Can I call him the George Michael of the late Nineties?
Of course, I can!
This is my Shitshow!
Like George, he left a Supergroup to go solo, and succeeded although at first that was not so obvious. But let's not get ahead of myself again.
Robbie went to be the biggest start which is kind of weird as Gary Barlow was the spine of Take That and wrote many of their hits....
Should I do it?
Should I play a Take That song?
Seriously?
You better pray I don´t ...
But damned if I do
Anyway, that is all the Take That you are gonna get, and yes they were initially called Kick It but I guess that did not take off.
I mean can you imagine this guy in a cheesy boyband?
Neither can I and no he´s not missing a tooth it´s nail polish or something.
But this was a telltale sign that he was no longer part of the band formerly known as Kick It.
Robbie had two problems, drugs and ego well that and something with his weight.
Just take a minute when he refers to Robbie as a Character because that really was what got him started.
Robbie was The Character the thing is he did not seriously write any music and could not play any instruments.
So the comment he made that he had not written any material might have actually been true.
And there is this bit of dirt on the writing of his biggest hit song!
But that song got him at the top of the pops and he would not be leaving that position for the remainder of the Nineties.
You know what is better than Angels?
Angels meet Mercury!
And a bit of Robbie vs Freddie
Damn, I ended one of my sets with that tune....2000 people singing and clapping to those words and that beat....
I mean come on I was an up and coming Rock DJ....
Angels did not really do it for me back in 1997 I was to hyped up by grunge and guitars....and I guess Robbie knew that and he just wanted to entertain me.
Black Sabbath, Kiss, and even a leg of AC/DC it´s all there performed by the greatest showmancharacter
All great Robbie songs btw were written by Guy Chambers, and yes maybe Rob did something on those lyrics but it was probably just a little peeing.
That song got me started on Robbie, but not enough to buy a whole album it took me until the 1998 album I've Been Expecting You to really like Robbie and not for the hit songs:
Although Strong gave me a nice glimpse into the future because it kinda sounds like my favorite Williams album Escapology which would take another 4 years.
It was this song that trapped my attention...another Guy Chambers masterpiece:
Robbie was full of shit in the nineties, yes I mean that in multiple ways including him overdosing the night before the 1994 MTV music awards.
But.......
He did what we all wanted to do in the Nineties, he did it with Kylie
Okay, I hear the comments coming already, who is that monkey boy? I mean last week I did a special on the KLF and people across the ocean did not have a clue who those guys were???
𝑻𝒓𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑻𝒐 𝑹𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝑻𝒉𝒆 90𝒔 - The KLF AKA The Band That Burnt £1,000,000
Sorry but back in the nineties the UK still had a lot of influence in European music, maybe that is a typical Nineties thing nobody likes to talk about.
But just in case, this is why Robbie never made it to the States.
Now another topic I should not mention, as the nineties according to the G man´s rules ended in 2001 and my favorite Robbie Disc did not leave the womb of the musical mom till.....2002.
But it was recorded in 2001 so maybe I will be forgiven.
Of course, Escapology unlike any other album this one only carried one song I did not like much, that song was cursed from the start...no seriously the song was called Cursed and I will not play it.
Instead, I will create a nice little segway to the current Hype around Robbie.
This was such a genius tune:
Now some of you might have already picked up on me going banana on those monkey references but I guess some might have not.
There is this guy, he is from England, I don't think we should hold that against him.....but:
He just had a movie made about his life as a stage monkey!
Yes, the Character Robbie considers himself a "performing monkey."
The monkey symbolizing his feelings of being objectified and controlled within the music industry. Director Michael Gracey believed that depicting Williams in this manner would allow audiences to empathize more deeply with his unglorified and relatable struggles.
Now Robbie has been the industries clown and he owes his career to it so I would not be crying over millions in spilled milk but hey...the guy needed a success.
Well the Better Man movie is not!
The film had a production budget of approximately $110 million but grossed only $1.1 million during its opening weekend across 1,291 theaters in the United States.
But Robbie was not big in the USA so let´s see the totals:
As of January 13, 2025, "Better Man," the biopic about Robbie Williams, has grossed approximately $11.4 million worldwide.
This while "Better Man" has received critical acclaim, holding an impressive 88% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
This positive reception has not translated into box office success. The film's unique artistic choices, including the CGI portrayal, have sparked discussions about the balance between creative expression and audience engagement.
I guess this might be the last we see of the Monkey boy but hey, he peaked perfectly during those late nineties, so let him fade away while his songs keep playing.
And Robbie still wants to box Liam
WTF do I do on #NinetiesFriday?
Well, don't do what I do because that would be copy/pasta!
But some ideas are music, movies, television, sports, or really anything Nineties related.
I assume movie, TV, or music topic reviews or talk will be most common, but you could also talk about a sports memory or something else.
Thank Goodness you made it till the end Pees, Love and I am out of here!
Robbie how I like Rob Best:
I just had to add this one as well, I think this guy is made to tell jokes....or are they really through stories....I mean having your Morning Glory taken from you in a castle by a lady....that later turns out to be Maureen????
