Amazing really considering he's only popular in the UK, well Europe at a push.... :rolleyes:

From http://news.independent.co.uk

 

Peter York On Ads: Will you answer Robbie Williams' call?

T-MOBILE

Published: 25 June 2006

Robbie was the only one in Take That. A year or so ago they had a rather poignant documentary about the band deciding to reunite and tour and wondering - the other four that is - whether Robbie was on for it. Of course he wasn't, but they were hoping against hope, half believing that he'd join them in their reunion hotel. So the film moves from their encampment to Robbie at home - everybody being seriously emotional. Robbie said he'd only ever wanted their difficult-seeming manager to love him. He went on to say that Gary Barlow - who he'd been unflattering about for years - was talented and deserving.

 

But the hard reality was that Robbie Williams never budged from Notting Hill. He was the only member to have made the Great World, and he wasn't going back. The others had nice enough places. Barlow had a big provincial spread somewhere Northern. There was something Grade II listed-looking in the Lake District and a West Country beach house. They had all done tolerably well but it sounded as if they weren't set up for life. But Robbie had a huge EMI contract - worth £80m they said - one of those 10-ton new Rolls-Royces and a place with the cosmocrats in W11.

 

Robbie Williams always played it both ways, being authentic with Oasis and mainstream pop elsewhere, being interesting, "vulnerable", fat and thin in interviews, but completely triumphalist on stage. Swaggery and pimp-rolling but at the same time completely Olde Englishy camp, he worked on many levels, had lots of sub-texts and reference points for cultural studies types - RW's a favourite thesis subject - and kept more people interested than his output might warrant. Somehow he'd Hoovered up London in the late 1990s becoming a metropolitan, getting to scale, learning what you had to do. Which meant being anthemic, an international stadium act, but being able to flex it with moments of 1940s pastiche, with videos that looked more like Frankie Goes To Hollywood than, say, Radiohead. Even the dull middle-class audience that loves dull middle-class acts like Coldplay could never completely dismiss him, could never deny the CD in the rack or singing along to "Angels".

 

Now - and it's difficult to imagine what it's like for Robbie 2006, though I suspect it feels like coasting - he's in a T-Mobile commercial. It's an ad that looks as if it's made to run wherever he's got a High Recognition factor - most of Europe probably.

 

It's an ineffably old-fashioned way of selling a very new platform, the mobile medium. T-Mobile's the first network to lead in their advertising on delivering the internet - all of it, not just snippets, they say insistently - to your mobile. And all the other stuff that goes with full medium status, like alerts to Robbie's new output, discounts for his concerts and messages from Pizza Hut.

 

There's a long tradition of "star cameos" - US TV of the 1970s and 1980s especially - where the star pitches up as his wonderful self and puts all the fictional people around into a deeply embarrassing, skin-crawlingly kind of tizz. The T-Mobile commercial conforms in every particular. There's a Robbie fan, a wonderfully ordinary woman with an Anglia TV local reporter 1992 kind of look, getting an alert on her mobile, "Robbie seen in hotel", and plunging into Hotel Babylon to find him.

 

Inside, everyone's a bit Robbie - the man on reception, a child on a sofa, a floor-cleaner with a machine, a groom in an awful suit - have all been computer-tricked to look Robbie-ish. The poor girl's looking distinctly flakey when she steps back and bumps into the real, completely evolved jacket and T-shirt, wry charm and laddish swagger Robbie thing.

 

I can't tell you how often I've seen this bit of choreography, but I know it's completely formula-compliant. The quizzical acknowledgment, the momentary eye-contact, the moving on. There's probably an American word for it, and it's own dissertation ("fiction and reality in the post-war celebrity cameo"). The product's called Web and Walk, T-Mobile's German and Robbie's back in the Rolls to W11 by now.

 

 

 

 

WE AIN'T GONNA SEE MADONNA

FANS SNUB MATERIAL GIRL OVER SKY-HIGH TICKET PRICES

Eva Simpson & Caroline Hedley

 

MADONNA has failed to sell out the first night of her British tour after fans revolted against "outrageous" ticket prices.

 

 

She is charging up to £150 a ticket for the opening night of the European leg of her Confession tour at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium, her only UK gig outside London.

