Whether you like Robbie Williams and his music or not,
there’s one thing everyone should (and have to) admit. This guy is a true
showman. And not only because “it’s his job after all”. Gigantic stages;
getting in touch with an audience singing his songs out loud, as one and single
entity; telling anecdotes or thoughts to thousands of people as if he was in
his living room, that’s definitely his thing… If big spaces and crowd could
make some artists freeze, you instantly feel that this is the thing Robbie
needs to feel good. And happy. And good thing, that’s one thing that makes us
happy as well.
As far as I remember, the guy’s always been cheeky so
it’d have been a surprise if we weren’t in for a few amusing surprises. Little
did we know that it’d be from the very seconds after the beginning of the show…
when UK’s national anthem starts and turns into… Robbie’s national anthem, with
its very own lyrics displayed on the super huge screens of Hyde Park for us to
sing along. And of course, we are happy to do so…
He starts at full blast with Let Me Entertain You and introduces Monsoon with a “Allow me to reintroduce myself: my name is Robbie
f**ing Williams. This is my band, this is my ass and tonight… your ass is
MINE”. There, now we’ve been warned! With the help of his 8 female dancers and 3
background vocalists, he invites us to wave from left to right… And suddenly…
what? Some YMCA music notes? Robbie
himself realizes something’s wrong and stops his band before getting back to
his song and inviting us to wave again to finish the song properly.
Short microphone stand in hand, he then starts some
warm-up vocals and it’s - of course - a sort of homage to the late Freddie
Mercury who used to love to play with the audience… except Robbie does his own
version by adding “Bidet” and “Tiny toilets” to it. And of course, as wrapped
around his little finger as we are, we gladly play the game and repeat it, with
laughs added. He then holds a note for almost 20 seconds before the band starts
playing the intro of We Will Rock You,
always a crowd’s favourite, before switching to Old Before I Die.
After the energetic Land of 1000 Dances to show “what true entertainment is”, he
disappears only to come back wearing a flamboyant fuchsia and electric blue
jacket. He proceeds by telling us that last year his management company reached
out to him with an offer. Robbie had thought about lots of possibilities –
Gucci, Tom Ford - before they told him it was… Weightwatchers. He explains how
things work (points back an everything) and that given the exercise he’ll be
doing tonight; he might have a little hummus after wrapping up the show. Robbie
Williams has always been completely honest with his past and troubled times and
that’s also probably one of the reasons the public loves him too. So it wasn’t
less of a scandalous declaration than a funny way to express himself when he
dropped that “It used to be cocaine and strippers backstage, now it’s hummus.
My life is so much better now, or so my wife tells me”. He then tells us that
the best people to use their energy will be invited backstage… for some hummus
and celery.
And what better way to follow such a declaration – and
helping getting points - than singing… Candy,
eh? I sure wouldn’t have ended up backstage as I was getting fatter (and
hungry) just by looking at the dancers’ giant candies! This is also on this
song that he, alongside one of his background singers, threw T-shirts in the
crowd. Free of charge!
British Summer Time is a music festival that lasts
several weekends and every year, the names are simply astounding: as an
example, this year, there were Florence and the Machine, Barbra Streisand,
Stevie Wonder and Celine Dion amongst the headliners. Robbie couldn’t help
himself to do comparisons with the other artists that went one stage days
before and wanted to make sure his audience was at the very least as good and
loud than the others. In one minute, he makes us sing Bon Jovi’s Livin’ on a Prayer (who happened to be
on stage in my home Belgium at that exact same time), Amy Winehouse’s Rehab, A-Ha’s Take on Me, Tina Turner’s The
Best, MC Hammer’s U Can’t Touch This, The Human League’s Don’t You Want Me before warning us to
get the next one right. But how... HOW could we get Angels wrong? He then turns to a woman in the crowd – from Italy –
and asks her if she knows the words of his song (before adding the “s” and
mentioning all the songs because everybody knows Angels). He makes sure the camera’s on her and puts her to the test
with Come Undone, which she passes,
before he takes over the song, only temporarily leaving the stage to his rhythm
guitar Tom Longworth for a solo.
Last year, Robbie was a judge for the 15th edition of
The X-Factor and the music program apparently had enough impact on him to bring
some of the contestants on stage (AKA LMA Choir, Misunderstood, Acacia And
Aaliyah, Scarlett Lee And United Vibe). All right, no Take That members on
stage to perform Never Forget but adding
this X-factor flavour to one of the most iconic song of the former five-piece
band was… delicious! The X Factor team handles most of the verses while he
encourages the crowd to perform the well-known hand choreography of the chorus.
And aaaah, that drum banging near the end of the song (here, performed by Karl
Brazil). Thrilling!
