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

 

 

 

Robbie Bowls them over

By André Paine, Evening Standard 15.09.06

 

Robbie Williams had an ironic greeting for the 65,000 fans at the first of five nights at Milton Keynes Bowl: "Welcome to the new Wembley!"

 

He was originally supposed to play the rebuilt stadium, and like Sir Mick Jagger - who quipped about Wembley being just about ready for Arctic Monkeys' farewell tour - the delays prompted a gag from Robbie: "It will be ready for Theo Walcott's testimonial though."

 

Of course, Robbie Williams will always have something to say. But this was a big-mouthed performance, even for him.

 

After a burst of the Close Encounters music, some flashing lights and fireworks, Robbie appeared on the ego ramp jutting out from the futuristicthemed stage. And he stayed there for much of the evening, soaking up the fans' love.

 

Their screams punctuated the opening-tune Radio - still a great, quirky pop song, even with Robbie swearing throughout - and continued for the playful Rock DJ. But despite the big budget production and receptive audience, Robbie didn't always seem to have the necessary attention span for his own songs.

 

His singing was wayward - a talented band and backing singers kept the performance on track - and as he larked around he seemed to live up to his recent description of himself as an "end-of-the-pier entertainer". On a fine evening, he was also curiously sweaty from the start and later said he was feeling "like s**t". :cry:

 

But spurred on by the crowd, Robbie's excitement never wavered and it made for a flawed but captivating performance.

 

The second half of the show was more convincing too, after a pretty awful guest spot from his friend Jonathan Wilkes on the swing standard Me And My Shadow (complete with tedious banter).

 

However, his lawyers may be wishing he hadn't shared his latest dispute with former Take That manager Nigel Martin-Smith with thousands of fans, who could easily have recorded it on mobile phones to share on the web.

 

EMI has removed a track called The 90s from promotional copies of his new album as Martin-Smith has threatened legal action. But he performed some of it anyway, singing about an "evil man" and much worse. "I don't know why he's upset," Robbie said mockingly. :lol:

 

He also joked about Take That trying to get him on tour when he'd sold three million tickets for his summer dates. But he dedicated a rousing version of their song Back For Good to them and continued impressively with the underrated ballad Advertising Space.

 

By this point, there was a powerful bond with the audience and the encore was genuinely memorable. Robbie appeared high above the stage, clutching a double cone with his face smeared with ice cream, and descended on a small plat form to join his band for a riotous Let Me Entertain You.

 

Changed into a hoodie, he also played his new single Rudebox, an amusing take on hip hop which was, perhaps surprisingly, one of the stand- out moments. But he finished with Angels, of course, and Kids - and then, still going strong after 90 minutes, ran around punching the air in triumph.

 

:unsure:

 

 

Yes Ossie. You are reposting (but we forgive you :heart: ).

 

See the discussions in the Normal News (in the pinned section).

 

;)

From http://www.belfasttoday.net

 

 

(Friday, September 15)

Robbie persona takes over as Angels singer falls from grace

You have to wonder exactly what Robbie Williams thinks he is playing at.

 

Well, okay, from a commercial point of view he's gearing for a Christmas number one album.

And Rudebox (a truly awful title) is a record which will no doubt find its way into stockings everywhere thanks to well-meaning relatives who think it's the perfect gift for anyone under the age of 35.

But the preceding single, also called Rudebox (still a truly awful title), is so poor it should be used to advertise earplugs.

Of course, it's easy to stick the boot into Robbie at this stage.

Once the only credible member of Take That, he's in danger of being overshadowed by his former band's reunion tour.

Reviewers calling Rudebox ''the worst song ever'' may be overstating the matter slightly, but they're definitely in the right ballpark.

Still, starting the Robbie backlash now is missing the boat by a few records.

The departure of long-time collaborator Guy Chambers, who helped write the most memorable songs on the five number one album which sold over 37 million copies, is when things started to go wrong.

Whatever the truth behind their 2002 split, and there has been a lot of speculation about who did what in their songwriting partnership, it's fair to say Robbie Williams hasn't been the same since.

Escapology showed signs that the relationship was strained, it was a rushed record concerned more with endings than new beginnings.

It had the effect of drawing a line under the first stage of Robbie's solo career.

Gone was the cheeky chappie who could charm audiences from the comfort of chatshow sofas, he was replaced by a slightly morose individual who was creatively lost.

On record at least he began behaving like a man stripped of his own identity, and was drawing water from the increasingly shallow pool of his former glories.

