De Niro

FINALLY the IFPI have released their list of best selling albums of 2009 :D Global Top 50 Best Selling Albums 2009 Rank Artist Album Company 1 Susan Boyle I Dreamed A Dream Sony Music 2 Black Eyed Peas The E.N.D Universal Music (The Energy Never Dies) 3 Michael Jackson Michael Jackson’s Sony Music This Is It 4 Taylor Swift Fearless Universal Music 5 Lady Gaga The Fame Universal Music 6 Michael Bublé Crazy Love Warner Music 7 U2 No Line On The Horizon Universal Music 8 Michael Jackson Thriller Sony Music 9 Michael Jackson Number Ones Sony Music 10 Andrea Bocelli My Christmas Universal Music 11 Kings Of Leon Only By The Night Sony Music 12 Michael Jackson The Essential Sony Music Michael Jackson 13 OST Hannah Montana – Walt Disney Records/ The Movie Universal Music/EMI Music 14 Eminem Relapse Universal Music 15 Lady Gaga The Fame Monster Universal Music 16 Green Day 21st Century Breakdown Warner Music 17 Beyoncé I Am...Sasha Fierce Sony Music 18 Michael Jackson King Of Pop Sony Music 19 OST Twilight – Warner Music Music From The OST 20 OST The Twilight Saga: Warner Music New Moon 21 Robbie Williams Reality Killed The EMI Music Video Star 22 Madonna Celebration Warner Music 23 Rihanna Rated R Universal Music 24 Jay-Z The Blueprint 3 Warner Music 25 P!nk Funhouse Sony Music 26 Miley Cyrus The Time Of Our Lives Hollywood Records/ Universal Music 27 Whitney Houston I Look To You Sony Music 28 Muse The Resistance Warner Music 29 Norah Jones The Fall EMI Music 30 Alicia Keys The Element Of Freedom Sony Music 31 Lily Allen It’s Not Me, It’s You EMI Music 32 Bon Jovi The Circle Universal Music 33 Michael Jackson Bad Sony Music 34 Arashi All the BEST! 1999–2009 J Storm Inc. 35 Jason Mraz We Sing. We Dance. Warner Music We Steal Things. 36 Bruce Springsteen Working On A Dream Sony Music 37 Leona Lewis Echo Sony Music 38 Carrie Underwood Play On Sony Music 39 Kelly Clarkson All I Ever Wanted Sony Music 40 Various Artists Now Thats What I EMI Music Call Music! 74 41 Zac Brown Band The Foundation Warner Music 42 Michael Jackson Off the Wall Sony Music 43 Sting If On A Winter’s Night Universal Music 44 Exile Aisubeki Miraihe Avex Marketing Inc. 45 Nickelback Dark Horse Warner Music/EMI Music 46 Jonas Brothers Lines, Vines and Hollywood Records/ Trying Times Universal Music 47 Shakira She Wolf Sony Music 48 Michael Jackson Dangerous Sony Music 49 Justin Bieber My World Universal Music 50 Rascal Flatts Unstoppable Hollywood Records/ Universal Music UKMIX

According to http://www.nicematin.com/article/peo...a-villefranch (scans here http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/2192/robbiew.jpg with thanks to Lamponefan on the OS ) Robbie performed at a wedding of the daughter of some really rich guy in France on Friday and got paid a whopping £5 million. Lucky git :o

Robbie Williams plans Take That bonding holiday in LA and Las Vegas The Mirror.co.uk 22/07/2010 Now Robbie is Back for Good he is desperate to Take That & Party with his old buddies. He is organising a lads' bonding holiday in the sun next month, ahead of the release of new TT album The Flood and their mega tour. Teetotal Rob, 36, has invited his Take That bandmates to his home in LA and is planning a jaunt from there to Vegas to check out the shows in preparation for their reunion tour next year. But unlike their road trips of the past, girls, drugs and booze are banned. Their other halves will be pleased, especially Mark Owen's missus Emma. Pals say she is desperately trying to trust him again after he sought treat-ment for his numerous affairs. A source tells us: "When Gary, Mark, Howard and Jason got back together in 2006 they went on a road trip from LA to Vegas to get into the swing of being in a group again. "They had an absolute ball - it was that kind of thing Robbie felt he has missed out on. "Going to Vegas is like a pilgrimage for them. In the past Gary has insisted they go there to get ideas for the tour. It's easy to disappear, away from prying eyes, work on ideas and chill out. "So when Robbie suggested a lads' holiday, one of his ideas was Vegas. "They have all met up on nights out. But a bonding holiday will help prepare them for being in each other's company day in and day out, like they will be on tour. Vegas is perfect - it's not far from Rob's place in LA or the studio where they can rehearse. And it'll give them time to come up with ideas for the tour. They have a skeleton idea of what they want to do, but things change all the time. "It will be a working holiday so the girls generally don't go along with them. "It will be tough on Mark and Emma, but they have to get used to trusting each other again. It is his job to be away so much, unfortunately."

