Robbie and Jessica top 'kiss' list

u.tv

 

World Cup Wag Coleen McLoughlin and Prince Harry rank alongside Hollywood stars in a poll of Britain's top fantasy snogs published today.

 

The pair were listed alongside Hollywood sex symbols Angelina Jolie and her partner Brad Pitt in a survey of stars Britons would most like to pucker up to.

 

Pollsters YouGov found British men also fantasised about kissing Desperate Housewives bombshell Eva Longoria and actresses Jessica Alba and Kelly Brook.

 

Meanwhile British women dream of snogging chart-topper Robbie Williams, footballer Frank Lampard and James Bond actor Daniel Craig.

 

The findings were part of a kissing survey commissioned for toothpaste maker Colgate to mark its Oral Health Month.

 

The poll found that 40% of Britons cited a good pair of eyes as attracting them to a potential kissing partner.

 

Meanwhile 25% opted for those with a nice smile or teeth, ahead of a good dress sense (10%) and nice hair (5%).

 

YouGov polled 2,320 adults in the UK online between August 22 and 24.

 

 

The top five male and female celebrities people in the UK would most like to kiss were:

 

Female:

:: Jessica Alba

:: Angelina Jolie

:: Eva Longoria

:: Kelly Brook

:: Coleen McLoughlin

 

Male:

:: Robbie Williams

:: Brad Pitt

:: Frank Lampard

:: Daniel Craig

:: Prince Harry

 

 

 

 

From mtv.co.uk

 

 

Robbie Announces Not So Rude Next Single ...

 

 

If you love the Williams but can’t stand his latest tune, you’re in luck…

The next track from Robbie Williams’ new album will be a storming disco number produced by man of the moment, Mark Ronson.

 

Out on November 13, ‘Lovelight’ is a cover of a little-known soul track by Brit singer Lewis Taylor.

 

Robbie said, “I fell in love with it instantly. I can’t believe how big that song is and no one knows it.â€

 

DJ Ronson, who’s also worked with Lily Allen, added, “I’d never heard it and Rob came to me and said ‘I want to cover this.’ It’s an amazing, obscure English soul record, and he’s delivered a great classic blue-eyed soul vocal in the lineage of George Michael, Andy Gibb or Hall & Oates.â€

 

If you couldn’t get your head around Robbie’s MC-ing skills on 'Rudebox', fear not - on this tune he’s back on familiar soaring falsetto territory.

 

'Rudebox' the album is out on October 23.

Robbie recruits his comedy pals

The Sun

 

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e272/handsomeman/0200643118600.jpg

 

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e272/handsomeman/0200643118900.jpg

 

ROBBIE WILLIAMS fans got a bit extra for their cash at his live Milton Keynes show last night when he was joined on stage by ANT & DEC singing Strong.

 

The TV duo even treated the crowd to a short burst of their old single Let’s Get Ready To Rumble . . . remember that, erm, classic?

 

I got my hands on these exclusive snaps of the lads at the show, where they were joined by Rob’s best pal JONATHAN WILKES.

 

The gig was attended by a host of stars including Man Utd’s WAYNE ROONEY, MICHAEL CARRICK and Blackburn character ROBBIE SAVAGE, there with wife Sarah.

 

Robbie dedicated a song to him, saying: “Here’s one for Mr and Mrs Robbie Savage. You do know he’s gay?â€

 

I spoke to Sav, who took to joke it in great spirits. He laughed: “Rob’s a legend – real class. I’ll get my own back though.

 

“After the gig he invited me over to LA with the kids and gave the missus a kiss. She’ll not wash her face for months.â€

 

Sav once left a surprise for a ref in his dressing room toilet . . . so watch out Robbie.

From http://www.entertainmentwise.com

 

 

Are You Ready For Patrizio Buanne, The Voice Of Romance?

Well get ready...

 

Published on 9/20/2006

 

 

 

Italian Singer Patrizio Buanne has been hailed by the music press as the ‘Voice of Romance’ and he is back to wow romantics with his heavenly voice.

 

Patrizio has become something of a unique performer in the modern world of musical entertainment. Inspired by the cool Italian American singers of the 50s and 60s, Patrizio aspires to become a name synonymous with world-class entertainment alongside legendary performers such as Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Tom Jones and Julio Iglesias. It is no coincidence that one such Italian American legend, Tony Bennett, personally insisted that his friends attend Patrizio’s recent US shows.

 

His new album ‘’Forever Begins Tonight’, out October 16, features one of many standout tracks, ‘Un Angelo’ (Angels), an Italian version of the Robbie Williams’ classic. Interestingly, this is the first time Robbie has ever allowed a foreign language version of the song…he must be good.