 

And despite doing everything she can to publicise the shows - including crucifying herself on stage - we can reveal there are many unsold tickets.

 

 

In the three months since they went on sale, fans have bought most of the cheaper tickets - between £55 and £70 - but have balked at forking out between £100 and £150 for the best seats.

 

 

Yesterday, just weeks before the show on Sunday, July 30, they were still on sale on Madonna's website and through the box office of the 60,000 capacity stadium.

 

 

A tour insider told us: "Madonna should be the hottest ticket of the year, but for many of her loyal fans the prices are outrageous."

 

 

Tickets for the nine Wembley Arena shows have sold much better, but industry insiders point out it only has 12,750 capacity and many higher-earners live in London.

 

 

Madonna, who has a £248million fortune, is reportedly earning up to £1.5m a show.

 

 

And she is charging more than other big names - tickets for the Rolling Stones start at £40 and from £45 for Robbie Williams.

 

To make it worse, British concerts are costing fans almost twice as much as ones in France and Germany. Even fellow superstars have been horrified by the prices.

 

 

Elton John famously fell out with Madonna, over her 2004 Reinvention Tour. He stormed: "Madonna - best f***ing live act? F*** off! Since when does lip-synching count as live? Anyone who lip-synchs at a show which you pay £75 a ticket to see should be shot."

 

 

Yesterday the tour's promoters Live- Nation refused to discuss the ticket prices. Company spokesman Steve Guest shouted down the phone: "What sort of story are you trying to do? We don't have a comment, speak to her PR." So we did... and she refused to comment.

 

 

__________

 

 

HERE'S HOW MADGE'S PRICES

 

 

HERE'S how Madge's prices compare with the other topdrawer acts who are out on the road this year.

 

 

1 Rolling Stones: £40 to £150.

 

 

2 Pavarotti: £70-£130.

 

 

3 George Michael: £40 to £100.

 

 

4 Billy Joel: £50 to £75.

 

 

5Elton John: £35 to £75.

 

 

6 Robbie Williams: £45 to £50.

 

 

7 Red Hot Chili Peppers: £40.

 

 

8 Guns n Roses: £37.50.

 

 

9 A-Ha: £29.50 to £43.

 

 

10 Madness: £30

 

 

__________

 

 

3AM VERDICT: TOUT OF ORDER

 

 

ANYONE who's ever seen Madonna live would find her hard to fault. And her brilliant new Confessions show is a spellbinding two-hour set. But that doesnt justify her astronomical ticket prices.

 

 

While £150 may be a drop in the ocean to the Material Girl, for most of us that's a good holiday abroad. So perhaps it's not surprising theres's a backlash.

 

 

Yesterday neither the promoter or her people would explain to us why the tickets are so expensive. We hope it's not simply greed. From today 3am will be campaigning for fair ticket prices for all tours for genuine fans to enjoy. Not just the high-earning, champagne-quaffing London elite.

 

 

From http://www.itv.com

 

What a Blooming rubbish kisser

Friday 23rd June

 

 

 

 

To be a movie star. To live the life, earn loads of cash, and snog the kind of celebrities that most people dream about when practising on their hand (what do you mean you don’t do that?!)

 

Oh, and to be able to tell the world that Orlando Bloom is a c**p snogger. Because that is the latest revelation to come out of the perfectly pouty princess that is Keira Knightley.

 

“Orlando wasn’t that great,†Keira cackled. “Let’s just say my face needed a tissue afterwards. But Jonny Depp certainly wasn’t bad.â€

 

Now you can imagine that Johnny Depp wouldn’t be a bad kisser. If you spent time imagining that kind of stuff. Which of course we wouldn't. But if you did…

 

Anyway, Keira’s revelations have “really hurt†poor Orlando, according to the Star’s man with the Listerine. “He’s shocked,†the garrulous gargler went on. As shocked as we are that The Star actually knows a man with Listerine. And why does he have it in the first place? They couldn’t be making the whole “shocked†thing up, could they?

 

Not at all. Just as they couldn’t possibly be making things up about Robbie Williams spending millions of pounds developing super-intelligent toilet cleaning robots.

