Robbie Williams Biography

Robert Peter Williams was born February 13th, 1974, in Stoke-on-Tent, a North England town. The son of Janet and Peter, young Robbie always had the entertainer in him, but never had the academics. At the age of three, his parents divorced and he resided with his mother and sister. While growing up with his mother and sister Sally after his parents' divorce, Williams enjoyed St. Margaret Ward High School more for its opportunities to be the class clown (his father was actually a comedian) rather than for studying.

From a very early age the young Robbie demonstrated his star qualities, performing 'Summer Nights' from Grease on stage in Spain when only three years old. At school, Robbie's exam scores were less than perfect, perhaps because his mind and ambition was focused on his entertainment career. He was inspired to entertain by his father who was a comedian, and though Robbie's current gift is the ability to make great music, his sense of humour is always evident in every performance and interview he gives.

Although he was and still is a fan of Port Vale FC, he aspired to become an actor, and even joined the local theater company. Giving him the experience of a performer (which he presently exercises to great extremes), Williams landed minor roles in productions of musical plays such as Fiddler on the Roof, Oliver and appeared in the soap opera Brookside.

With few options open to him, he got a job as a salesman but destiny had a lot more in mind; his mother had noticed an article in the newspaper for an audition for a boy band and considering Robbie's talented voice and acting abilities, she decided to get him to audition and he stepped on the first step to stardom.

In fact, Robbie and his mates hated boy bands, but he wasn't going to let that minor problem stand between him and fame. He spent five mischief packed years as part of the most successful boy band of the 90s, helping to provide great entertainment for the band's millions of fans, before the constraints of working as part of a group became too much for him.

While the pop group was a smash in the UK, it broke into North America with the hit single, "I Want You Back". After five years of record-breaking success in the UK, and becoming somewhat of a pop phenomenon, it appeared that Take That did not want Robbie Williams back: he was dismissed from the group and the news was one of the biggest stories to hit the British papers.

Apparently, Williams was not only the joker of the group, but he was also known as the bad seed, thanks to much-publicized acts and his bad-boy ways -- not the right image for a boy band. But Williams reportedly wanted out anyhow.

He also wanted out of his record contract with Take That's management, which led to a legal battle that lasted half a year. Although Williams ultimately won and signed with EMI, he lost his ability to be sober and had to go to a rehab clinic for his drug and alcohol habits.

Fittingly, August 1996's debut single was a cover version of Michael's "Freedom". The first single was followed by a surprisingly strong debut album, entitled "Life Thru a Lens." Despite favorable reviews, the album failed to set the music world afire. Months after its release, the album was dying on the charts and it seemed that Williams' career was near a final demise. But word of mouth about a song called "Angels" began to circulate and, slowly but surely, it began to achieve radio airplay. The soaring lyrics and Elton John-style vocals struck a chord with listeners worldwide and the song became an anthem of sorts, pushing the album all the way to # 1. One of pop's most unlikeliest success stories was about to begin.

Williams' renaissance continued with "Millennium" entering the UK singles chart at number 1 in September 1998, and I've Been Expecting You topping the album chart two months later. Williams was also announced to be the biggest selling album artist of 1998. Featuring backing vocals by Neil Tennant (Pet Shop Boys) and Neil Hannon (Divine Comedy), "No Regrets', one of Williams" finest songs to date, surprisingly stalled at number 4 in December. The wonderfully self-deprecating "Strong" debuted at the same position in March.

By the time The Ego Has Landed was released in 1999, Williams was almost deserving of his self-proclaimed ego. He hit it big with the timely single, "Millennium", which was a Top 10 hit in North America, and followed up with "I've Been Expecting You", "No Regrets", "Strong", and the successful "She's The One".

After worldwide tours and a lot of press, Williams returned to the music scene with his third album, Sing When You're Winning. He is definitely winning, thanks to the success of the international hit, "Rock DJ" (which has a very unique accompanying video), as well as the single "Kids", a duet with Kylie Minogue (who he has allegedly been doing more than just singing with).

Of more dubious musical value was the Frank Sinatra-worshipping Swing When You're Winning , which included a beyond-the-grave duet with ole blue eyes himself on "It Was A Very Good Year" and an entertaining collaboration with actress Nicole Kidman on "Somethin' Stupid". Nevertheless, the album was another huge bestseller, and Williams was able to fulfill a lifetime's dream by appearing in a one man showcase at London's Royal Albert Hall.

After the 2001 Brit Awards, Williams certainly has a lot to sing about: he took home a record-breaking 12 awards, including honors for Best British Male Artist, and Best British Single and Video for "Rock DJ". In October 2002, Williams signed a record-breaking ?80 million ($125m US) contract with his label, EMI Records.

In August 2003, Robbie performed before 375,000 people during a three-day stint at Knebworth. The performance was the largest in British pop history. A live album of the event was soon released and promptly hit the Top Five in the UK, giving ample evidence to the popularity of the event. In December of that year, a DVD recording of one of the Knebworth shows was released, setting sales records throughout the UK and Australia.

In October 2004, Rob released a Greatest Hits album, with two new tracks on the CD. The first of these, "Radio", debuted at # 1 and the album itself hit # 1 several weeks later. In February 2005, Robbie won yet another Brit Award, as "Angels" was voted the Best British Song of the Past 25 Years. This gives him a record 15 Brit Awards.

October 2005 saw the arrival of "Intensive Care." The first single off the record, "Tripping" debuted at #2 on the charts and "Intensive Care" hit #1 in its first week on the UK Top 40. The album would soon take the top spot on the charts in over 18 countries. October 2006 brought "Rudebox," a more dance and New Wave influenced album. "Rudebox" debuted at # 1 on the Albums chart in the UK and the first single ("Rudebox") peaked at # 4 on the charts. The second single, "Lovelight," hit # 8 on the charts in November. Robbie entered a rehab center for addiction to prescription medication on his 33rd birthday but was released just before the release of "She's Madonna," which quickly became his 28th Top 20 hit.

He met Jacquie Hamilton-Smith at a New Year's Party and soon moved in with her and he started leading a life of parties; the previous months had been very hard on him and after a whole year he returned to his senses. Robbie's personal life has become the stuff of tabloid heaven as well, with his many romances frequently grabbing headlines - Robbie has been romantically involved with a bevy of young beauties, including: former All Saints singer Nicole Appleton, model Rachel Hunter, and former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell.

Williams may love himself, but he also shows a love for the charity organizations that he supports, such as UNICEF, Jeans For Genes (which researches inherited illnesses) and Children's Promise, among others. Meanwhile, Robbie has made a charitable start by donating the proceeds of his 2 million Pepsi deal to charities that help sick children.

Sources: aric-dacia.com, biggeststars.com, bbc.co.uk, askmen.com