 

We have two signed copies of Patrizio’s new album and two posters to give away, if you want to win then answer the question below…

 

Who co-wrote ‘Angels’ with Robbie Williams? Was it…

 

1. Elton John

2. Victoria Beckham :lol:

3. Guy Chambers

MK did seem pretty well organised to me, much better than the Knebworth one was. There were a lot of unhappy local residents after that event. Not Robbie fans I might add ^_^

 

The only nightmare about MK was getting out of the car parks at the end of the night but I think that is expected as most venues had the same problem

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

 

 

The 3am girls draw a blank with Robbie

 

/Thursday, 21 September 2006

 

The NUJ has congratulated the Daily Mirror over its stance in choosing to carry a blank space in place of a picture of singer Robbie Williams.

 

The 3am column on Tuesday condemned Williams for forcing photographers to sign a contract surrendering copyright before they were allowed to take pictures of his concerts.

 

Under the heading "Exposed: Greedy Robbie pics a fight", 3am girls Eva Simpson and Caroline Hedley reported that their photographer had refused to sign the contract and cited this as their reason for the blank space where Robbie's picture would have appeared.

 

The contract in question stipulates that photographers should assign their copyright to Williams, and that he/she can use the pics only with the approval of Williams' company.

 

NUJ freelance organiser John Toner said: "In the dark night of the soul it is always three o'clock in the morning, so it is fitting that the 3am girls have exposed this despicable contract."

 

Toner pointed out that Williams has form for breaching other people's copyright. In October 2000 the High Court ruled that he had "substantially copied" Woody Guthrie and Loudon Wainwright III in his song Jesus in A Camper Van.

 

:arrr: :arrr: :arrr:

From http://www.bbc.co.uk/totp

 

 

Tips Don't Lie

 

 

Once upon a time, there were two men called Guy Chambers and Robbie Williams. They wrote catchy pop songs together and everyone was very happy. But, as in all fairytales, this happiness could not last, and one day a spell (or something) caused them to go their separate ways, and an evil witch told Robbie that recording 'Rudebox' was a good idea.

 

However, all fairytales have to have a happy ending, and Guy seems to think that he's figured out the best way for Rob to get his: by recording a duet with Shakira. Well, it beats living in a house with seven dwarves, we suppose.

 

Guy told the Sun that duetting with the shimmying Latin superstar would be a perfect way for Robbie to crack that notoriously tricky US market: "He should always have done that. It would be the perfect match and I would like to write the tune for it. It would be a worldwide hit and would break Robbie in America."

 

If it's one of those Spanish-language songs Shakira's so fond of, we can't help thinking it'll break him in more ways than one...

 

<_<

From http//:newpaperasia1.com.sg

 

:o :o :o

 

WHAT'S eating Robbie Williams?

The British pop superstar recently cancelled the Asian leg of his Close Encounters world tour, citing health concerns.

 

Williams, 32, was due to perform in Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Thailand, and India in November.

 

But according to News Of The World, the signs of fatigue were there for all to see when he performed at Milton Keynes in the UK last week.

 

He was reportedly sweating profusely and telling the 65,000 fans he 'felt like s***'.

 

One fan said: 'He was out of control, touching up the backing singers and making a pass at the keyboard player. You could see it all on the big screen... He just wasn't himself.'

 

An insider added: 'Let's hope he gets over this hurdle. He obviously can't go on and is very stressed and exhausted.'

 

Williams is also in the middle of a bitter legal battle with ex-manager Nigel Martin-Smith. The two have been at loggerheads since 1995.

 

They are now feuding over a track titled The 90s from Williams' upcoming album Rudebox, in which he calls Martin-Smith an 'evil man'.

 

The latter wants the offending lyrics removed, which would plunge the CD into chaos just weeks before it's due to hit shops.

 

The lawsuit poses a major problem for Williams' record label EMI/Chrysalis because release dates would have to be pushed back and millions have been pumped into the marketing and advertising, according to The Sun.

 

Meanwhile, Williams' experimental electro-funk comeback single Rudebox has been given the thumbs-down by exasperated fans, and has sold only 7,000 copies. :wacko: ( Yeah, in like one day :rolleyes: )

 

A music executive told The Daily Mirror: 'Robbie's new sound is a turn-off. He thought that he could do a Madonna - change his style and stay on top. But I'm afraid it has backfired. :arrr: :arrr: :arrr:

 

'These will definitely be nervous times for him and his people.' :smoke:

These 3am dames really are something else. :rolleyes:

 

From The Mirror

 

 

TP-T TLC FOR ROB

Tea and sympathy from Tara

Eva Simpson & Caroline Hedley

ROBBIE Williams has spent another night back in the arms of our favourite socialite, Tara Palmer Tomkinson.