Bud ain't here anymore The Sun 22nd July http://i1004.photobucket.com/albums/af167/therobbiewilliamssiteukau/Picture3-35.png Brake That habit ... band bar booze on tour Hamish Brown TAKE THAT and party - with a nice picnic egg and maybe some fizzy juice. GARY BARLOW and the lads have agreed to ban booze backstage when they hit the road next year. The finest manband in the land have a lot to celebrate - a new album, an epic 54-date tour and the prospect of a £15million pay day each to come. But the hell-raising and high jinks are behind them. MARK OWEN has been battling his drink demons since March after confessing to ten drunken affairs. He promised his wife EMMA FERGUSON that he had knocked his three bottles of wine a day on the head. And the returning ROBBIE WILLIAMS has been on the wagon for years after spells in rehab. A source said: "The boys have had time together over the last week working on the new video. "They have had a chance to sit down and discuss plans for next year. It's a sensitive subject but booze will be off limits for the band and the crew. "The Circus Tour was one giant party and, for Mark and Robbie's sake, that just won't work this time round." Laugh It's a sensible decision and shows how much the boys have matured. When I interviewed Mark earlier this year he said he used to hit the bottle after every show. Even Robbie's old man PETE CONWAY has talked about how different their antics will be this time around. He said: "They are all married now and Rob has a girlfriend so it's different from when they were teenagers. They have different stuff going on in their lives. It won't get as wild as it used to." I guarantee it won't stop the lads having a great laugh. I had a well-oiled smash-up of a time on the road following them to Scotland, Sunderland and Wemberlee last year. I'll just have to sneak my Tennent's lager into the grounds in a long coat. The booze might not be flowing but Robbie is still filling his boots at the moment. As well as the Take That tour and new album - and his own Greatest Hits Collection due out - he's also releasing a computer game. We Sing Robbie Williams lets fans perform 25 of his hits on their Nintendo Wii and is out in October. And he's also in negotiations for a new record deal that could net him up to £100million. source: The Sun via Jackie at TRWS

Robbie Williams to star in karaoke video game Music Week 11:23 | Thursday July 22, 2010 EMI Music has teamed up with Nordic Games to launch a karaoke video game featuring Robbie Williams. We Sing Robbie Williams will feature 25 tracks from the artist and will be accompanied by all his original videos. The game, which will be for Wii, will be released alongside Williams’ greatest hits album in October, however its full track listing has yet to be announced. EMI Music SVP for brand partnerships, licensing and synchronisation Rafael McDonnell notes the company has been at the forefront of working with the gaming industry and recorded music. Meanwhile, Nordic Games sales director Nik Blower says the deal is a first in the gaming world. He adds, “After 20 years in the business, Robbie's fanbase covers practically every age group, and both genders – that represents a massive percentage of the population who will want to play the We Sing version of the game.”

It will indeed be interesting to see how it does in Europe (and other big international markets such as Oz/South America/Mexico/Asia etc) - as the first single is bound to have quite a bit of Rob singing lead seeing as it will be the first single back - I can see it doing well if it is good obviously. I suspect the lead single may be shared vocals between Rob and Mark seeing as Rob and Gary will already still have Shame in the charts at that stage. What will be interesting is whether the album will be titled simply Take That or Take That with Robbie Williams - in the UK I suspect it will just be TT but abroad I think it will be different, especially for the tour - afterall the marketing to this whole venture will be masterful in order for the highest profit possible.

