There is something definitively British about Robbie Williams. Perhaps more so than any other modern pop icon, the travails, triumphs, and twists of his career match the nation’s vision of itself. Finding fame with Take That only to jettison himself from the boy band, Robbie would defy the odds to scale incredible heights as a solo artist.
Of course, it wasn’t easy. Addiction and mental health issues dogged his life, but in 2024 he seems able to approach the music landscape with both acquiescence and a deserved degree of largesse.
New film Better Man is a biopic with a twist – the central role is taken by a monkey, allowing film-makers to approach the story from a different angle.
In cinemas from December 26th, the film offers a full throttle ride through the world of Robbie.
With that in mind, CLASH writers put their heads together to decide on a list of the ultimate Robbie Williams tracks.
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‘Radio’
‘Radio’ is a deeply strange song from a popstar who despite his universal appeal was prone to the odd flight of odd pop fancy, especially in his post Guy Chambers era of the mid-noughties. Perhaps the most curious thing about ‘Radio’ though is it became a number one single.
The song marks a reinvention. 80s pop legend Stephen Duffy is his new collaborator and the pair of them cook up a weird robo-pop electro banger that feels oddly prescient for the streaming era in the hypnotic mundanity of programmed music and AI generated pop. (Martyn Young)
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Supreme
“All the best women are married / all the handsome men are gay” snarls king Robbie on this raucous retro-scented banger. Yep, that string section middle-eight is nicked from Gloria Gaynor’s ‘I Will Survive’. The story goes that Williams was celebrating New Year’s Eve in Switzerland, saw a crowd vibing to the bit and thought, yoink, I’m having that. Nice one. Sure, the vintage F1-themed video is a winner, channelling both song and artist’s trademark egotism, marbled with doubt and anxiety. Never mind the fact that, at this point in his career, Robbie was very much in pole position. (Andy Hill)
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Strong
The word ‘anthemic’ festers alongside the very worst music journalism clichés (see also: ‘ethereal’). And yet… ‘Strong’ is properly anthemic. Expressing Robbie’s unease about the overwhelming attention he was attracting by the year 1999 – he wrote it after a scary encounter with over-eager fans in Cologne – it’s nevertheless a ballsy, chest-puffed-out singalong, sprinkled with gags and sly pop culture references. When Robbie was invited to perform at 2017’s One Love Manchester benefit concert, in aid of Manchester Arena bombing victims, he changed the lyrics to “Manchester we’re strong / we’re strong / we’re strong.” See? Anthemic as fuck. (Andy Hill)
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Let Love Be Your Energy
If the late-nineties ‘cool Britannia’ movement was, to all intents and purposes, a low-rent rehash of the 1960s, ‘Let Love Be Your Energy’ is basically a throwback to The Beatles’ droning cod-spirituality phase. You know what I mean. ‘Rain’, ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’, that kind of caper. Enigmatic lyrics – “every tear that you cry / will be replaced when you die” – and a chorus paying homage to the awesome power of gentleness and adoration. Like the racy video, I’ll cut to the chase – it’s a tune. A clear-eyed blast of sexy young man positivity, still more than capable of blowing away the cobwebs a quarter of a century later. (Andy Hill)
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She’s The One
Robbie Williams didn’t so much deal in broad brushstrokes – he has to have the canvas extended to get his vision inside the frame. ‘She’s The One’ is a perennial wedding mega-banger, and no wonder: it’s first dance gold.
Lyrics of longing? Check. Robbie as his most cracked and open? Double check. What keeps is just a few inches to the left of all-out schmaltz however is the sincerity, the feeling that there really is a ‘one’ – it’s a song that brims with universality, while sounding hyper-specific. Oh Robbie, you’re charming us… (Robin Murray)
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Let Me Entertain You
Long a popular choice on football stadium PA systems, ‘Let Me Entertain You’ presents a seedy tale of a man trying to talk a girl into cheating on their boyfriend. A raucous anthem inspired by ‘90s Britpop. Well, it at least shared the same reference points. As the fifth and final single from Life thru a Lens, ‘Let Me Entertain You’ was written to sound “Who-esque” after Robbie Williams and songwriter Guy Chambers watched the Rolling Stones 1968 concert film Rock ‘n’ Roll Circus together. This thrill-a-minute banger peaked at number three and soon became the singer’s established live opener. (Matthew McLister)
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Feel
It can be easy to forget just how big ‘Feel’ was at the time. Escapology’s lead single wasn’t just a number one hit across Europe but also achieved the impressive feat of being the most played song of 2003 on European radio. Its strength lay in that it presented a heavy dose of honesty and introspection from a boisterous performer who’d previously held a reputation as one who’d, indeed, have eaten themselves if they were chocolate. On ‘Feel’, William’s disconnection with fame is laid bare for all to see. The orchestrations are beautiful, aiding the raw and confessional lyrics. And it certainly helps that the chorus is as soaring and singalong-friendly as ‘Angels’! Simply a great pop song. (Matthew McLister)
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It’s Only Us
Released as a double A-side alongside ‘She’s the One’ while also serving as the title song for FIFA 2000 – literally the only memorable aspect of that game series’ iteration – ‘It’s Only Us’ is one of the frequently forgotten Williams cuts. Which is a shame, as there are few moments in the singer’s back catalogue that exhibit such a frivolously raw, boundless energy. It’s the sound of a man completely dialled in, drunk on rocket fuel and it’s utterly thrilling to witness. Lyrically, it’s largely nonsense, but when an artist is having this much fun, who really cares? Rock me, Amadeus! (Emma Harrison)
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Come Undone
‘Escapology’ – Williams’ reflective and occasionally nihilistic fifth studio effort – was critically panned upon its release but the singles at least, remain some of his finest from the noughties. ‘Come Undone’ is perhaps the pick of the bunch. Backed by a video depicting Williams surrendering to alcohol and drug fuelled excess, the track pulls apart his own ego, tearing down the facade of his stage persona (“Do another interview / Sing a bunch of lies / Tell about celebrities that I despise”). The production may feel dated, but nestled underneath is a glorious rock ballad dealing with the downsides of fame. (Luke Winstanley)
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No Regrets
Released in November 1998, the second single from ‘I’ve Been Expecting You’, ‘No Regrets’ is a seething, cathartic classic inspired by Robbie’s exit from Take That. It is dark, angry and brilliantly vulnerable. Its pensive energy makes it a perfect companion piece to 2002’s ‘Feel’.
