10 Unbelievable Facts About Robbie Williams

Robbie Williams

Robbie Williams by Georges Biard from Wikimedia Commons

Williams has won a total of 18 Brit Awards, including four for Best British Male Artist, two for Outstanding Contribution to Music, one for Icon Award for his enduring effect on British culture, eight German ECHO Awards, and three MTV European Music Awards.

With over 70 million albums sold globally, Williams has become the best-selling British solo artist in the United Kingdom. He was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2004.

Robbie Williams is arguably the UK’s most successful solo artist. He rose to fame
as part of the pop group Take That from 1990- to 1995 before embarking on a
staggeringly successful solo career.

Here are ten unbelievable facts about Robbie:

1. Early Days 

Robert Peter Williams was born in Stoke-on-Trent on February 13, 1974, to Janet (née Farrell) and Peter Williams (also known as Pete Conway), who managed the Red Lion pub in Burslem before his father became the licensee at the Port Vale FC Social Club. His parents divorced when he was just three years old. His mother, Janet Williams raised Robbie and his sister Sally on her own following this.

2. No GCSEs 

He went to ‘Mill Hill Primary School’ and ‘St. Margaret Ward’s Roman Catholic School’ in Tunstall for his secondary education.

He attended high school and was known for his mischief, so it came as no surprise when he failed all of his G.C.S.E.s. With limited choices, he took a job as a salesperson, but destiny had other plans; his mother had seen an advertisement in the newspaper for a boy band audition, and because of Robbie’s exceptional voice and acting ability, she convinced him to audition, and he took the first step toward stardom.

3. Mom’s role

Robbie’s mother, Janet, came across an article in the local daily about auditions for a boy band. Acutely aware of his talents in the performing arts, she implored him to give it a go. At the time Robbie was working as a double glazing salesman unbeknownst to him that superstardom awaited.

4. Take That Take One

Take That was formed in 1990 and storm the charts from the jump, with their first album peaking at number 2 in the UK. They released two further albums that were largely based on the material of one group member – Gary Barlow. Dejected that his own concepts were not being taken seriously, Robbie abruptly quit the band (for the first time) to focus on his solo career. Quitting the band cost him a whopping £1.5 million as per contractual obligations.

5. Solo Career

Williams debuted as a solo artist in 1996 with a cover of George Michael’s “Freedom,” which charted at number two in the United Kingdom. On overseas charts, however, it was mostly disregarded. Life Through a Lens, his debut album, was published in September 1997. The CD was released in conjunction with his debut solo performance at the Théâtre de l’Élysée Montmartre in Paris, France. On the UK Albums Chart, the album debuted at number eleven.

Robbie Williams is unquestionably the most successful solo artist in the UK selling over 77 million records worldwide. He has won more BRIT awards are more than any other artist in music history, a record 13 on his own and five as part of Take That. Other accolades include 8 Echo Awards, and two Ivor Novello Awards, including one with Take That for Outstanding Contribution to British Music in 2012.

6. Addiction battles

Robbie Williams is concerned that his drug issues may be passed down to his children. The 48-year-old musician has spent time in treatment for alcohol, prescription drugs, and other drug addictions, but he has proudly overcome his problems and has not touched alcohol in 20 years. He was treated at the ‘Clouds House Drink and Drugs Rehabilitation Clinic’ in the United States for depression and addiction.

7. He made an appearance on EastEnders, but you probably didn’t notice.

Boris Johnson, then the mayor of London, appeared in the popular serial in 2009 and had a talk with Queen Vic landlady Peggy Mitchell. That was a significant improvement over Robbie Williams’ cameo appearance in 1995 when the Take That bad guy lurked in the background on a payphone for a few seconds.

8. Farrel

Farrell was founded by Robbie in 2011 and specializes in current design with authentic old-school tailoring. Named after his maternal grandfather Jack Farrel, a renowned dresser, Robbie Williams launched his own clothing in September 2011. The menswear brand’s tagline was ‘wear it in, wear it out.’ Unfortunately, the line went into liquidation two years later. 

9. Personal Life 

Robbie Williams

Robbie Williams by Georges Biard from Wikimedia Commons

Quite the Casanova, Robbie was linked with a host of women of celebrities. Ironically, he met his wife Ayda Field on a blind date in 2007 after they were set up by mutual friends.

In 2010, he married Ayda Field, an American actress, in his Los Angeles home. Ayda gave birth to their daughter Theodora Rose on September 18, 2012. Charlton Valentine and Colette Josephine, the couple’s firstborn son and daughter, were born in 2014 and 2018, respectively.

He and his wife, Ayda Field, have been married for 10 years and have four children together. And, when speaking on The Jonathan Ross Show he revealed how the 41-year-old American model saved his life.

10. Keys to the city  

Robbie Williams

Robbie Williams by Sean Reynolds from Wikimedia Commons

In 2014, Robbie was awarded the freedom of his home town of Stoke-on-Trent, as well as having a tourist trail created and streets named in his honour. Amusingly, Robbie cannot drive himself down these streets as he still has not learnt to drive!

So why is Robbie so famous and why is worth reading about? Over the course of his career, Williams has had seven number-one singles and eleven number one albums in the United Kingdom (out of twelve).

He is the best-selling solo artist in the United Kingdom and Latin America’s best-selling non-Latino artist. In 2006, the singer was inducted into the Guinness Book of World Records for selling more than 1.6 million tickets in a single day for his intimate encounters tour. 

After taking a fifteen-year break, Take That reunited in 2010 to create a new album ‘Progress’ which became the second-fastest selling album in the UK in music history.

The stadium tour also became the top-selling concert in the UK’s history, although it was confirmed in 2011 that Williams had once again left the band to focus on his solo endeavours. During his career, the singer has taken part in a number of collaborations with other artists including Kylie Minogue whom he worked on the song ‘Kids’.

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