Few artists have as much star power as Robbie Williams. The British pop god has been a staple in the charts for nearly two decades, selling out stadium tours around the world. His mixture of down-to-earth affability combined with his talent for showmanship have endeared him to audiences from the beginning, leading to him being one of the most successful musicians alive. Always a fan of performing here, Williams returns to Parken this week, ready as always to entertain us.
It was Williams’s decision to leave boy band Take That that led to his meteoric rise. Internal frictions within the group, centred mainly on Williams’s lack of creative input and his sometimes erratic behaviour, ended when Williams left the band in 1995, shortly before the rest of the band officially disbanded in 1996. Following a bitter legal battle, Williams was free to pursue his solo career, signing with Chrysalis Records and releasing the hit single ‘Freedom’, which reached number two on the UK singles chart. This was followed by his debut album, Life Thru a Lens, in 1997.
As is the way with most pop acts, it took one huge single to make Robbie Williams’s name known around the world. The mega hit ‘Angels’ led to sky rocketing sales of his first album – Life Thru a Lens ended up staying in the top 10 for a marathon 40 weeks. The single also catapulted his music to radio stations throughout Europe and the world, opening up the all-important American market, although it’s fair to say that he has never quite conquered it.
His second album, I’ve Been Expecting You (1998), followed up on this success with the singles ‘No Regrets’ and ‘Millennium’, leading to the album selling more than four million copies and being certified ten times platinum. The album also saw him work with a host of talented collaborators including Pet Shop Boys singer Neil Tennant and The Divine Comedy’s Neil Hannon.
By the turn of the century and millennium, Williams had well and truly arrived and he released the aptly-entitled Sing When You’re Winning in August 2000. The album would go on to top the charts in the UK and a host of European countries, leading to a series of mammoth tours in the following year. By 2002, Williams had signed to the EMI label in what was rumoured to be one of the most lucrative record deals in history. His fifth studio album, Escapology, was another success, showcasing a more refined Williams with more creative control over his music.
By 2006 he was ready to change direction and his Rudebox release of that year was more dance-focused and experimental, moving away from the pop ballads he’d become synonymous with. His subsequent album, Reality Killed the Video Star (2009), brought back what more of his fans were after and this was followed by his most recent album, Take the Crown, which was released in November of last year.
For many fans, the pop act that is Robbie Williams is as much about his personality as his music. He exudes a form of cheeky charm that permeates both his music and his live shows. Expect a performance of some of the world’s most well-known songs by an artist who revels in performing them. Tickets aren’t cheap, but shows at Parken rarely are, and a stadium is really the only venue for an artist of this calibre.
Robbie Williams
Parken, Øster Allé 50, Cph Ø; Mon & Tue 20:00; Tickets 515-1,115kr, www.billetnet.dk