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: In my defence this is a thread over 4 years old - no-one expected this to happen back then - the notion itself was laughable. It still is quite laughable, even though it's actually happened if you ask me :lol: But yes you are right - they all seem very happy in their boat rowing around - it's all a bit of fun afteral - nothing to be taken in any way seriouslyl. :drink:

I agree - JLS will sell far less than their first album unless of course the second single is a masterpiece - as their new single is beyond awful - however I do think if Brian (or Byan) McFadden were to rejoin Westlife for their new album, also released in November and ironically produced by the producer of TT's last two albums, John Shanks, then Rob, Gaz and the others could be a big trouble. ;) I can honestly see this whole thing leading to a Ms Louise Walsh becoming TT's new manger! With regard to how much it will sell - I think realistically although obviously a huge amount of fans on both sides say they are against it and won't buy it - at the end of the day fans online only make up a minority - the more casual fans of both artists will buy it in their droves unless the lead single is some sort of rap number - with the massive hype and no doubt overload of promotion on the XF and probably TV specials etc - I can see it possibly hitting half a million first week sales - as most of those 400k+ who bought The Circus first week will buy this, I would think possibly near half or so of the near quater of a mill people who bought RKTVS first week will also buy this - and also more casual acts of both acts may be more eager to hear the album than usual so will buy it first week. I am sure it will be very cheap and on special in supermarkets as well. It won't be BHN by Oasis though, nothing ever will but I can see it topping Coldplay's X&Y quite easily. Until of course the Westlife album is released that is......then we will truly see 'Thriller' all over again. :D

I've heard some TT fans claim the album has already broke pre-order records - I am not what site that was on but on Amazon the album is at #7 with the Rob's new Greatest Hits at #6 -while on Play.com I can't see the album on the pre-order chart although it is definatly available there - the GH is at #4. I've no doubt HMV and others will combine in the two albums in some sort of s special package for Christmas :lol:

Could it be magic? It’s Robbie vs Robbie Music Week Monday July 19, 2010 One of the year’s most intriguing chart battles will see Robbie Williams solo go up against Robbie Williams as a member of Take That for the Christmas albums crown. The singer had already created global headlines when he announced earlier this year that he had been writing with Take That colleague Gary Barlow, with the two new collaborations – Shame and Heart And I – appearing on Williams’ new best-of, In And Out of Consciousness, due for release by Virgin on October 11. But this was small beer compared to the tabloid frenzy last Thursday, when Williams confirmed he would be rejoining Take That, who he famously left in 1995 amid a sea of acrimony. The reunion took place in New York last September, following Take That’s The Circus Live tour. All five band members have written songs for a new, as-yet-untitled album, which will come out in November a month after the Williams release. The album, which has been produced by Madonna collaborator Stuart Price, will come out on Polydor, with whom the reformed Take That have enjoyed notable chart success. Polydor president Ferdy Unger-Hamilton says the Take That album is “a very modern sounding record.” “It has what Take That do and what Robbie Williams does,” he says. “I think it is the musical event of the year and also an absolutely brilliant album. It is going to surprise some people. It is very cutting-edge.” What is more, Unger-Hamilton says the timing of the two albums’ release will be complementary rather than competitive. “The plan was put together by the band,” he says. “It is really brilliant, succinct.” His view is backed by an insider from the Williams camp, who says, “We are not at all concerned about the scheduling as we actually believe this is going to be a Robbie Williams/Take That Christmas. We believe both will do incredibly well. We’ve got a really great promotional plot for Robbie Williams, which we’re very confident about, and we then, of course, go into Take That.” The reunion is said to be intended for just one year, with plans for a huge stadium tour next summer. However, with the best-of fulfilling Williams’ obligations to EMI under his current deal, all eyes will be on his next move. Unger-Hamilton says Williams is a “brilliant, great British artist but I am really, really overjoyed to have him as a part of Take That and that’s enough”. http://www.musicweek.com/story.asp?storycode=1041883 TRWS

Glad you enjoyed the pie - had an amazing roast beef myself. ^_^ People are really saying they want the return of the dreaded Beatles medley? Oh dear - it really will be a comedy show as one of the fans pointed out in that previous article. Those medleys were beyond appauling - I am sure alot of those hoping it is sung no doubt think they were even better than the Bealtes originals though - I had a quick glance on the OS and saw some of the suggestions for the support for the tour and judging by some suggestions the fans (among them being professional mimmers JLS and likewise Cheryl )are obviously hoping the tour will be the cheesiest of cheese - I am sure they will be using mops as props and no doubt the jelly will make a return as well - there will be more to laugh at than at the top quality stand up show. :lol:

Things must've changed since the last time I looked on TT's site before it was closed as I recall alot of people displeased with the prospect of Rob rejoining. But if fans are not allowed to express their opinion then it is ridiculous, even though they more than make up for on comments sections on newspaper websites etc :lol:. TT and/or management certainly do appear to be overly sensetive about things, hence the closing of their forum for months due to Mark Owen cheating - all those posts/threads people spent hours writing over years all deleted simply because they didnt want bad things being said. Even though Rob and his mangement annoy me due to the lack of respect for fans alot of time, at least his OS allows people to say what their want about it. What REALLY pisses me off are the fans of both Rob and TT who claim fans have a duty to support whatever decision Robbie/TT make - what utter nonsence of the highest order. We are fans, not bloody puppets for god sake. <_< Re - what you said about Rob fans not showing up for the gigs - considering reports suggest he will be singing solo material at the first half I doubt that will be happening. Those who feel strongly will prob just leave once he finishes :lol: They better hope that doesnt happen in Europe though or by the time Rob and TT do finally join together at the end they will only be playing to at best half full stadiums - speaking of Europe Ive read several stadiums accross Germany have already been booked for next summer. And according to the Mirror a world record of 50 MILLION people will be buying tickets - that's well over 40 million more people than are expected to see U2's 360 tour by the time it ends - a tour that is going to be the most profitable of all time. Who wouldve thought TT with Rob could be bigger than U2, The Rolling Stone, Madonna, Coldplay, Springsteen, ACDC, Tina Turner all COMBINED. :o :lol:

Labels Wooing Robbie 19th July CMUwebsite.com http://i1004.photobucket.com/albums/af167/therobbiewilliamssiteukau/Robbie_Wiliams.jpg Despite presumably being committed to the Take That reunion for at least the first half of 2011, a bidding war is reportedly underway to sign up Robbie Williams, whose current solo record deal with EMI ends with the upcoming hits collection, due out in October. Word has it Universal and Sony have both begun talks with Robbie's management about doing a deal for his future solo output, and presumably EMI would rather like to keep him. His last deal with EMI in 2002 was reportedly worth £80 million, but also delivered EMI a cut of some of Robbie's non-recordings based income. If the singer's management are willing to consider some sort of 360 degree contract this time round, some insiders say they could top the 2002 financial commitment EMI made, especially if the excitement around his return to Take That can be used to reinvigorate interest in his solo output. A deal with Universal would bring Williams into the same record label fold as Take That, which would obviously have benefits if the Robster is planning on collaborating with his former band mates on a long term basis. Word has it stadiums are currently being booked for a Take That tour including Robbie for early 2011. source: cmu.com thanks to Jackie at TRWS

MASSIVE bidding war for Robbie Williams Robbie Williams could sign a record deal for £100 million New Magazine Robbie Williams is set to earn an absolute fortune with Take That, and as a result, he is now reportedly at the heart of a bidding war that could reach £100 MILLION! Take That are set to earn £75 million between them when they perform their tour with Robbie Williams, and now Rob is said to be in the middle of a record label bidding war to sign him that could see him signing for £100 million. A Source said: "Signing Robbie Williams is the holy grail for labels at the moment. "He's already struck the biggest record deal in history, so whatever he is offered will have to compare favourably to that. "He could be the first British artist to ever land a £100million deal." Rob signed a record deal for £80 million in 2002, and a new deal would have to better that. It's going to be a VERY good year for Robbie... http://www.new-magazine.co.uk/latestnews/v...obbie-Williams/

Pic from the set of the video for I assume the lead single. http://img831.imageshack.us/img831/1724/videof.jpg TT Video Photo Thanks: http://robbiewilliamsdiarioitaliano.blogsp...-take-that.html (thankyou RW Fanclub Deutschland on FB ) via TRWS

Robbie Williams and Take That fans blast reunion http://www.monstersandcritics.com/people/n...s-blast-reunion Take That fans are reportedly unimpressed with Robbie Williams' return to the boy band. It was recently announced that Williams, 36, is rejoining the group after leaving 15 years ago and they have already recorded a new album together. However, Williams and the band's official websites have been inundated with pleas from fans for the reunion not to happen. One fan of Williams wrote on his website: 'I love Robbie as a solo artist. Is this reunion going to cripple his solo career?' Another fan added: 'For me the reunion with TT sounds more like a comedy story.' Take That fan Julie Barlow added: 'Think it'll turn into the 'Robbie Show', don't think it's a good idea letting the massive ego back in.'