Robbie Williams and Nicole Appleton were together at the time of the song’s chart success, reaching Number 4 in the UK. Written by Williams and Guy Chambers, it features subtle backing vocals by Neil Tennant and Neil Hannon; not a combination you would immediately imagine working, but it does. The simmering, explosive atmosphere of the song and video is a perfect reflection of the drug and alcohol fuelled, self-destructive carnage that engulfed Williams at the time. (Lee Campbell)
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Angels
The song that changed Robbie’s solo career and catapulted him to superstar status. The epic 1997 power ballad was his fifth single as a solo artist post Take That and his career wasn’t flourishing which was largely due to his addiction problems.
Co-written with Guy Chambers, the singer himself admitted that “Figuratively speaking, my career was falling off a cliff” and that he was about to be dropped. Something needed to change and that salvation came in the shape of ‘Angels’ which subsequently became Robbie’s best-selling single.
An anthem for the masses, this shows Robbie not only vocally at his best, but at his most vulnerable and sees the Stoke-born singer come of age and evolve into a singer-songwriter that created an enduring legacy with this soaring, impassioned track. (Emma Harrison)
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Rock DJ
If there was ever a song that encapsulates Robbie Williams, surely it has to be the tongue-in-cheek ‘Rock DJ’? Cheeky, provocative and energetic, just like Robbie himself!
‘Rock DJ’ is testament to the power of catchy hooks, anthemic choruses and playful lyrics. However, despite it being an absolute banger, the song was almost overshadowed by the accompanying music video which included graphic depictions of nudity, gore and cannibalism. In contrast to his relatively squeaky clean boy band roots, this was most certainly a departure for Robbie and the video was very nearly banned by the BBC and came with a trigger warning on the singer’s website.
Whether it was down to the attention-grabbing video or the fact that it was (and still remains) a bloody good song, ‘Rock DJ’ became Robbie’s fourth number one, and his seventh consecutive top 10 hit. Pimpin’ ain’t easy, but writing an unforgettable number one song clearly wasn’t and this was yet another stellar example of the songwriting duo’s canon. (Emma Harrison)
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Ego A Go Go
Taken from his vastly successful solo debut, ‘Ego A Go Go’ is a searing blast of (post?) Britpop energy, one that lifts from the blur playbook for a sassy indie-disco stomper. Beneath the playful energy lies a riposte for his former Take That comrades – a kind of ‘How Do You Sleep?’ diss that takes umbrage with the supposed egotism of Gary Barlow.
It’s strange, then, to listen to it from a 2k24 vantage point. The songwriter pops more efficiently than other (apparently) more credible but ultimately more dated peers, and with the relationship between Robbie ‘n’ Gaz now firmly harmonious, the rancour feels out of step. That said, a banger of a deep cut by any standard. (Robin Murray)
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‘Somethin’ Stupid’
There was a point when Robbie Williams was colossally, stupidly, mind-bogglingly big. Like, unbelievably popular. Colossal, even. Someone who nans and grand-daughters could ogle – for differing, and sometimes similar reasons – he invented the ‘goes swing’ album as a Millennial concept, and promptly filled his diamond-encrusted jacuzzi with dollar bills.
‘Somethin’ Stupid’ is the jewel in his swing era crown, and a testament to his unruly largesse. A Sinatra (Frank and Nancy) duet re-tooled with Nicole Kidman – a bona fide Hollywood mega-star – it’s a breathy piece of retro-fetichism, with a nudge and a wink attached. Oh, and it was Christmas No. 1 when that still meant queuing in Woolies for your CD maxi single. As we say: massive. (Robin Murray)
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‘Millennium’
The Millennium was a bit mad, wasn’t it? The world got itself in a lather over the changing of clocks, with 1999 flipping into 2000. What did it all mean, anyway? The Millennium dome is now the O2 Arena, and the Millennium Bug has been supplanted by fears over AI and an actual bug (y’know, coronavirus).
Very much a product of its time, ‘Millennium’ is essentially Robbie looking at the James Bond myth and thinking, ‘I could do that’. Blurring the lines between epic success and failure, the video is all knowing in-jokes and self-deprecating humour, while the song itself attaches Robbie triumphantly to what (at the time) was being dubbed the Greatest Event In Human History. It still slaps, remarkably. (Robin Murray)
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The Better Man (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) album is also out now digitally via Columbia Records with a physical release to follow which can be pre-ordered here –https://betterman.robbiewilliams.com/