 

But we don't think much of the beleaguered singer's seduction technique.

 

For the 32-year-old, who cancelled the Asian leg of his tour citing "exhaustion", spent most of the time bending TPT's ear about how tired he was. Diddums.

 

 

The Robster has been under pressure since his expensive comeback single, Rudebox, flopped :blink: - and both Scissor Sisters and Justin Timberlake charted higher.

 

 

So it's little wonder that he needed a shoulder to cry on when he visited 34-year-old Tara's West-London pad last week.

 

 

Taking time out from launching the Heinz Baked Beanz amnesty at central London's Courthouse Hotel, our favourite It girl revealed: "Yes, we did meet last week. Robbie came to my flat for some tea.

 

 

"He was so exhausted. He has been doing so many tours it's taken it out of him."

 

 

In May, we told how I'm A Celebrity... star Tara had a 10-day fling with Robbie and wiled away the hours in bed watching DVDs and munching take-aways. And loyal Tara, seen right on promotional duty, admits that she's one of the few fans of Rob's awful Rudebox... because she's on it.

 

 

TPT, who is recovering from surgery to rebuild her nose after years of drug abuse, said: "Robbie has decided not to read what anyone writes about Rudebox. He doesn't let the criticism get to him.

 

 

"But I love the album, especially as I'm on it. I say 'Hello, operator' on the single. But I don't know if that has been cut out..."

 

One thing that hasn't been cut out of Tara's life is male suitors.

 

 

As well as counting James Blunt and Robbie as lovers, she was last week snapped canoodling with actor Crispian Belfrage.

 

 

"It's not serious, though," she stresses. "We've only been dating for about two hours.

 

 

"He has a fabulous body but, knowing me, I'll have a new guy next week." That's not great news for lovelorn Robbie, though he must be getting used to setbacks by now.

 

 

Recently, his ex-manager Nigel Martin- Smith threatened to sue him for defamation, sparking a crisis at his record company.

 

 

Rod Stewart's stepson Ashley Hamilton is also taking legal action over claims that Robbie pinched one of his songs.

 

 

And two German newspapers refused to take photos at Robbie's Dresden gig after snappers were asked to hand over the rights to their photos.

 

 

Hmm, wonder when Robbie will get some good news...?

 

 

THE GROUCH CLUB

 

 

TODAY we award Robbie Williams honorary presidency of our exclusive Grouch Club, a haven for whingeing stars.

 

 

Although members include miserable Hugh Grant, no one can match the Robster.

 

 

Despite having £80million and a load of celeb pals, he still complains about his lot - be it fatigue, failure to find a partner or ex-managers.

 

 

From http://www.pr-inside.com

 

 

Kerry Katona wants to get Robbie Williams into bed.

Movie & Entertainment News provided by bangshowbiz.biz

 

 

Robbie Williams

2006-09-22 14:02:16 -

 

 

The cheeky former Atomic Kitten star is desperate for a night of passion wit h the 'Angels' singer but wouldn't want to listen to any of his hit singles.

She revealed to OK! magazine: "Scientists say playing a Robbie Williams album while having sex helps people lose their inhibitions - I don't need help in that department.

"If I had Robbie Williams in the bedroom that would be a different matter. I wouldn't have him singing though, I would get him to entertain me in the only way he knows how."

 

The 26-year-old star also fancies former 'Baywatch' actor David Hasselhoff.

Kerry said: "I always thought 'The Hoff' was quite fit and even now he is pretty hot. He's tall, dark and handsome and looks good in a pair of swimming trunks - and not a lot of blokes can do that!"

 

:wacko:

 

 

I was admiring her good taste till I got to the final paragraph. :lol:

 

 

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

 

 

Robbie Williams' Therapy

Date : 22.09.2006

 

ROBBIE Williams should go back to rehab.

 

This is not the opinion of Anorak but of the Star’s “double award winning†Joe Mott.

 

“Today I issue a plea to Robbie Williams: Go back to rehab,†says Mott. He goes on to say that his is “NOT†suggesting Robbie has any problem with drugs or booze and is “simply reacting to his decision to cancel a load of tour dates due to ‘stress and exhaustion’â€.