It really is quite astonishing just how brilliant this film is - I went into it with VERY high expectations as a big fan of all of Nolans films, but I really did not expect to be blown away in such a way. There are just so many different elements to this film that define perfection - and it is so refreshing to see a mainsteam blockbuster that really challenges the viewer and messes with your mind, but not in a bland arrogant way. Just like 'The Prestige' once this ended I wanted to see it again and that is very rare. Everything about this was simply wonderful - and it seems the only complaints I have heard is that it is too complex for a blockbuster - rubbish in my view - that is what makes it an instant classic- it has everything. Nolan really is by far the most exciting and original mainstream director there is right now - a mixture between Scorsese and Kubrick with some of that Spielberg magic thrown in. Can't wait for Batman 3 now. :D Oh and Di Caprio truly has now become the most impressive 'movie star' around these days, certainly of his generation. He has chosen his films perfectly in the past decade - this along with hs other 2010 release 'Shutter Island' are probably my fave mainstream Hollywood films of the year.

And a nice factual article from the bible of music - Billboard :D http://i26.tinypic.com/2v7z284.gif Robbie Williams to Rejoin Take That The reunion of Take That with Robbie Williams is dominating the tabloids in the U.K. today (July 16) and the news has gone global, too. Take That and Robbie Williams are trending on Twitter, with Germans, Spaniards and the French getting just as excited as British fans about the first album as a five-piece since 1995's "Nobody Else." The reunion made TV news thanks to supplied footage of the group back together, 20 years after their first TV appearance. Any acrimony between the group resulting from Williams' exit had long gone, but the reunion began in earnest last September in New York. All five members then got involved in writing and recording six songs that formed the basis for the as-yet-untitled album, to be released by Polydor/Universal in November 2010. Inevitably, speculation has turned to a tour and U.K. tabloid the Sun says promoter SJM is putting together a stadium tour that will include dates at Wembley Stadium, the City Of Manchester Stadium, Murrayfield in Edinburgh and the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. A spokesman for Take That says nothing has been confirmed. But live plans are certainly being discussed and details will probably emerge in a couple of months. With over 80 million albums sold between Williams and Take That, according to the statement announcing the reunion, they could easily sell out stadiums and even complement regional shows with a London O2 arena residency. Take That played 20 U.K. and Ireland stadiums in summer 2009 - with all 1,109,160 tickets sold-out, as the double-page SJM Concerts advert in Billboard pointed out (Billboard, July 25, 2009). The act, which split in 1996, has released two albums since reforming as a four-piece in 2006. Williams has not toured his current album, "Reality Killed the Video Star" (Virgin), and his last big U.K. shows included five nights at the 65,000-capacity Milton Keynes Bowl in September 2006. So live demand for the reunion should be huge. Sales for the new Take That album, produced by Stuart Price, will also be massive - and it is a strong bet for the year's biggest seller. Take That's 2008 set "The Circus" (Polydor) sold 1 million in three weeks in the U.K. in December 2008. But Williams' "Reality Killed the Video Star" has also sold well since its release nine months ago and has sold 1 million copies in the U.K., according to a statement. As predicted, a reunion this year became much more likely once Williams' sales had bounced back after the experimental "Rudebox" from 2006. Williams is supposedly free from his lucrative EMI contract signed in 2002, so the appearance on a Universal record as part of Take That probably did not pose any contractual issues. A greatest hits set from Williams, "In And Out Of Consciousness - The Greatest Hits 1990 - 2010," is released Oct. 4 by EMI. Of course, many would expect Williams to move on from EMI and a tie-up with Universal might make sense for his solo career. But despite the recent turmoil at EMI, Billboard.biz understands that Williams' management is happy with how the major has handled the campaign for "Reality Killed the Video Star." Neither EMI nor Robbie Williams' spokesman responded to requests for comment on the end of his EMI deal, or how the promotion of two major releases involving the artist would be coordinated. However, all the signs are that both majors are being grown up. While Universal may have snagged the services of Williams for a Take That album, his EMI hits set includes a new single, "Shame," which is a duet written and recorded with Take That's Gary Barlow. Williams' hits set will come out in October a month or so ahead of the Take That album, so he will be able promote his record before moving on to the Take That campaign. And both releases should complement each other at retail: expect U.K. retailers to bundle them together at an offer price for the Christmas gifting market. Source...Billboard.com vai TRWS