Singles like Radio and Tripping have been extremely questionable in terms of quality; virtually bereft of anything that could be called a tune and lyrically drowning.

And it's the same with Rudebox (there's just no liking that title, is there?).

Once again there's no tune and the words sound like they were cobbled together in the back of the limousine on the way to the studio.

All that's holding it together is Robbie Williams' personality.

Arrogance may be great on stage, but left to its own devices in the studio it leads to a mess.

It's part of an increasing trend where the cult of Robbie Williams seems to be the driving force over and above any creativity he has.

In the pop world, he is being dwarfed by the likes of Justin Timberlake, Beyonce and the Scissor Sisters, who have had the sense to turn up with some decent tunes.

He is still trading on an increasingly empty persona and the adoration of his fans on this side of the pond.

Long gone are the days of Angels and Let Me Entertain You, now all he seems to do is moan about how awful life is as a multi-millionaire pop star and intersperse that with tunes that suggest he may just be right to leave the business for good.

Ultimately, it seems that Robbie Williams has done it all save for conquering America and he's given up on that dream anyway.

Experimental tunes and self-indulgence are fine as long as you make them interesting.

But his boredom is reflected in songs that have all the drive and urgency of your average office worker at 9.15am on a Monday morning.

Actually, I'll take that back because it does a disservice to the many office workers who truly care about what they do.

Watching his fall from relevance is a truly unedifying spectacle, and it can only be a matter of time before the audience, who has carried him this far, becomes as disinterested as he is.

 

 

:angry: :angry: :angry: :angry: :angry: :angry: :angry: :angry: :angry:

 

From http://www.itv.com

 

 

Robbie wants some action

1.23, Fri Sep 15 2006

 

 

Robbie Williams has revealed he hasn't had sex for three weeks at the first night of his shows at the Milton Keynes Bowl.

 

The randy star confessed he was after some action, and even persuaded a fan in the crowd to flash her chest, to his disbelief!

 

It would have certainly distracted Robbie from his present woes, which has seen him faced with possibly heading to court.

 

His former manager Nigel Martin Smith has threatened the singer with court action unless he pulls a song about him from his new album.

 

Called The 90s, the track is believed to contain "serious allegations" about the Take That guru.

 

Robbie's team have agreed to stop the tune from being distributed and releasing the lyrics until the matter is resolved.

 

This could potentially delay the release of the singer's album Rudebox, which is slated to drop October 23.

 

:rolleyes: Thought he was too tired?

From dotmusic on Yahoo.

 

 

Jose reveals friendship with Robbie

(Friday September 15, 2006 01:07 PM)

 

It seems that music hunk Robbie Williams has a new friend - Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho.

 

In what must be one of the most unlikely friendships, Jose revealed that the pair regularly meet up.

 

"Robbie Williams, when he's in London, stays at the hotel where we (Chelsea) stay. We meet, we chat," he told Portuguese magazine Maxima.

 

Robbie, who has just released his new hip-hop single Rudebox, is a self-confessed football fan who has had a soccer pitch built into his back garden in Los Angeles.

 

But the pair might not have that much in common. Rob is an avid Port Vale fan - while Jose has admitted his music tastes aren't very up-to-date.

 

"I'm still a bit in the 70s and 80s -- Sting, Bryan Adams, Genesis, Pink Floyd," he said.

 

And the dashing football boss said that singer Bryan Adams often leaves him messages about Chelsea's performance.

 

"I know the ones who come to football: Bryan Adams, pining for Chelsea, phoning to give his congratulations or wish good luck," he said.

 

 

From http://www.itv.com

Robbie wants some action

1.23, Fri Sep 15 2006

Robbie Williams has revealed he hasn't had sex for three weeks at the first night of his shows at the Milton Keynes Bowl.

 

The randy star confessed he was after some action, and even persuaded a fan in the crowd to flash her chest, to his disbelief!

 

It would have certainly distracted Robbie from his present woes, which has seen him faced with possibly heading to court.

 

His former manager Nigel Martin Smith has threatened the singer with court action unless he pulls a song about him from his new album.

 

Called The 90s, the track is believed to contain "serious allegations" about the Take That guru.

 

Robbie's team have agreed to stop the tune from being distributed and releasing the lyrics until the matter is resolved.

 

This could potentially delay the release of the singer's album Rudebox, which is slated to drop October 23.

 

:rolleyes: Thought he was too tired?