 

Yes, Robbie is apparently obsessed with the idea of creating a fleet of bionic butlers that can do anything from cleaning your toilet to reading you a bedtime story.

 

The Star’s man with the Listerine was apparently otherwise engaged when this story emerged, but we somehow managed to track down our man with the bog roll. “Robbie spending millions on developing a toilet brush…that’s sh**†:lol:

And finally, rumour has it that Justin Trousersnake has dumped Cameron Diaz. If she ever needs a shoulder to cry on, our man with the toilet paper is always here (Keira only needed a couple after her encounter with Orlando).

 

 

 

I bet I was a major contributor to Robbie's $70 million....and I dont mind one bit. :dance:

 

 

you are a clever bunny jackie, i was curious too as to just how many tickets were sold also...i came up with about 514,000 give or take a few so you are spot on!

Edited June 25, 200619 yr by candygirl

From http://www.sundaymirror.co.uk

 

EXCLUSIVE: HATE THAT

Sacked boss vows to lift the lid on sordid secrets of band's past

By Ben Todd Showbiz Editor

TAKE That's former manager has spoken for the first time of his fury at being dumped by the band just days after he masterminded their multimillion-pound comeback.

 

Pop Svengali Nigel Martin- Smith - who guided the band to more than 10 million record sales in the Nineties and reunited them last year - stormed: "I can't believe how I've been treated after everything I've done.

 

"Take That were all on the dole when I put them together all that time ago and they weren't doing too well when I relaunched them last year. Talk about ungrateful." He has now vowed to lift the lid on all that has gone on behind the scenes. "People are going to be astonished by the true story," he said.

 

The band members, Mark Owen, Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Jason Orange - who are coming to the end of a hugely successful comeback tour - fired Mr Martin-Smith just days after the screening of an ITV1 documentary he had co-produced last year.

 

A music industry source revealed: "Everyone is talking about the success of the Take That comeback. Nigel was the driving force before being ditched and now he wants revenge."

 

Last night Mr Martin-Smith - who has been at odds with former Take That star Robbie Williams for years after the singer labelled him the "spawn of Satan" - said: "I'm under a gagging clause so I can't say too much until the end of the tour.

 

"I have kept my mouth shut for 16 years despite numerous lucrative offers to tell all."

 

 

He says he's planning to launch a new group to rival Take That. "I'm going to find five unemployed young kids and do it all over again."

 

 

:puke2: :puke2: :puke2:

 

 

 

 

 

News - Music, movie, Entertainment

TAKE THAT HAUNTED BY ROBBIE

Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)

2006-06-26 13:41:20 -

 

 

 

Reformed British boy band TAKE THAT worry they are being haunted by former member ROBBIE WILLIAMS during their current string of comeback gigs.

The BACK FOR GOOD hitmakers, GARY BARLOW, MARK OWEN, JASON ORANGE and HOWARD DONALD, are repeatedly fooled by the audience reaction when a hologram of the ANGELS star appears on stage halfway through the concerts.

Owen says, "Every night the hologram comes up and I'm backstage hearing the cheers getting louder.

"It makes me wonder, 'Is Rob here and he hasn't told us?' I wouldn't say I'm glad he hasn't come. It would've been nice." Williams quit the band in 1995 to pursue a hugely successful solo career.

 

:mellow: :cry:

 

 

From http://www.themirror.co.uk/3am

 

27 June 2006

MAKE THAT

Robbie in talks to record with TakeThat

Eva Simpson & Caroline Hedley

HE SAID he had no plans to work with Take That again but Everything Changes where Robbie Williams is concerned.

 

Even though he failed to join their reunion tour, the superstar is in talks with his former bandmates to work on their album of new material, we can reveal.

 

The boys invited him to record with them again after they were reunited in secret. Robbie and Gary Barlow buried their differences for the first time since the break-up.

 

 

It is the news that all Take That fans have waited 11 years to hear since Robbie sensationally walked out.

 

 

Howard Donald revealed to us that they had invited Robbie to join them in the studio and that he is considering the offer.