Jups never fails to use the opportunity to post up a Danny O''D vid :rofl: :lol: One of few journalists I respect is Neil McCormick who has written an interesting article about it all in The Telegraph which is for once not bias against Robbie and actually put some bloody effort into it unlike the others who just rhyme of the already prepared by others bull$h!t. Robbie Williams & Take That reunion won't last http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/culture/neilm...nion-wont-last/ Yesterday, the media was put on alert that a major announcement would be made by a pop band. Oh no, I thought, Jedward have split up. Well, it would have been more newsworthy than Robbie Williams rejoining Take That. The reunion of the original line up of Britain’s best-loved overgrown boy band is not so much a surprise as an inevitability. It is the merger of two best-selling brands, a blockbusting money-spinner at a time when the moribund music industry needs all the blockbusters it can lay its grubby fingers on. With Williams stellar solo career at last showing inevitable signs of decline (last year’s ‘Reality’ was his first studio album not to reach number one in the UK), a reunion with his commercially revived former bandmates provides both a respite from the intense demands of solo stardom and the possibility of rejuvenation. And while the four piece Take That mark II have been enjoying amazing commercial success as a kind of mature man band since their 2006 reunion, with number one albums and stadium tours, they reside in a pop market that thrives on at least a sensation of novelty, which the completion of the Williams soap opera provides. Falling record sales have led to an increasing emphasis on live touring, but this in turn has led to a fall in live ticket sales, as stars come around more and more frequently. One response, particularly in America, has been all-star packages (like the Elton John / Billy Joel tours, James Taylor / Carole King and Eagles / Keith Urban / Dixie Chicks). But how much more exciting if you can have a double bill in one band. Not that I doubt there is genuine emotion in the reunion for both the participants and audience. Williams has always been a bit of a lost soul, and indeed his very visible wounds, expressed through a complex mix of arrogance and insecurity, are at the core of his appeal. This reunion completes a prodigal son narrative, full of mutual forgiveness and redemption, with Robbie gratefully gushing about feeling “like coming home”. For fans, reunions represent a return of the old gang, an important part of their youth, comforting them with the notion that love and friendship endures, and everything will turn out alright in the end. As Sting said of the Police reunion, “People reacted as if mum and dad had got back together after a divorce.” Musically, this point of this reunion is harder to fathom. There was never much reason to celebrate Take That in the first place unless you were a teenage girl in the early 90s. They were a manufactured copy of US sensations New Kids On The Block, an assembly line creation by would be svengalis at the point when the mainstream recording industry was increasingly focussing resources on formulaic pop constructed to marketing principles. They made some decent singalong pop records, but at a period when the UK music scene was actually bursting with creativity (the boom in rave and techno culture mutating with drum n bass and ambient hybrids, the futuristic twists of trip hop and the birth of Britpop), Take That represented the cheesy, derivative, light-entertainment end of the spectrum. Which is part of what made Williams escape so fascinating. Having come to prominence in the highly disciplined, completely artificial and psychologically repressive constraints of a clean-cut teen pin-up pop troupe, he made a wild break for personal freedom that embraced sex, drugs and motor-mouthed self-expression. Musically and lyrically, he made records that really engaged with contemporary pop culture, and carried an emotional and even philosophical punch behind the hooklines. He was as much Eminem and Liam Gallagher as young George Michael (the latter being the very model of blue eyed soul singing the rest of Take That seemed to aspire to). Williams has been a great pop star, and he made some truly great pop records, songs that outshine anything that Take That could come up with, with their taste for schmaltzy romance. Songs like Feel and Come Undone have a bittersweet core that you simply can’t contrive in song-writing by numbers. And like it or not, they’ll be singing Angels at weddings and funerals for a long time to come. Williams and Take That have recorded a new album, which will be out later this year. There is also the promise of a tour next year. And I think the experience will probably be good for Williams. But I can’t see how this new arrangement will last. How do you squeeze all that raging talent, all that ego and anxiety, that irrepressible energy and hyperbolic verbosity into some tightly choreographed dance routines and five part harmonies? Somehow, a punning couplet in every third verse just isn’t going to cut it for Williams, or his fans.