 

He's never too tired for that. :lol:

I've heard the first night in MK went really well, crowd was amazing and Rob as well but he's still feeling ill and having a cold or something. I suppose at the moment he's having minor health problems and by cancelling the Asian gigs and giving him a longer break they want to prevent it from getting worse.

As for promo in South America, I will only believe that when it's official. And even if it is, promotion is far less exhausting than doing those 2 hour concerts.

He's just been talking about the Tour in this Radio interview. He says he's really exhausted :cry: and has bitten off more than he can chew with this Tour.

Interestingly he said the concerts themselves were no problem. What was tiring him out was the travelling and the waiting around between concerts.

 

He wants to go home to LA to see his dogs. :cry:

from http://www.thesun.co.uk

 

 

Rudeboy Rob is needling Nigel

 

September 16, 2006

 

ROBBIE WILLIAMS has obviously decided he won’t back down in his legal fight with ex-manager NIGEL MARTIN-SMITH.

 

Nigel is demanding Robbie remove a track called The 90s from his new album Rudebox — because he says it contains serious and completely untrue allegations about him in the lyrics.

 

But on Thursday night Robbie defied legal warnings and rapped the song in front of 65,000 fans at the Milton Keynes Bowl.

 

Just before he sang the old Take That tune Back For Good, Robbie told the crowd: “Did you see a story in The Sun today about me?

 

“My former manager’s got a problem with a song on my album called The 90s.â€

 

Robbie then rapped the lyrics — which I can’t print for legal reasons — and asked: “What’s wrong with that?â€

 

I’m sure Nigel didn’t buy a ticket for the gig but he will be livid when he hears what Robbie did and will no doubt send another stroppy letter to the singer’s lawyers.

 

I’ve got a feeling Robbie ignored advice from his own legal team — and he may end up regretting it.

 

Rudebox is due out on October 23. But if Robbie and Nigel don’t sort out their dispute in time the release could be put back.

 

That would be a disaster for Robbie’s label because it could flush an expensive marketing campaign down the pan. Already it means they can’t press millions of CDs for fear they might have to be scrapped.

 

Robbie is doing five Milton Keynes gigs as part of his Close Encounters world tour.

 

He was supposed to play at the new Wembley — but the stadium wasn’t finished.

 

Poking fun at the slow builders, Robbie said: “Wembley should be ready in time for THEO WALCOTT’s testimonial.â€

 

:rolleyes: Robbie, Robbie,Robbie

Robbie Williams cancels Asian leg of tour

DigitalSpy: Saturday, September 16 2006, 10:07 BST - by Daniel Kilkelly

 

Robbie Williams has decided to cancel the Asian leg of his current world tour.

 

The Angels singer is suffering from stress and exhaustion following non-stop performances since May.

 

His spokesman explained: "These performances would be asking too much. They would have greatly added to his workload."

 

Williams had been expected to entertain fans in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Singapore, Mumbai and Bangalore in November.

well aslong as its not in this thread...hehehe cause i read all the pages and couldnt find it

I guess for once I agree with Vicky :o

I'm not sure if it's a wise thing to do to be rapping those nasty lyrics live... could get him into even more trouble. Rob, we'd like to hear the Rudebox album at some point, so please don't overdo it. :cry:

I was already wondering- if they take the 90s song off the album and there will be a delay, how much time could we be talking about here ? A month, much longer than that... does anyone have an idea? :unsure:

 

 

I hope he does'nt take it off the album and just stands up to that t***. Don't give him the satisfaction. :smoke:

It's all the blessed Vicky's fault anyway. If she hadn't plastered all over her column that the 90s had lyrics about NMS he would never have been any the wiser. ( Well, at least not until the CD was released :angry: )

Good point, jups. If Nigel only got to know about those lyrics AFTER the album release I wouldn't be that bothered. Of course he would have still taken Rob to court for them, but at least we would have the album. I'm being a bit egoistic here :lol:

I hope there will be news on the developments soon, I wanna know what's happening and if there will be a delay and how long that would be.

Do I get this right, if Rob leaves the song on the album then it won't be delayed but Nigel will defenitely sue him then ? :unsure:

 

That's what I don't know. If NMS's lawyers don't get Rob's agreement to remove (or at least amend) the song, can they then get some kind of injunction to stop the CD being distributed? :unsure:

From http://www.news.com.au/sundaytelegraph

 

 

'Tired' Robbie cancels shows

By Peter Holmes

 

September 17, 2006 12:00

 

 

BRITISH pop superstar Robbie Williams yesterday cancelled part of his international tour, sparking concerns about the future of his Australian shows.