 

Does Mott believe rehab will restore Robbie to former glories? Are this writer’s double awards for services to the therapy industry, a gong awarded for each successful celebrity recruit he delivers?

 

We know not. But we are painfully aware that Robbie is troubled. As the Mirror’s non-award winning 3am Girls remind us, Robbie’s latest musical offering is “awfulâ€.

 

What Robbie needs is a shoulder to cry on, and so much the better if this shoulder is slim and covered in absorbent cashmere. Like the shoulder atop Tara Palmer-Tomkinson’s arm. She has been hanging out with the singer.

 

Tara is delivering a little therapy of her own to tired and emotional Robbie. “Robbie has decided not to read what anyone writes about Rudebox. He doesn’t let the criticism get to him.â€

 

But how does Robbie know about the criticism if he doesn’t read the critics? Does he instinctively know its rubbish? And his pals aren’t telling him it’s terrible - T P-T thinks its all just brilliant.

 

“But I love the album,†says Tara, “especially as I’m on it. I say ‘Hello operator’ on the single. But I don’t know if that has been cut out.â€

 

Which suggests that Tara has yet to hear the dire tune. Although we can assure her that in or out, hers is the best

:arrr: :arrr: :arrr:

How is it a dire tune if they have'nt heard it yet :rolleyes: Bloody w****rs :angry:

I think they are getting confused between Rudebox the single and Rudebox the album.

 

I knew he should have called the album 1974. He never listens to me. -_-

From http://blogs.manchestereveningnews.co.uk

 

 

Snap happy with Robbie

 

WHEN Robbie Williams cancelled the Asian leg of his world tour last week due to exhaustion those outside his inner circle started to spin the wheel of speculation.

But the best way to cut through the rumour to the truth is to ask someone who knows him.

Who better than Karen McBride, the Manchester-based photographer hired to document the Robbie tour for a special 'on the road' book due to be released next year?

 

Karen has covered all the British dates and is likely to follow the Robster as he recovers.

She said: “I am knackered doing this tour and what I do is nowhere near the level Robbie achieves. God knows how shattered he must be with all the effort he puts in. I totally sympathise with him.â€

Karen is well-known on the Manchester music circuit for her black and white images of up and coming rock bands but still can't quite believe her luck after being appointed official photographer for the former Take That star.

She said: “I was approached by a PR company in London working for Robbie in May. They said Robbie and his management had seen my black and white live pictures and really liked them. They asked me if I would come and do some of the gigs on his current tour.

“Of course, I said I would. But they have been really impressed with what the have seen of the pictures I have taken on the tour and we are now talking about making it a permanent arrangement.â€

Karen, 43, has been at all of Robbie's UK dates on the current tour and her photos will form the backbone of a new book being planned. :dance:

She says: “I really like Robbie. He is very down to earth and hard-working which is why his fans love him so much. He is so easy to get on with and very relaxed with himself and around others. It's a real family atmosphere being on the road with him.

“He is a real joker too. When we were in Amsterdam recently one of the band had a birthday and Robbie put his face in his birthday cake while he was on stage.

“It is amazing getting this opportunity,†she tells me. “I have been taking photos for about 20 years and started by doing shots of my brother's band years ago. Then I took it up as a hobby but was doing so much work that after a while I decided to take it on professionally.â€

“I have been doing it for a living now for about eight or so years.â€

Karen was born in Rochdale, brought up in Salford but now lives in Sale.

And the only thing she misses about home while being on the road with Robbie is her partner and her eight cats!

 

^_^

 

 

Interesting article here. The Boy better get used to Touring then. :huh:

 

From http://www.spiegel.de

 

 

Tour or Go Hungry

By Thomas Schulz

 

With album revenues down, the live music business is booming. Yet concert promoters are complaining about greedy artists and shrinking revenues. Many bands, though, barely make enough to stay afloat.

 

It's day five and the band is no longer in top form. The guitarist has back pain, the keyboard player has sore thumbs and they all have colds. Beer and energy drinks alternate as the beverages of choice backstage. The band Klee is on tour, and it still has 19 cities to visit in the next six weeks.

 

"That's nothing compared to last year," says Suzie Kerstgens, Klee's lead singer. The band played 130 concerts last year, giving its all for up to two hours at each appearance, whether in a smaller venue like the eastern Germany city of Zwickau or in the German capital Berlin.

 

 

Klee has just released a new album. The reviews have been excellent, sales are going well and the album has climbed into the Top 20. But gone are the days when this kind of success was enough to pay for sports cars and little beachfront houses. To make money these days, musicians are forced to spend more and more time on tour and less time in the recording studio.

