Robbie Williams Biography

Early Life

Robbie Williams was born as Robert Peter William on 14th February, 1974 in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England in a Roman Catholic family. His father was a comedian who used the stage name Pete Conway and his mother, Jan was a florist. When he was three years old, his parents divorced and he began to live with his mother and sister.

He was known to be a very mischievous child and it came as no surprise to anybody that he did not pass any of the G.C.S.E examinations. With very few options open, he took up a job as a salesman. Around this time, his mother read a newspaper article that displayed an advertisement for an audition of a boy band. Robbie’s mother believed in his talents as a singer and decided to take him to the auditions. This started Robbie’s career as a star singer and musician.

Take That

Robbie Williams joined the boy band ‘Take That’ in 1990 and the band reached new levels of success each year. But five years later, in the year 1995, Robbie decided to quit the band. In the interviews that followed the split of the band, it is not clear whether Robbie left the band or if he was asked to leave but it was widely believed that Robbie felt that the band was very constricting and did not let him be the person that he wanted.

The stress from the spilt and a legal battle with BMG (the record company for Take That) led him to using drugs and alcohol and drained all his energy. Apparently, there was a clause in his contract with BMG that prevented him from singing solo if he did split from the band.

Solo Career

Robbie went on record on 27th June 1996 and announced that his contract with BMG was ending and he was now signed by Chrysalis Records. The first single that he released was the cover version of ‘Freedom’ originally sung by George Michael. It hit Number 2, and was very narrowly beaten by the Spice Girls hit, ‘Wannabe’.

At a New Year’s party, he met Jacquie Hamilton-Smith and soon moved in with her. This marked the beginning of a phase in his life where he only partied and became addicted again. After wasting an entire year like this, he came to his senses and on the advice of Sir Elton John and various other artists, he enlisted himself in the rehabilitation center to recover from the alcohol and drug addiction.

On the Road to Success…

Right from 1996, Robbie has been releasing albums periodically. His debut album, ‘Life Thru a Lens’ was released in September, 1997. The fourth single song that was released in the album was ‘Angels’ which became a best seller in the United Kingdoms and was also certified as 2x Platinum by the BPI. More than 2 million copies of this song were sold worldwide.

The next album, ‘I’ve Been Expecting You’ was released in September, 1998. The album opened at the number one spot on the UK charts and went on to become the best selling album in UK in 1998.

Although Robbie had acquired tremendous success worldwide, especially in Europe, success in the United States was still a little elusive. He was signed by the Capitol Records in the United States which was a part of the EMI. Robbie started a promotional tour in the United States with the first American single ‘Millennium’ which hit the spot 72 in the Billboard Hot 100 and released the album containing the song in July 1999 which hit the number 63 in the Billboard Albums Chart.

These albums were followed by the albums ‘Sing When You’re Winning (1999 – 2001)’ and Swing When You’re Winning (2001)’ which were super hits breaking all records possible. In 2002, Robbie broke all world records when he signed an 80 Million Pound contract with EMI.

The first album released under this contract was ‘Escapology’ in late 2002. It hit the number one position in the UK, Ireland, Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Finland. However, it failed to make an impact in the United States and reached the number 43 on the Billboard Albums Chart. The album also contained the hit single ‘Feel’ which went on to become Robbie’s biggest international hit and reached the top ten in every single European country.

In 2004, Robbie decide that it was time to make a retrospective of his career and released the album ‘Greatest Hits’ which sold more than 300,000 copies in the first week and debuted at the number one spot becoming the fastest selling greatest hits album in the country.

Super hit albums Intensive Care (2004 - 2005), Rudebox (2006 – 2007) followed which made Robbie’s success in Europe reach heights not imagined before. Despite this, Robbie still has to attain a major chart or concert success in the United States.

Robbie Williams is has been staying at Los Angeles, California for quite some time now. It has been estimated that his wealth is approximately $270 million. He is also the founder member of the charity, ‘Give It Sum’ in his home town with the goal of improving the local conditions and strengthening the community life by providing financial support to people who are disadvantaged.