 

Blaming "stress and exhaustion'', the performer announced that a raft of Asian concerts - which precede his Australian shows - would not go ahead.

 

But Australian promoter Michael Chugg was quick to promise the 450,000 people holding tickets for Williams' local concerts that the singer would not pull the plug on his Australian tour.

 

"They haven't said a word about cancelling Australia,'' Mr Chugg said yesterday.

 

"I spoke to Robbie's management last night, and the night before that, and we're full steam ahead.''

 

Williams, 32, was due to perform in China, Thailand, Singapore and India from November 4-24, before flying to Australia. His local tour is due to start on November 30 at Perth's Subiaco Oval, ahead of shows at Sydney's Aussie Stadium on December 9 and 10.

 

A spokesman for Williams told the BBC that it "would be asking too much'' for the singer to perform in Asia.

 

According to the Shanghai Daily, Williams' Asian promoters were told that "the stress and exhaustion of the Asian tour, coming so shortly after the end of the European and South American dates, would seriously impact his health''.

 

Williams has performed to more than three million people across 40 concerts on his current Close Encounters tour.

 

Mr Chugg said he spoke to Williams last month.

 

"He was very excited about coming back to Australia. I don't know why he's cancelled Asia - perhaps it's a financial thing,'' he said. :blink:

 

It is expected more tickets for Williams' Australian shows will go on sale on October 4. :)

 

from http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow

 

 

Still a chance to see RobbieLisa Chant

September 17, 2006 12:15am

AT least 2500 extra seats will be released for Robbie Williams' sold-out Adelaide show.

 

The British performer – whose latest single Rudebox debuted on the ARIA singles chart this week at No.13 – plays AAMI Stadium on December 5 on his Close Encounters world tour.

 

SA promoter Brian Gleeson confirmed the Australian shows would go ahead, despite Williams cancelling the Asian leg of his tour – including dates in Hong Kong, Bangkok and Singapore – because of health concerns.

 

A spokesman for Williams said honouring the dates "would be asking too much" and would "seriously impact his health".

 

However, he'll still wind up the tour in Australia, starting with a concert in Perth on November 30 and finishing in Melbourne on December 18. The 50,000 original tickets to the SA gig sold out within two hours of going on sale on June 7.

 

But Mr Gleeson said Chugg Entertainment had worked for months to try to increase the venue in a safe manner.

 

"And we've managed to pull it off, giving more diehard fans the chance to see Robbie in action".

 

The new tickets will be a mix of gold and silver, priced at $149.95 and $99.95 respectively.

 

They go on sale on October 4 through Ticketek and will be limited to a maximum of six tickets per person

 

From http://www.news.com.au/sundayheraldsun

 

 

Robbie's still heading here

 

September 17, 2006 12:00am

 

POP star Robbie Williams will still rock Australia despite scrapping Asian dates.

 

Williams, 32, blamed stress and exhaustion for cancelled shows in China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore and India.

But Williams' Australian tour promoter, Michael Chugg, said local dates were not affected.

 

"Everything is fine," Chugg said yesterday. "I don't know why Robbie is pulling out of Asia. But Australia is 100 per cent not a problem."

 

And Chugg will release new tickets for Williams' Australian shows.

 

Extra tickets for the Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide shows will go on sale on October 4, then Melbourne and Perth on October 5.

 

Williams performs at Telstra Dome on December 17 and 18.

 

But the concerts could be his last for a while.

 

"It's not something I want to do again for a long

 

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

 

 

WILLIAMS SLATES OLD MANAGER ON STAGE

 

 

British pop star ROBBIE WILLIAMS has stepped up his war with former manager NIGEL MARTIN-SMITH by slamming him from the stage during a concert.

The ANGELS singer is currently involved in a feud with his ex TAKE THAT boss over a song on his new album, which lawyers believe could be libellous.

In outspoken track THE 90s, Williams reveals he fantasised about hurting the pop mogul during his time with the chart-topping boy band.

Martin-Smith has demanded the song be removed from William's new album RUDEBOX.

But defiant Williams sang the words in front of 65,000 fans at the Milton Keynes Bowl in England on Thursday (14SEP06).

 

<_<

 

 

:arrr: :angry: :angry: what a horrible article that last one was, not a nice word in it at all

 

I really wish they would get all their facts right before writing such words.