Name : Robert Williams
Birth Name : Robert Peter Maximillian Williams
Nickname : Robbie
Birth Date : February 13, 1974
Birth Place : Stoke-On-Trent, UK
Height : 6' 3"
Eye Colour : Green
Hair Colour : Dark Brown
Nationality : Briton
Father : Peter (comedian)
Mother : Janet
Sister : Sally
Favourite artists : Oasis and U2
http://www.celebrityzone.co.uk/cgi-bin/biog.cgi?zzzrobbiezzz
At the age of three, his parents divorced, and he resided with his mother and sister. Robbie went to St. Margaret Ward High School and was renowned for being mischievous, so it wasn’t surprising when he didn’t pass any of his G.C.S.E’s.
With few options open to him, he got a job as a salesman. Robbie' mother saw an advert for auditions to be in a new boy band which he applied for and aged 16 was a member of Take That. After the incredible success of Take That and countless number one hits, Robbie Williams departed from the band in July 1995. This incident never really cleared up whether Robbie had been pushed out, or was quitting the band of his own free will. But one thing was for sure; he had always felt that being in a band was constricting and prevented him from being his own person.
The rules set out for the band were too much for someone as extroverted as Robbie - which led to him resorting to alcohol and drugs; while ensuing legal battles with BMG, which was his record company, to allow him to go solo (apparently there was a clause that prevented him from becoming a solo singer if he ever left Take That).
He met Jacquie Hamilton-Smith at a New Year’s Party and soon moved in with her and he started leading a life of parties. He followed the advice of Sir Elton John and various other artists, and went to a rehab centre to recover from drug and alcohol addiction.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/stoke/robbie/biography.shtml
In 1997, He released his first solo album, "Life Thru A Lens," on Chrysalis Records. When his first single, “Freedom,’’ by George Michael was released, his Record sales hit No. 2. in UK. Until the release of the single "Angels" for Christmas 1997, his solo career took off in Europe. This song got voted the second best song of all times by British voters.
His secondalbumin 1998, "I've Been Expecting You", containing the hit singles "Strong", "No Regrets," and "Millennium," charted as the first number one in the USA.
“Ego Has Landed,” a compilation designed for breaking Robbie to American audiences, was released stateside in the spring of 1999. The “Sing When You're Winning” album followed in late 2000, gaining success with the video hit "Rock DJ."
A year later, Robbie released an extremely successful album called “Swing When You're Winning” in which he sang jazz, blues and pop standards from the fifties.
His global success was cemented after the release of a duet cover version of the Frank and Nancy Sinatra song "Somethin' Stupid" which charted in at Number 1 in the UK with Australian actress Nicole Kidman.
In 2002, Robbie signed a new contract with EMI worth £80 Million. He stopped working with his long-term writing partner Guy Chambers. However, they reunited six months later to work on the next album, “Escapology,” which was released in late 2002. The first single from it, "Feel," was a European hit. In the same year, the UK public voted Robbie to be on the BBC's list of the 100 Greatest Britons.
With a new songwriting partner, Stephen Duffy, Robbie penned several new songs, including "Radio." In its first week of the release, selling just over 40,000 copies, the single "Radio" went straight to number one. Another single, "Misunderstood" appeared on the soundtrack of the "Bridget Jones Diary : The Edge of Reason." and hit the charts at number eight.
The "Greatest Hits" album , released on 18th October, 2004, became one of the UK's biggest selling albums of all times. And in February 2005, Robbie received the British music industry's award for the best song of the past quarter century, "Angels," the song Robbie credits with giving him a career.
Nov 23, 2008
8:31 AM