 

The music business has changed fundamentally. In 2003, concert ticket sales brought in 60 percent of revenues in the music market, while record sales accounted for only 40 percent. As recently as the mid-1990s, those numbers were the other way around. What has happened is something aging rock star David Bowie years ago predicted would happen as a result of Internet music exchanges and record piracy. "Music itself is going to become like running water or electricity," he said. "You'd better be prepared for doing a lot of touring because that's really the only unique situation that's going to be left."

 

The consequences have since become obvious. According to rock star Alanis Morissette's manager, "only 10 percent of artists make money on record sales; the rest go on tour."

 

Revenues higher this year

 

Ticket dealer CTS Eventim sells tickets to some 85,000 events a year throughout Europe -- and last year Germany's concert market had an estimated value of just under €3 billion, even with the biggest stars not on tour. Revenues will likely be much higher this year, with concerts by artists ranging from Robbie Williams to Madonna, Depeche Mode to Xavier Nadoo.

 

Despite occasionally astronomical ticket prices, many concerts sell out within days. Eventim managed to unload more than 80,000 tickets for Madonna's two German concerts within a few hours. "We could easily have sold 3 million tickets the first day," says Eventim CEO Klaus-Peter Schulenberg.

 

Eventim sold more than 40 million tickets in Europe last year alone. And to ensure itself a constant influx of new concerts, the ticket dealer has purchased shares in leading concert promotion companies, including Marek Lieberberg, FKP Scorpio and Peter Rieger.

 

 

 

Now the company, based in the northern German city of Bremen, also plans to capture a share of the ticket scalpers' market. To coincide with this week's opening of the Popkomm music show, Eventim will launch its new online ticket reselling platform, Fansale. CEO Klaus-Peter Schulenberg estimates that up to 2 million tickets a year will be sold privately through the new site. By charging commissions of up to 25 percent, the company plans to secure a new source of revenue. Eventim's revenues amounted to 256 million last year, a 15 percent increase over 2004 revenues.

 

But the industry's biggest stars are the ones who are benefiting the most from the live music boom. Indeed, major bands have been earning most of their income at concerts for some time now. U2, for example, earned €122 million last year, according to estimates by Rolling Stone, with fully €110 million of that coming from concerts and merchandising. Despite selling only about half a million albums worldwide, Neil Diamond ranked sixth among the industry's top moneymakers -- thanks to €35 million in revenues from an extended tour. Mariah Carey recorded the US's top-selling album last year, which sold 5 million copies, but didn't go on tour. As a result, she wasn't even ranked among the 30 highest-earning music stars.

 

Up to €1 million for a concert

 

This comes as no surprise. Even the most established superstars still collect only five or six euros for each record they sell -- but up to €1 million for a single concert.

 

As the record companies watch their sales decline, they can only look on with envy as their stars rake in the cash. For some years now, music companies have been pushing for record contracts that would garner them an average of 10 percent of artists' concert proceeds -- but with marginal success. More surprising is the fact that even concert promoters are hardly benefiting from the boom in their own industry. "We make about €7 million on revenues of €100 million -- it's consistent, but not particularly sexy for some," says Marek Lieberberg, whose concert agency made it to seventh place worldwide with more than a million tickets sold in the first half of 2006.

 

Lieberberg still remembers the good old days when concert promoters were treated with a measure of success. He himself, along with major players Fritz Rau and Peter Rieger, managed to bring bands like The Who and Pink Floyd to Germany. Sometimes, contracts were drafted on napkins.

 

Nowadays artists' contracts with promoters can run up to 400 pages, with everything specified down to the tiniest detail, including the font to be used on posters. "Practically all the decisions are being made from abroad, down to the exact locations of posters in (the mid-sized northern German city of) Gelsenkirchen," says Lieberberg.

 

Lieberberg, incensed over the meddling and controlling behavior of international superstars and their agents, says that "even the Bulgarian government bureaucracy is flexible by comparison." The consequence for German promoters like Lieberberg: "We now have very little influence over their success or failure."

 

They have even less influence over prices. "They have no sense of shame," says Lieberberg. Until the mid-1990s, 100 Deutschmarks (about $50) was about the highest price most artists would charge for their concert tickets. Anyone who chose to exceed that limit either had to be of Rolling Stones caliber or willing to perform to half-empty stadiums. Today stars like Robbie Williams won't go below €70, and the price of a Madonna ticket can range up to €192. Even moderately successful groups like the Pussycat Dolls refuse to even set foot on the stage for anything less than €45 a ticket.