Once everyone’s out of stage, Robbie talks about his
dad and how much he loved watching him performing from the side of the stage,
back in the early 80’s. In 1982, he saw him performing one specific song and
saw him having the crowd in the palm of his hands. Robbie confesses that it was
at that moment that he knew what he wanted to be when he’d be older and that
he’d be performing that song tonight. Suddenly, from the right side of the
stage, someone showed up… Robbie’s dad. Or as Robbie tells us “your dad and mine”.
And what the hell of a duo we have on stage! That rendition of Sweet Caroline is definitively one of
the fun moments of the concert! Including the part where Robbie said, after his
69 year-old dad had left the stage that… the man was not his father but just
one random guy he met earlier that happened to know the lyrics. Cheeky boy!
So… every performer needs a band to do his thing,
right? But not every performer takes them away from their usual spot to bring
them on the front stage… without their instrument. This is what happened when
Robbie needs help to do his version of Shaggy’s It Wasn’t Me. Which also apparently happens to be the song Robbie
often to his wife now. Let me tell you : strange things happen between an
artist and his musicians in dressing rooms…
Robbie’s never short for stories about his family
life. After all, we’re talking about the guy who live-tweeted the birth of his
second child. Before starting the next song, Robbie explains us that his oldest
daughter once came in the bedroom one night, looking very happy. When Robbie
asked us why she was that happy, Teddy simply answered that she was because
when he dies, she’d get the bedroom. Guess that in the end, the apple never
falls very far from the tree, eh? Robbie loves his kids and this is what he
wanted to tell the world with Love My
Life.
He carries on with a beautiful version of Eternity with the LMA choir performing,
with all members carrying a candle, before inviting one person to join him on
stage. While the crew is bringing a red sofa and others are helping the lucky
Scottish lady to get over the barrier to join him, Robbie improvises a song
explaining exactly what’s happening… Once seated, Robbie explains to Lucky Leslie
that he will serenade her with Something
Stupid. Of course, he can’t help himself playing a bit with her. Or her
hair and nose. He invites her to dance during the instrumental part and he
almost forgot to pick up his microphone as they were talking ear to ear.
Aaaand… this one girl can now say that Robbie Williams also gave her a lap
dance. Just in case anyone would doubt that (although we were thousands to
witness that), I still have pictures to prove it!
Milennium
came up next. By then we’re already past half the show and everyone – on and off
the stage – still have energy enough to wave hands to the chorus of the song as
the eight dancers are performing a chair-choreography. Just like on Candy, this is one of the moments of the
show where the brass band shows us what they have in their guts. And God, these
songs wouldn’t sound the same without them! Within seconds, the whole lot
starts playing Hot Fudge as a massive
yellow Hollywood name appears on the back screen.
After the dancers have left the stage, Robbie tells us
a story about him starting anew adventure with four guys. He worked hard with
them, partied hard. Everyone was of course sure he was talking about Take That
but he had to play the fool again saying that he left that job at MacDonald’s
to… join Take That. He then confesses that after he left Take That, he wrote
angry songs about them and that the next one was pretty much about it. Then
comes the very recognizable first notes of… No
Regrets. While watching him singing, my mind wandered back in the past,
back to that day in ’94 where I acted as friend chaperon and attended a… Take
That show. I knew them, knew a few songs but wasn’t a devoted fan. Back then
though, there was something about Robbie. Something both captivating and… dark.
I remember him dancing way too near the edge of the stage and risking falling
and hurting himself. That day, I fell in love with his voice but wondered was
what wrong because he looked like a million miles away different from the other
4 members. Six months later, he’d almost overdosed on drugs and a year later,
he had left Take That. Back then, he was clearly unhappy and not any of us
could see it. Seeing him now, 25 years later, still doing what he does best,
still having that amazing voice, happy with a wife and kids genuinely makes me
happy. And I was as happy to be there to enjoy this moment with the 65 000 people
of Hyde Park.
But enough with the memory lane, let’s get back to our
show. This time, it’s one of his biggest hits, Feel. As the sun is slowly going down, we are enjoying Mr Chambers’
piano notes and the slide guitar sound that makes this song so special. Of
course, the audience can’t resist singing the chorus…Would you?
Neeext… wait?! I know that intro and it’s no Robbie
Williams at all! It’s AC/DC’s Back in
Black! Hell yeah! Tom Longworth, Gary Nuttall and Jeremy Meehan are on the
front stage, doing their thing, with Karl Brazil hitting the drums while some
of the brass band is taking position on the left size of the stage. That is one
(highway to?) hell of a way to start Kids!