 

 

The 38-year-old said: "We all hoped Rob would be able to join us on stage but he had his own tour and things got in the way -it's a real shame. But we speak all the time now and he knows the door's always open if he wants to come and record with us or relive his Take That days in any way.

 

 

"We would love him to be on the album. Obviously he's got his solo stuff to focus on but he hasn't ruled it out."

 

 

Howard spoke to us after the boys finished their their massively successful three-month reunion tour on Sunday - playing to 64,000 in Milton Keynes, Bucks.

 

 

They will start recording in a London studio later this month before heading off to the US to put the finishing touches to their first album of new material in a decade, which Gary said he hopes will be out "before Christmas". To avoid clashes over songwriting credits they - Gary, Howard, Mark Owen, and Jason Orange - have agreed to split profits equally.

 

 

Robbie was particularly riled that Gary made more than him out of Take That songs - and it made their rift personally bitter. Earlier this month Robbie poured scorn on rumours that he making a one-off appearance on the tour.

 

 

He said: "People are asking 'Is he going to do it, is he going to join them?' I'm busy, I've got a tour of my own."

 

 

But he added: "I went and met the boys. We love each other again."

 

 

Howard revealed that Robbie and his former nemesis Gary properly kissed and made-up when they were secretly reunited in a London hotel after TT's gig in Wembley Arena last month.

 

 

Howard said: "That's one of the best things about this whole tour for me - I'm still so happy that we all got together and cleared the air.

 

 

"When we met it was like nothing bad had gone between us in the 10 years that we hadn't spoken - and to see Rob and Gary hug and make up was just amazing. It was really like old times.

 

 

"Rob seems happier than he ever has and it's brilliant. For him to come and work with us again would complete what's been the most incredible year."

 

 

Jason added: "We'd love Rob to do something with us - all of us would."

 

 

You know you want to, Rob...

 

:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

 

 

from Undercover

 

Take That Invite Robbie Williams Into The Studio

by Tim Cashmere

 

June 27 2006

 

British boy band Take That have invited their former bandmate Robbie Williams into the studio to record their fourth album with him.

 

Williams left the band in 1995 to pursue an indescribably massive solo career and has not rejoined the band for their recent European tour, although Take That cheekily had Robbie there in hologram form.

 

While Williams was on stage in Denmark in 2001, during a performance of Take That’s hit ‘Back For Good’ he shouted at the audience “Sing the backing vocals, that’s all I f*cking did!â€

 

The band have signed with Polydor and will be heading into the studio soon. You can expect their album out next year.

 

Cant' see him doing it to be honest :wacko:

Just mention Robbie and google gets swamped with Take That this and Robbie that. :cry:

 

what better way to get in the press for both of them.

 

Personally I hope he does work on a track or tracks with them. Why not. As long as Robbie gets given his fair wack of input.

 

Anyway, perhaps they had better stick together, a united front against someone called Nigel.

Edited June 27, 200619 yr by Jackie

XL VIDEO – TAKING CARE ON THE ROAD

ROBBIE WILLIAMS – CLOSE ENCOUNTERS 2006

 

 

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c129/sharabang/fffe5b48.jpg

 

 

Different Books, imprint of Maklu / Garant Publishers, publishes the

exclusive book XL VIDEO – TAKING CARE ON THE ROAD / ROBBIE WILLIAMS CLOSE ENCOUNTERS 2006.

 

The book gives a never-seen behind-the-scenes look of Robbie’s Close

Encounters World Tour 2006. The author Dirk Timmerman was authorized by Robbie Williams Tour Production and XL Video to make a book on their utmost important contribution to the Robbie Williams Close Encounters World Tour 2006 : the video show. The company XL Video has delivered the 8 tusks and the 3 hi-res video screens to make Robbie’s show a piece of art. They already worked together on Robbie’s previous tour, as well as on tours of U2, Kylie Minogue, Britney Spears and Bon Jovi.

 

The book reveals the construction of Robbie’s stage from the design table to pre-production, production and going into rehearsal with Robbie Williams. Finally, the shows in Dublin, Brussels, Paris and Amsterdam were captured with exclusive visuals of Robbie’s show and fireworks.

The book has different live pictures of Robbie Williams and reveals

exclusive details from behind Robbie’s scene.

