Better Man

Congrats, Louis! I really like him and his style of music. Good luck with that era and next steps in his carreer.

Another fantastic review. And I'm not talking about any marks or how this man liked this album but I'm talking about the style of writing the review. From time to time I write texts about music, reviews but I would never write something like this. And yes, special thanks for 100% Beau, my fave song of the album (by now). BRITPOP - Robbie Williams- a reviewSean Bw Parker Jan 31, 2026 Noel Gallagher once called Robbie Williams ‘the fat dancer in Take That’, around the time Williams was extricating himself from his boyband past, determined to rock out. Then Angels and debut solo album Life Thru A Lens came along, and stole a by-then past-it Oasis’ Northern Ballad Anthem crown. That doesn’t stop Robbie channelling Liam Gallagher on BRITPOP’s All My Life, while scrutinising - or rather taking the piss out of - mental health jargon: ‘Go ahead, let’s have an intervention...maybe I’ve been crazy all my life’ he rasps. Since RW has been ‘a thing’, around the turn of the millennium, a familiar pub table round has been the females of the group loving his cheeky chappy ways, either wanting to take care of him or shag him. Meanwhile, the (heterosexual) male part of the gathering generally consider him to be a bit of a tosser. Jealousy? Maybe, but also a distrust of someone permanently presenting art-as-pisstake, and revelling in it as our hero so does. As long as you’re not expecting Dostoevsky, the lyrics are by turns very profound and a hoot, as seems to be the ADHD-tinged mind of their creator, ‘I keep reading my lyrics, they keep making me paranoid’ he sings on You, shortly after the creator of the original Paranoid riff, Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi, kicked off the album on Rocket. Sometimes Robbie goes brilliantly punk, as on Comments Section and Bite Your Tongue, both circling around ‘free speech/censorship issues’, but he constantly lets the listener off in the chorus, going to the anthemic and predictable. It would be great to hear him pummel our synapses from beginning to end one day, because he does it very well. Speaking of Bite Your Tongue, it echoes fellow enormo-star Taylor Swift’s CANCELLED!, whose parent album shunted the release of BRITPOP to now, so as to maximise profits for his record company, i.e. not get ignored. This subtle willingness of big artistes to grasp the nettle of ‘forces’ telling them to mind their p’s and q’s is refreshing, not to mention important. The kids are paying attention (Robbie no doubt hopes). Old mucker Gary Barlow pops up as co-writer of Morrissey, wherein fellow northerners cite the guilty pleasures of The Smiths frontman’s utterly based ways, but who came up with his being ‘lost and lonely, hurt and abused’? Robbie or Gary? ‘I’m a little like you but a lot less worthy’ sounds more like it. Ah, these charming men. Desire with Laura Pausini, official FIFA anthem, almost lets the entire album down with its lazy, pointless, Coldplay-channelling ‘whoah-ohs’, almost as if it’s a required contractual requirement as a tie-in by the totally post-corruption football organisation and RW’s record company. Almost. Human, featuring Jesse and Joy, gets us back on sweet ‘n simple humanitarian Aquarian ground, and is Robbie at his most unaffected. But it’s Selfish Disco which the albums peerless high point to these ears, uniting the loner dweebs with the party girls under the Umbrella of Robbie, incredibly catchy, but also fun and honest. Best thing he’s ever done? Lazy Days and Rock DJ are banging millennial pop songs, but at 50 Robbie has pulled one out of the hat with this one too. Parallels to Lily Allen about, the West End Girl to Robbie’s Oldham Rock ‘n Roll Survivor, witty, semi-serious, still awash in now highly suspect celebrity stardust. Overall though, despite its postmodern mix n’ match pretensions, BRITPOP is also a love letter to wife of 16 years Ayda Field, as all his witty cultural psycho-spiritual insights are balanced with an acknowledgement that there is no counselling that can compare to the wit and warmth of a genuine loved one. And the album? As he says on 100% Beau - ‘Let’s not mess with the magic’. BRITPOP - Robbie Williams- a rev...BRITPOP - Robbie Williams- a reviewNoel Gallagher once called Robbie Williams ‘the fat dancer in Take That’, around the time Williams was extricating himself from his boyband past, determined to rock out.

On Friday, Jan-30, 2025 01 28,416 Louis Tomlinson - How Did I Get Here? [15,535 CDs, 6,851 vinyl, 1,208 cassettes, 2,578 downloads, 2,244 streaming] 02 15,994 Olivia Dean - The Art of Loving 03 14,294 Megadeth - Megadeth 04 9,183 Callum Beattie - INDI 05 8,636 Fleetwood Mac - 50 Years: Don't Stop 06 7,469 The Weeknd - The Highlights 07 6,510 Ed Sheeran - +-=÷× (Tour Collection) 08 6,130 Sabrina Carpenter - Man's Best Friend 09 5,888 Taylor Swift - The Life of a Showgirl 10 5,818 Michael Jackson - The Essential 14 5,108 MIKA - Hyperlove 16 5,075 Harry Styles - Harry's House [total: 941,532] 22 4,651 Zach Bryan - With Heaven on Top 23 4,579 The Damned - Not Like Everybody Else 25 4,349 Harry Styles - Fine Line [total: 1,035,090] 28 4,200 A$AP Rocky - Don't Be Dumb 36 3,273 Robbie Williams - BRITPOP

Full 1 hour interview is here

I liked this Gary's answer about ManUtd. 100% right ☠️ Very funny interview, really recommend

Yes :)

Still think that there will be any mentioning of Robbie at some point at the BRITs.

I think yes, they share the time during both promo

Oh yes!! 🤣 Sorry, yes! Come on, Serbia (and Novak this week :)

Btw, I think Mika would be a perfect special guest for Take That concerts. Maybe in future if not during The Circus tour.

Britpop is Number 27 in UK today, let's see on tomorrow chart.

Lol, Mika has joined Take That. I like him as well, very good artist.

Today at Heart

Haven't seen it yet - trying to find it somewhere : we don't have (happy people at some point 😄) Netflix nowadays but should be found soon. Thank you for your reviews.

Tess, thanks for Nikola's story about AML. I liiiike such stories, you know. Happy to know it reached the album in the end.

Waiting for all this cozy promo :)

For me this album is 5 stars album too, btw. Maybe C-, as Western countries say.

A recent Robbie's message at the stadium

Take That shared the new song, You’re A Superstar, in the closing credits of the final episode of their three-part Netflix documentary. The pop trio — Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen — slipped a surprise new track into the finale of the tell-all series, and it’s now been confirmed that the song comes from their first album since 2023’s This Life. An insider told The Mirror: “The band thought it would be a great surprise and a treat for fans at the end of the Netflix series. It’s a great way to tease their new material and the full single will be coming soon.” Gary confirmed a new album was underway last year, but admitted he would prefer to just keep dropping singles. https://www.music-news.com/news/UK/186722/Take-That-tease-new-song-You-re-A-Superstar-from-forthcoming-album-at-end-of-Netflix-documentary

Music video will be published tomorrow.

Made update here: THE BEATLES(incl.band & solo efforts) Number #1 Albums - 29 Number #1 Singles - 27 TAKE THAT (incl.band & solo efforts) Number #1 Albums - 28 Number #1 Singles - 22 OASIS(incl.band & solo efforts) Number #1 Albums - 18 Number #1 Singles - 8

After yesterday's BRITPOP Number 1 I've updated the stats of a first message the thread.

This song sounds better and better!