I am sure they will be flying over to the White House to recieve a special award from President Obama by the end of the month for solely being responsible for ending the global recession :smoke:

You have got to laugh if this is true :lol: I highly doubt it is though as the only way he would get a deal so massive again is with Live Nation by aggreeing to do several huge world tours - Album sales mean feck all these days - alot of things have changed since 2002. Rob's deal was the first 360 deal in many ways, but a new one would have a much larger importance on touring and lots of it which Rob hates. I hope whatever he does he doesnt re-sign with EMI again though. Universal is the best option in my view.

ROBBIE TIPPED FOR £100M NEW DEAL http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showb...m-new-deal.html By CARL STROUD, Deputy Bizarre Editor Published: Today http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/38292000/jpg/_38292059_rich300.jpg ROBBIE WILLIAMS is at the centre of a multi-million pound record label bidding war after he confirmed he is rejoining TAKE THAT. The band will release an album together and are set to rake in £75million with a 54-date stadium tour next summer. But Robbie's record-breaking contract with EMI - signed for a reported £80million in 2002 - is up in October. And industry insiders say he could make even MORE on a new deal then. Multi-national record labels including Universal and Sony have begun negotiations with Robbie's management. An industry source said: "Signing Robbie Williams is the holy grail for labels at the moment. "He's already struck the biggest record deal in history, so whatever he is offered will have to compare favourably to that. "He could be the first British artist to ever land a £100million deal." Robbie, 36, will release an as-yet untitled album with GARY BARLOW, 39, MARK OWEN, 38, HOWARD DONALD, 42 and JASON ORANGE, 40. It is due to rack up the highest number of pre-orders in history. The band yesterday ruled out playing arenas on their tour - because they're not BIG enough. Venues like London's O2 and Birmingham's LG Arena have a 20,000 capacity - but Take That need something like Wembley Stadium, which can pack in 100,000, to accommodate all their fans. An expert said: "They'd have no trouble selling out five nights at Wembley. To play to an equivalent number they'd have to do 21 nights at the O2." Other venues on their comeback tour could include Cardiff's Millennium Stadium, Murrayfield in Edinburgh and the Stadium Of Light in Sunderland. Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showb...l#ixzz0ttLxhV3l

Definatly not, considering his fans are so furious that many of his fan forums/sites are going to be closed down. Many of the international fansites, the biggest of which being the excellent 'Fan Supreme' site have announced they are closing the site down as a result of Robbie jointing TT. They feel this whole thing is a massive slap in the fact after years of support and are even more annoyed that it is not evening being confirmed by anyone if he will return to being a solo career and do the tour he promised. If he had any sort of decent management they would be more than aware of the negetivity this has caused and would ask him to write a short blog giving some clarification. The lack of acknowledgment of his solo fans really is quite staggering. He must be under the illusion that all Rob fans are TT fans and visa versa.

EMI Germany have anounced 'Shame' will get its first Radio play on the 23rd of August - will be very interesting to see how well this will do internationally considering alot of people will not know Gary unless they are big Rob fans - it will all depend on the quality of the tune. Btw Norma - 'Shame was described as being 'beautiful', where 'Heart and I' was called 'feel good' - so sadly it appears to be a ballad with a Brokeback Mountrain vid. :lol: Talk about cringeworthy :lol:

Funny that - Never Forget is by far my favourite TT single from the 90's. I probably like both RTW and NF equally tbh - they are the only two singles that I am not sick to death of hearing unlike Back For Good, Patience, Shine etc. I am suprised TT are not making a big deal about the whole 20 Anniversary like Rob is - although I supose they were absent for 10 of those - but still - surely the tour would be marketed as the 20th Anniversary Full Line Up Reunion - Wouldnt be suprised if there was a new TT GH released next Xmas as well to finish off the whole thing if it is true they will call it a day after the tour.