 

Contents :

- the XL Video crew

- pre-production

- production

- rehearsal

- touring (Dublin, Brussels, Paris & Amsterdam)

- index

 

Language : English

Number of pages : 96

Printed in full colour

Number of pictures : 179

Price : 19.95 €

 

To order this beautiful reminder to Robbie’s Close Encounters World Tour

2006, just send an email to differentbooks@hotmail.com and you’ll receive the payment instructions by return.

 

Don’t miss this book as a true Robbie fan.

 

Enjoy reading the Robbie book !

 

Different Books

 

thanks to fansupreme.de

Edited June 29, 200619 yr by Jackie

From http://thisislondon.co.uk

 

Sir Elton's summer curry party

By Alexa Baracaia, Evening Standard

29 June 2006

Tonight is curry night at Sir Elton John's house. The star's annual White Tie And Tiara ball at his Old Windsor home, in aid of his Aids foundation, will have an Indian theme this year.

 

A source said: "Elton has a different theme every year and Indian is a great chance for silks and bright colours, but it won't be onion bhajis and poppadoms - it will be the best Indian fine dining."

 

The guest list features Liz Hurley and her Indian tycoon boyfriend Arun Nayar. Entertainment will be laid on by Take That - and it is rumoured Robbie Williams will join in.

 

A friend of the singer said today: "Robbie has got a gap in his diary but he hasn't said anything about the party."

 

Sir Elton and his partner David Furnish married in a civil ceremony six months ago and had their stag party with Neil Tennant and friends at Knightsbridge restaurant Amaya.

 

Society caterers Rhubarb, who laid on the food for the Beckhams' pre-World Cup party, will be preparing the six-course meal.

 

 

:rolleyes: You never know. There is no football on tonight.....

 

 

All this TT stuff really is getting old. I mean how many times are the press going to keep saying Robbie may join them. It won't happen. Just except it. :arrr:

I concur. -_-

 

Having said that this will be the night they all have a big sing-a-long. :rolleyes: ( Just to prove you and me wrong)

No gap in robbies diary, he's seeing me tonight :wub:

:rolleyes:

 

Did he mention anything about going for a Curry? :lol:

All this TT stuff really is getting old. I mean how many times are the press going to keep saying Robbie may join them. It won't happen. Just except it. :arrr:

 

I agree

 

Hope he never joins them, sorry but I never liked TT

 

Thought this was funny ( and exactly how nonsense rumours start :rolleyes: )

 

From the Hungarian website http://www.pestiside.hu

 

 

International Celeb Watch (II): Robbie Banks OTP CEO's Cash

 

As if the Divine Miss M isn't enough, we learn today that no less than Robbie Williams recently made a surprise appearance in Hungary - playing at a private party! No $h!t. Diligent source J. alerted us to a story in today's (print) Blikk saying that the crooner was hired by OTP Bank honcho (and Hungary's most terrifying tycoon) Sándor Csányi to play at his son Attila's wedding, which took place on June 18th at a hotel somewhere out in the countryside. According to the piece, Williams played a few of his greatest hits before speeding off in a limo, no doubt with a trunk full of forints.

 

The story also reminds us that Csányi himself is fond of hiring big-name international stars for his parties, having brought in Eurovision legends Boney M for his own 50th birthday. Now all that remains is the question of what on earth the little brat and his new wife got for a wedding present, given that daddy has not only splashed for Robbie Williams, but Robbie's favorite car. Grrrr.

 

UPDATE: We've just been informed that someone claiming to have been at the wedding in question informed celeb-centered women's portal velvet.hu that it wasn't actually Robbie Williams who performed, but a well-known Robbie Williams impersonator who goes by the name of Tony Lewis.

 

We're sorry that what we published above is probably total bull$h!t. Though not as sorry as a certain B.F. and K.S. over in the Budapest bureau of oh-so-proper Bloomberg, who just rode the same BS piece to the wrong side of Googletown. That'll teach y'all to stop eating off our plate, bitches.

 

:lol: :lol: :lol:

 

 

Oh god. :lol:

 

What kind of paper is this from. :o The language :huh:

Edited June 29, 200619 yr by Scotty.