 

Greater financial risk

 

Instead of hiring in-country promoters to market their tour stops in return for giving up a share of their revenues, many major bands are now marketing their tours themselves. Though this means assuming greater financial risk, it also gives the bands direct access to all revenues -- and control over ticket prices. The national promoters are only hired to organize and stage the actual concerts. Lieberberg, for example, was paid all of $50,000 for a Madonna concert.

 

But German promoters have a trick or two up their sleeves. One is something known in the industry as "English costs," a system whereby German promoters charge the international stars' agents, most of whom are headquartered in London, inflated event costs. "They usually have a file filled with a completely separate set of invoices where everything costs more than it really does," says an industry insider.

 

Even when international stars hire German companies to promote and organize their concerts, the German companies earn far less than they used to -- and assume much greater risk. Bands are now demanding enormous, guaranteed advances that are not dependent on ticket sales. The Rolling Stones, for example, wanted guaranteed sales in the two-digit millions for their last German tour.

 

Meanwhile, advances of half a million euros per concert have become standard for many well-known groups. Although the promoter stands to earn an initial share of 15 to 30 percent of ticket sales, it's also up to the promoter to ensure that enough tickets are sold in the first place to pay the band.

 

This arrangement doesn't always work, even with major stars. Last year Paul McCartney was scheduled to perform at Germany's Schalke Stadium, which holds an audience of about 60,000, a capacity that was reflected in his fee. But when only about 10,000 tickets were sold, the promoter found himself on the verge of bankruptcy. Only at the last minute did the former Beatle agree to move the performance to a much smaller venue.

 

Music festivals -- more enjoyable and profitable for promoters -- are a different story altogether. Lieberberg, for example, has been organizing the classic "Rock am Ring" festival at Germany's Nürburgring racetrack for 20 years, and launched his "Rock im Park" event in Nuremberg a few years ago.

 

"Really nice of Nena"

 

But there is one respect in which the festivals no longer differ from tours. "Most artists," says Lieberberg, "are getting more and more greedy." The stars performing at this year's "Rock am Ring" earned a combined fee of €4.1 million. Three years ago they were earning half as much.

 

A successful German band can now charge €50,000 to €100,000 to appear at a festival. An international star commands a quarter million while the headliner takes home a million euros. However, the musicians' expenses are not included in their fees. Bands that show up with four truckloads of equipment and a 20-man crew often end up with little in the way of income.

 

Even in a year that features tours by major artists from Robbie Williams to Depeche Mode, the biggest superstars make up only a fraction of total ticket sales. "They don't account for more than 5 to 10 percent of our sales," says ticket dealer Schulenberg. The ones that do bring in the revenues are bands like Klee, whose extensive tours and fan communities are more characteristic of the market -- and are barely able to make ends meet. "If we end up with an audience of only 300 people one night, we go home with less in our pockets than the lighting guy," says keyboard player Sten Servaes.

 

Last year Klee discovered what it feels like to play the biggest venues and arenas, when German pop legend Nena personally chose the band to open for her on her tour. But far from making money on the deal, Klee in fact ended up not getting paid at all. Major stars usually charge hefty fees to up-and-coming bands for the privilege of the media exposure performing with them brings with it -- fees upwards of €10,000 per event. "But we didn't have to pay anything," says Klee guitarist Tom Deininger. "That was really nice of Nena."

 

Translated from the German by Christopher Sultan

 

 

From

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/arti...in_page_id=1773

 

Robbie's £10m world tour on brink of disintegration

By PAUL SCOTT

 

 

Holed up amid the bucolic splendour of a lavish country house hotel early this week, Robbie Williams was in an unutterably bad temper.

 

Pacing the floor of his suite as his retinue of advisers and hangers-on sat heads bowed in embarrassed silence, the singer launched into a four-letter-word-strewn stream of consciousness, complaining about everything from his constant insomnia to how he feels his fans don't appreciate him enough.

 

It was a somewhat erratic performance and one that - sadly for the talented Williams - has become an all too regular occurrence in recent weeks.

 

Five months into a gruelling world tour (this week he finished the UK leg after playing to more than half a million British fans) and his fragile health is of grave concern to those around him. Not least because it is threatening to cost his record company - and the star - a fortune.

 

This week, his management team announced that Robbie's £10 million tour of the Far East, planned for November, is being cancelled as they finally confirmed rumours that the star is exhausted and stressed.

 

On Tuesday, his understandably jittery handlers put him on a flight back to his home in Los Angeles for a two-week break, in the hope that he will recuperate in time to resume the tour in South America next month.

 

Some within his entourage are openly speculating that he won't come back.

