Robbie Williams Info Board

Monica - 12.09.2004 - 19:02

Having spent a little time in the monster’s lair myself, I opened this book with interest. How had the latest would-be Boswell got on? Alarmingly well, is the answer. Chris Heath has insinuated himself totally into the fabric of the mercurial Robbie Williams’s life, from the first Starbucks of the afternoon, through the long daily round of jokes and games and farts and anecdotes, to the final collapse into bed in the not-so-small hours.
Heath joins the entourage in August 2002, as the final songs of the Escapology album are being recorded in Los Angeles. He sticks to his subject like a limpet for the next 18 months as the album is promoted around the world, EMI pays a reported £80m for a new contract, Robbie parts from Guy Chambers, his long-time collaborator, tries half-heartedly to “break” an uninterested America, and drifts creatively for a while, before finding a new songwriting partner in Stephen Duffy, who seems to possess the requisite talent and patience for the job. Along the way, Heath is treated to anecdotes from Robbie’s 30 years to heaven: childhood, school, Take That . . .

So it’s all there, the inside story that the fans have guessed at and the tabloids have done their best to invent. Yes, the famous photos with Rachel Hunter were staged. No, Rob isn’t gay (and if this book doesn’t lay that persistent myth to rest, I don’t know what will). Yes, he has been taking antidepressants. No, the Guy split wasn’t about exclusivity.

Rob himself seems much the same as when I was with him three years ago. His favourite subject is still himself. He still says he hates touring, even as he continues to tour. He is still looking for Mrs Right, even as he goes on bedding Miss Wrong. He still manages to combine a touching insecurity about his talent with an understandable overestimation of his importance in the world. After a press conference at the British Embassy in Berlin, his manager David remarks, “The ambassador said it’s the pinnacle of his career . . . ” “Me doing that?” says Rob, seriously. “That’s nice.” “No,” says David, “being posted to Berlin.”

He’s still very funny. “Is she nice?” David asks him about a prospective girlfriend. “I don’t know,” he replies. “She’s an actress. I wouldn’t find out for eight months.”

He’s still acutely self-aware. “Gwyneth Paltrow said something in an interview which I thought was pretty interesting, ‘People remain the same age as when they become famous.’ . . . I think I’m about 18 right now.”

He’s still sweet and loyal to his friends and spiteful about and to those he perceives as having wronged him. Nigel Martin-Smith and Gary Barlow, former manager and lead singer of Take That, come in for regular sloshes of vitriol. As do his ex-mates the Gallaghers. And when Chambers, presumably in the spirit of reconciliation, makes the journey to watch him in Stockholm, Rob says: “He can come, by all means, but I don’t want him anywhere near me. Or in my view when I’m on stage.”

The main changes seem to be his addictions: alcohol and coke have been replaced by Effexor and espresso, Uno by Scrabble and golf. He has three dogs, a number of new tattoos and a new flat in London. His father is back in his life.

Heath observes, asks all the right questions, stands back and leaves any criticism of his subject implied. But his ultimate loyalty is clear: he is annoyed by negative album reviews, exercised about the shameless misrepresentations of the tabloids, infuriated by an ill-informed attack by former culture minister Kim Howells.

Heath’s devotion gains him unprecedented access. Until Mrs Williams finally does appear, nobody is going to get closer to Robbie than this.

Mark McCrum is the co-author of Robbie Williams: Somebody Someday

(The TIMES)

grace_808 - 13.09.2004 - 07:07

Oh hoo! Oder ist da jemand ein klitzekleines bißl eifersüchtig, weil er das Buch nicht schreiben durfte/konnte bzw. gefragt wurde ... whatsoever? ;)

Phoebe - 13.09.2004 - 11:13

Das denk ich aber auch.Es ist doch wirklich so,daß er am liebsten von sich selbst spricht,
oder über Andere lästert.
Was aber auf eine Art verständllich ist,denn in seiner komischen Welt geht es ja
fast ausschliesslich um ihm.
Da kommt man(n) ja garnicht drumherum,zu denken man sei das Wichtigste.
Ausserdem hat er ja keine"normalen"Probleme,über die er sich'nen Kopf machen kann.
Das mit dem mentally about 18 kommt auch hin.
;)

Sandra - 13.09.2004 - 17:42

Na, der wird bestimmt von jemandem dafür engagiert und bezahlt worden sein, dass er da seinen Senf zu abgibt ;)