Aaaand… no. No Take That for Never Forget
and no Kylie for Kids. BUT… Robbie
has three super great background singers and this is the perfect moment for
them to show what they can do. All three are playing with Robbie, each in turn.
And of course, we’re glad to help when it comes to singing the “jump on board,
take a ride”!
When you think the party is over, it’s time to bring
back energy in the place. What else than Rock
DJ to keep your audience dancing? And “hoop hooping” at the end of the
song, just to make sure we keep the energy going, before calming down a bit
with a ballad. Robbie wants to sing that very one song to someone in the
audience. He picks a guy wearing a shirt saying “Your gay friend” and starts
singing She’s the One accapella but
changes the lyrics for the man who’s all smile. After all, at that time...
“he’s the one”. Once again, the whole park is chanting with the British artist
this love anthem they’ve been hearing for years and years… while still not
being bored of. He ends the song with the voices of the LMA choir.
He walks to the back of the stage and tells us that
show is now over. And it is clear we’re not ready to leave yet. Neither does he.
He gladly comes back to the centre of the stage for another one, once again
with the choir. So… we’ve had Feel
and She’s the One, now we need THAT
one or we will crash the whole stage and rip all bars and food stalls apart. We
NEED Angels. And we know, we know
we’re going to get it… Robbie Williams and Guy Chambers, the two guys who wrote
that iconic song, are together on stage, starting Angels together. Guy is at the piano and Robbie is asking us to put
the light of our phones on. Suddenly, the whole park is filled with little lights.
Simply amazing and magical. And the best was yet to come. As the band joins for
the chorus, Robbie steps away from the microphone and let us do the work. He’s
standing there, arms wide open, with both a large smile on his face and tears
in the eyes, clearly touched by all these voices reaching him. During the
guitar solo, he literally kneels down on the floor, thanking us for this
moment.
At the end of the song, everyone is joining him on
stage. I tried to count and got at least 40 people on stage at that moment to
give us a final bow. As he has done before with us and as a gentleman, Robbie
steps out of the line, turns around and kneel down to salute his team. We all
chant “one more song” because we clearly don’t want to go. He looks at Guy, his
partner-in-crime, give him a big hug and the two nods. Guy goes to the piano
while Robbie makes us sing his version of Strong.
A version we are now a part of : “You know that we’re strong, we’re strong… We
are still singing our songs.” And yes, we were still strong and singing, two
hours after the show started.
When he asks us if we want one more, of course we
yelled a YES. Guy starts playing the piano and here’s My Way. The show ends like it started: with the cheeky Williams
showing us that… he uses a teleprompter. Just in case. And just in case we
didn’t know the words, he kneels down and turns it so we can read the lyrics.
He even holds it in his hands when he finally decides to stand up. Always been
a clown, always will, I guess. But that’s how we love him. He goes back to the
back of the stage where he disappears, leaving Guy Chambers alone on stage to
finish the song with us.
Seeing artists performing live is always a good time
when you love music so much. But with some, there’s a much different feeling
when they’re performing home. Sometimes it’s because they can bring unexpected
guests who are actually living nearby… For example, I’m still recovering from
Benedict Cumberbatch’s appearance at David Gilmour’s concert at the Royal
Albert Hall. In Robbie’s case, this show allowed me to see him performing one
song with his dad and this is one priceless moment as we were able to witness
the incredible bond between the father and his son and the obvious love and
admiration Robbie has for his dad.
But sometimes, the feeling doesn’t always come “just”
from that. It’s also because the crowd is mainly from there too. I’ve seen Noel
Gallagher quite a few times now in different countries but the concerts at the
Royal Albert Hall and the London Palladium didn’t have the same power than in
Belgium or France. Same thing with this Robbie Williams show. From my spot in
the middle of the Gold Circle, I felt the whole crowd of 65,000 literally
sending back its appreciation to the Stoke-On-Trent lad. Back in 2012 in
Belgium’s Stade Roi Baudouin, I felt like I had received like… a 150% of
emotion straight up in the face. Here? Make it a 500% (no offense to my fellow
Belgian people). One of Robbie’s last sentences before disappearing was "I've
got a smile in my heart and a bigger one of my face." That sure was
exactly like this for me. And thousands of others.
End of demonstration: Robbie Williams is a true
showman. And stage will always be one of his favourite homes. Obviously.
* More pictures after the setlist *
SETLIST :
National Anthem Of Robbie
Let Me Entertain You
Monsoon
We Will Rock You
Old Before I Die
Land of 1000 Dances
Candy
Come Undone
Never Forget
Sweet Caroline
It Wasn't Me
Love My Life
Eternity
Somethin' Stupid
Milennium
Hot Fudge
No Regrets
Feel
Kids
Rock DJ
She's the One
Angels