 

Last night, his father Pete told me: 'He is exhausted. He's hardly been home for ten months and he just needs to sleep in his own bed.'

 

At the same time, the planned release of his new album (tastelessly titled Rudebox) has been thrown into disarray over a vitriolic and ranting attack by the former Take That singer on his exmanager, contained in the lyrics of one of its songs.

 

Threats of legal action have led to panic at EMI, with the record label facing the possibility of having to hold up the October 23 launch date amid rumours that the track will have to be scrubbed.

 

Meanwhile, Williams's lawyers are preparing for a £1million libel writ from Nigel Martin-Smith, the manager who masterminded Take That's rise to fame and the subject of the song's scathing lyrics.

 

Martin-Smith is incandescent over the track, called The 90s, which makes a series of allegations about his treatment of Williams, who joined Take That as a 16-year-old.

 

But EMI's plan to jettison the song, or at the very least bleep out some of the lyrics (it has already removed the offending track from promotional copies of the CD), has not gone down well with Williams himself, the Mail has learned.

 

Insiders at the Williams camp reveal that the star has been advised by his legal team to make no further reference to the dispute with Martin-Smith for fear of inflaming the row.

 

Hardly surprising, then, that there were gasps of horror from Robbie's management and invited record company executives when the unpredictable star went on stage at the Milton Keynes Bowl last week and rapped an impromptu version of the potentially highly defamatory song to 65,000 of his fans.

 

One line includes the words: 'He's such an evil man. I used to fantasise I'd take a Stanley knife and go and play with his eyes.' All very unpleasant, and enough to have his lawyers squirming in case a recording of the section of the show becomes public. Too late, a fan, who filmed the unscheduled rendition on her mobile phone, has already posted the clip on the highly popular YouTube website.

 

As members of the audience are heard yelling abuse about Martin-Smith, Williams tells them with mock incredulity: 'I don't know what he is upset about.'

 

No wonder Robbie's friends and fans are worried about his behaviour.

 

This week, Elton John, who used to be close to Williams before they fell out when Robbie bizarrely accused him of once trying to kidnap him to get him off drugs, went public with his concerns.

 

He said: 'Robbie is the No.1 star in the world. He should let the other s*** go and, if he can't, then he needs to see someone and talk about it. All he is doing is burning a hole inside of himself, eating him up, making him angry and miserable.'

 

Sound advice - but if recent events are anything to go by, advice Williams is unlikely to heed.

 

What a shame, because Robbie is great performer who is adored by his fans. By the time his Close Encounters tour ends in Australia in December he will have played to three million people across the globe. It has already won him a place in the Guinness Book Of Records for selling out 1.6 million tickets in a day.

 

At the same time, he has won his battle against drink and drugs that once not only threatened his career, but also his life. So what, then, is going on with Robbie and why, at the age of 32, does he still seem so intent on self-destruction?

 

It is no secret that he has been harbouring an unhealthy obsession with Martin-Smith since he walked out of Take That in 1995, complaining the control exerted on him led him to alcoholism and drug-taking.

 

Since then, he has wasted no chance to pour opprobrium on his Svengali-like ex-manager and his former Take That companions (he refused to join them on their comeback tour this year, and last week was still mocking them from the stage).

 

But at the same time, he seems incapable of enjoying the success (£100 million fortune) his talent has earned him. Friends say he has become increasingly nostalgic for the life he had in Stoke-on-Trent before he found fame.

 

He has spent days in front of his computer on the Friends Reunited website, tracking down his old school chums and telling those close to him that he wishes he could go back to being unknown.

 

His message, posted to former pupils at St Margaret Ward High School in Tunstall, jokes about his one-time ambition to be a holiday camp entertainer.

 

'It's turned out well for me so far, got the interview at Butlin's and haven't looked back,' he writes. 'If you need an entertainer for your children's party, I do magic tricks and everything!'

 

But his nostalgia for his schooldays is also at the root of one bizarre episode which involves a former childhood sweetheart, Rachel Gilson, whom he has described as his 'one and only true love'. They dated at school and have been in touch on and off in the intervening years.

 

As he became increasingly wistful for a life long gone, he decided to look up the girl he described with unflinching certainty to friends as 'the one that got away'.

 

Those same friends, it should be said, have become all too used to such assertions. Williams, they say, is wont to indulge in flights of fancy about women he barely knows, imagining himself married and playing happy families within minutes of meeting a new woman.

 

Last summer, Williams rang Rachel out of the blue at her home in Bury, Lancs. There was little small talk. Neither of them was getting any younger, he told her. He was finally 'ready to settle down'.

