News of October 2003
26/10/03
Emma Forbes admits she still has the hots for Robbie Wiliams after bumping into him at the Fashion Rocks event. The 37-year-old Capital Radio presenter first met Robbie when he was in the band, Take That and she was presenting children's TV. Emma said: "We bumped into each other on the red carpet and immediately flung our arms round each other. "I fancied him like mad yonks ago when he was a member of Take That and I've still got the hots for him now after all these years - he is a like a nice piece of cheese - he gets more gorgeous as he gets older."The Fashion Rocks event at the Royal Albert Hall saw a host of supermodels strut their stuff to live performances from stars including Williams, Beyonce and Blue to raise money for the Prince's Trust.
26/10/03
Robbie Williams is inviting hundreds of fans to a West End premiere for his new film. The singer is being given the red carpet treatment for the screening of What We Did Last Summer, a concert film about his record breaking Knebworth shows Behind the scenes capers are also included in the film which is being released on DVD, following the November 18 premiere. Around 2,000 people will attend the screening at London's Odeon Leicester Square, with many fans winning tickets through his website. Robbie played to 375,000 fans with a three-day stint at Knebworth Park in Hertfordshire, and a further 3.5 million watched live on Channel 4. The DVD - out on November 24 - is expected to become a huge seller and could eclipse sales of the live album from the shows. It is tipped to be a Christmas best-seller. Robbie said: "I'm really excited about seeing Knebworth on the big screen with my family, friends and fans." "It will be nice to enjoy it from the crowd's perspective as reliving the show without all the blood, sweat and tears." The spectacular shows saw him arrive on stage lowered down by his ankles, recreating the cover shot of his Escapology album, as he sang Let Me Entertain You - and two hours later ended with a singalong finale of Angels. Details of how to attend are on his website (www.robbiewilliams.com) from October 31.
04/10/03
Has Craig David become too chilled for his own good? At one time he was challenging Robbie Williams for the crown of the country's top male star, but the popularity of this smooth operator seems to have stalled, while Williams's attention deficit disorder and self-obsession routine continues to keep him at the top of the pop league.Both men offer diluted versions of mainstream sounds - Williams producing mundane pop/rock, David an overly polished take on urban dance styles - which appeal to both sexes, and they each have a brand logo hewn from their initials.But Williams manages to be bigger than his sound and visuals whereas David appears to be nothing more than a groomed package.Which is not to say that the man is not talented. He has more innate talent than Williams will ever muster. Kicking off last night's set with what could be regarded as his theme tune, Slicker Than Your Average, he exhibited a technically fluent soul voice and a natural disposition to slink about the front of the stage, making anodyne overtures to the crowd.David must be one of pop's most non-threatening lotharios. During his actual theme tune Seven Days (the one where he spends half the week making love to a stranger, then a day smoking the post-coital cigarette), his delivery was far from seductive. The cheesy Spanish guitar was a bit of a passion killer too. There were several more sub-Luther Vandross moments which were utterly devoid of raunch and barely even flirtatious, but still elicited the female screams on cue, as if honouring some performer/audience contract.But even such routine crooning was better than the U2-referencing Walking Away and the soporific Sting duet Rise and Fall featuring more superfluous Spanish guitar.Things perked up considerably on the club-friendly tracks, with David bouncing off the spring-loaded hip-hop beats and exercising the more athletic capabilities of his voice. But these tracks were minority release, and even when they did crop up David was just too safe and nice a presence to supply that extra cutting edge.
01/10/03
Robbie Williams is lining up for a starring role in his best friend's wedding. Close chum Jonathan Wilkes intends to marry fiancée Nikki Wheeler this winter, and will ask the rehab Romeo to be his best man. But what ought to be the happiest day of Wilkes' life may prove upsetting for Williams, for the two have been bosom buddies for many years. The fat dancer form Stoke will no doubt be shedding a few porky tears to watch Wilkes strolling down the aisle with aspiring singer/actress girlfriend Wheeler. 'It always seemed like a genuine relationship to me,' an industry insider has said of the Wilkes-Williams-Wheeler axis in the past, 'although I could see that sometimes she was annoyed at the amount of time he spent with Robbie.' This will not be the first time Rob has been involved in matters matrimonial: last month the singer condescended to perform at the wedding of his personal assistant to his producer. Whether he will be performing at Wilkes' bash is not yet known. 'We'll just have to wait and see,' Wilkes said coyly. 'The main thing is that Nikki and myself have a great day.' Let's hope Robbie realises this when he launches into karaoke classic Angels.
