In brief
Robbie Williams returns to the music scene with his latest album 'Britpop,' marking a record-setting 16th number one hit. As he embarks on his Long 90s tour, Williams reflects on British self-devaluation and his personal growth over the years.
After more than three decades in entertainment, Robbie Williams is back on the road and ready to celebrate.
His new album, Britpop, is his 16th number one, breaking the previous record set by the Beatles.
The singer, whose Long 90s tour begins this week, is taking a moment to mark his achievement. I think as British people we're very good at piercing the balloon of our own success and undercutting it and devaluing ourselves, he tells BBC News. It's what we do best. In many ways it's why we're great.
But with this one, I really want to let it sink in and I really want to stand in the middle of it and go, 'OK, success, do your thing to me.' The tour will take in smaller venues, reminiscent of his early solo stardom.
At 51, Williams describes Britpop as the album he dreamed of producing after leaving Take That. It features collaborations with notable artists, including former bandmate Gary Barlow and Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi.
Williams recalls his mixed feelings about the Britpop era, acknowledging both his professional success and personal struggles with depression during that time. I was going through my own mental illness and anything good that's happening to somebody that is in the throes of depression... they can't experience joy from it, he reflects.
Now, he has a more optimistic view, stating, What a decade. The last great decade for popular culture because everything since then has become quite vanilla. He humorously adds, You don't know 2007 from 2023, but you know the '50s, '60s, '70s, '80s, and '90s... and I look back and say that the '90s was an amazing time to have a bad time.
Williams, who has battled stage fright, found clarity after his daughter's birth in 2012, realizing, When things stopped being about me and started to become about precious souls, I began to realize I’ve got the best job in the world.
Lastly, he expresses relief at being back in the UK, emphasizing how the British press's relentless scrutiny has lessened. I’m left alone just to put my songs out and be married. This is what I thought it would be like when I set out on my journey when I was 16. I’m having an amazing time. With ambitions beyond music, he dreams of creating a university of entertainment and continues to thrive in his musical path.