 

Not surprisingly, Rachel was shocked, because their relationship had been little more than a playground crush in the final year of school.

 

With the impetuousness that has become familiar to those around him, Robbie told Rachel to pack a bag and said his PA would arrange to fly her out to Los Angeles that week. Rachel was swept off her feet and agreed.

 

His scheme, however, left some within his entourage openmouthed. What, they speculated, were the odds of Williams enjoying a 'happy-ever-after' with a girl he hardly knew?

 

Five days later, they had their answer. Amid claims that she blamed his bizarre behaviour on the anti-depressants he takes daily, a tearful Rachel fled home to Britain.

 

Friends report that the pair spent the first couple of days at his Beverly Hills mansion like a couple of loved-up teenagers, discussing their future together and exploring his adopted city.

 

But then they had a petty, but heated row. They tried to talk the following day, but the conversation ended in tearful recriminations. By the end of it, Robbie told Rachel that he was sorry but he wanted her to leave.

 

Rachel spent one last traumatic night in the house and departed for England the following day. In the intervening months, according to those around him, he has embarked on a series of short-lived affairs with women in Los Angeles including, it is claimed, U.S. model Jessica Cole. Meanwhile, on tour he remains surrounded by a retinue of willing groupies.

 

His constant companion, however, is his childhood friend Jonathan Wilkes, who performs a nightly and highly camp performance of Me And My Shadow with Williams on stage.

 

Williams and Wilkes, who is married with a baby son, have endured constant rumours about their sexuality - much, it should said, of their own making.

 

They have given themselves the nicknames 'Flank' and 'Spank' and allowed themselves to be filmed semi-naked in a paddling pool on Robbie's current tour, jokily discussing whether the singer might end up settling down with a man.

 

Such behaviour was particularly strange, given that Robbie took legal action nine months ago over a Sunday newspaper's false claim that he was involved in a gay encounter in the toilet of a Manchester nightclub.

 

At the same time, the star's fans have been posting their concerns for his health on a series of fan websites after he appeared to be sweating profusely during one of his Milton Keynes shows last week. Indeed, one pop reviewer described him as looking 'bloated and dishevelled'.

 

If that were not enough, his new album's title track has also had a mauling - with one critic labelling it 'the worst I've ever heard.'

 

And a source within his entourage told the Mail: 'The past few weeks before we arrived back in Britain have been pretty awful. Some days Rob has been sleeping till 3pm, then saying he can't go on stage that night.

 

'The tour is draining for everyone, but particularly for Rob, and he has not looked at all happy. In the end, the only thing to do was to cancel the Far East section.

 

'Some pretty terrified promoters from South America and Australia are desperate to know if their tours will be next to go.'

 

Robbie's father said: 'He's been getting through on adrenalin, but he will rest completely for a couple of weeks and do nothing. He'll have a break and finish the tour.'

 

His legions of fans (and those worried record company moneymen) will be hoping he's right.

 

• Paul Scott is the author of Robbie Williams: Facing The Ghosts, published by Andre Deutsch at £6.99.

 

 

Bollocks. -_- Total and utter. :arrr:

Edited September 22, 200618 yr by jupiter9

:arrr: :arrr: :arrr: :arrr: :arrr: :arrr: :arrr: :arrr: :arrr:

 

I cant believe this they have really crazy

Edited September 22, 200618 yr by Wen

:arrr: :arrr: :arrr: :angry: :angry: :angry:

 

Im not even going to comment on that :angry:

 

 

 

Kerry Katona wants to get Robbie Williams into bed

The cheeky former Atomic Kitten star is desperate for a night of passion wit h the 'Angels' singer but wouldn't want to listen to any of his hit singles.

 

She revealed to OK! magazine: "Scientists say playing a Robbie Williams album while having sex helps people lose their inhibitions - I don't need help in that department.

 

"If I had Robbie Williams in the bedroom that would be a different matter. I wouldn't have him singing though, I would get him to entertain me in the only way he knows how." The 26-year-old star also fancies former 'Baywatch' actor David Hasselhoff.

 

Kerry said: "I always thought 'The Hoff' was quite fit and even now he is pretty hot. He's tall, dark and handsome and looks good in a pair of swimming trunks - and not a lot of blokes can do that!"

 

 

http://www.pr-inside.com

 

 

The only "news " i could find after a 3 hours search on the internet :angry: :cry:

Edited September 23, 200618 yr by Nicky

Will they ever leave him alone ... ? :arrr: :arrr: :arrr: