May, although they havedenied anything is going on. Janeen told Heat magazine: "Robbie is such a pleasant young man. They aredating and are serious but he hasn't proposed to her. "But it's early days. Things are going well for them and if they keep seeing each other and he asks her, it would be lovely to have Robbie in the family. "He is just so likeable - he's a lovely, lovely young man and they're ahappy couple."

17/10/02

Robbie Williams might be a recovering alcoholic, but he has just splashedout £3.5million on a house with its own pub.
And the house is only half a mile away from the home of Rod Stewart, the not-quite ex-husband of Robbie's girlfriend, Rachel Hunter. A friend of Robbie's told The Sun: "His mates are laughing about the pub. Rob hasn't touched alcohol for ages. He thinks it's funny too. Rob grew up in a pub in Stoke-on-Trent so I guess it will make him feel at home. But he' s planning to get rid of the booze and just have a soft drinks bar." The mansion in Beverly Hills is on four floors with six bedrooms, ninebathrooms, a recording studio and swimming pool. But the £3.5million price tag shouldn't make that much of a dent in his pocket after his £80million deal he signed with EMI last week.

08/10/02

Robbie Williams has bee branded "disgusting" and "a coward" by his former songwriting partner Guy Chambers.
Chambers, who has worked with Robbie throughout his solo career, was reportedly dumped last week after refusing to write exclusively for the star. Robbie, who recently signed a record breaking £80 million deal with EMI, told Guy: "If you agree to this stipulation, sign the contract - or we're finished. "Said Guy: "The way Robbie has acted this week is disgusting,He's left me shocked and upset after what I've done for him."
"I've written five of his albums and he treats me like I'm nothing. He's way out of order and a coward for the way he's behaved with me." He told the News Of The World: "Robbie's been a good mate and we've had some great times but he changed completely this week after signing his new deal."
He said of Robbie's management: "They haven't been happy about my relationship with Robbie. They're control freaks and kept saying I'd got him over a barrel, which is nonsense. But Robbie seemed to have believed that and he's taken their side. It's a shame because he's a great performer. "We both did our jobs and were good at it and you couldn't ask for a better partnership but he's thrown it all away." A source at EMI told the paper: "Guy couldn't believe what Robbie was saying. They'd been together for six years and he just came round with the piece of paper telling him to make a decision. "When Guy said he wouldn't, Robbie walked out and they haven't spoken since."
Chambers is said to have written 12 of the fourteen tracks on Robbie's forthcoming album, 'Escapology'.

 

02/10/02

'Splash' actress Daryl Hannah is to co-star alongside Robbie Williams in his brand new video, according to reports. The video, on which the singer is spending £500,000 of his own money, will portray Robbie as a cowboy riding through a Wild West town. The solo star is committed to releasing his new album, 'Escapology', on November 18, and is said to have made contingency plans to set up his own record label in case negotiations with EMI, Sony and Universal break down. According to a UK tabloid, Robbie is demanding around £50 million for a three-album deal, but major labels are reluctant to spend that much on a star not overly successful in America. As previously reported on dotmusic, Robbie will debut the new single, 'Feel', at the MTV Europe Music Awards on November 14.

02/10/02

Ms Dynamite has confirmed that she will feature on the forthcoming Robbie Williams single, 'Feel'.
The Mercury Music Prize winner has told reporters that Robbie called her up in person to ask her to record the track.
The single set to be the first release from Robbie's eagerly anticipated new album 'Escapology'. She told a UK tabloid: "Yes, I've done a track with Robbie Williams called 'Feel', which is on his new album. "He phoned me up while I was in the studio and said 'It's Robbie', and I said, 'Robbie who? I don't know no Robbie'. "Then he said he was Robbie Williams. I didn't know what to say at that point but he was cool." As previously reported, Robbie has recently filmed the video for 'Feel' in which he co-stars with 'Splash' actress Daryl Hannah. Robbie is to debut his new single with a performance at the 2002 MTV Europe Music Awards on Thursday, November 14. 'Escapology' , expected to become one of the biggest albums of 2002, is scheduled to be released in the UK on November 18.

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