Robbie, it's lovely to meet you again.
>> Nice to see you.
>> Stadium superstar to the most intimate
gig that you've ever done. This is going
to be happening in Dingles, isn't it? In
Camden.
>> This is going to be happening at Dingles
in Camden. I am going back to the start.
Start.
>> I'm having a massive redo and a rethink.
And it all starts at the beginning.
Where was the beginning? Uh well the
beginning for me actually was my solo
career when I'd left take that and we
were in the middle of cool Britannia and
Brit pop. Yeah.
>> Let's go back there and start again.
>> Hence you're doing Life Through a Lens.
>> I'm doing my my first album Life Through
a Lens in its entirety
>> and
>> and I'm also going to do my new album in
its entirety too.
>> Bit pop couple hundred people. This is
very different to to what you're used to
being out there in stadiums when it's
just huge crowds roaring. You're going
to be see see the whites of people's
eyes will be. This is different. Yeah. I
I mean, but it's a in in essence, it's a
victory lap, you know, because
>> for the people that will get the tickets
to this show that that album will have
mean meant something to them that I
can't understand or explain. And I know
what that album meant to me and for me.
So, if we're sharing that together, then
it's just got to be some sort of
um mini meditation on who we were and
and who we thought we were going to be
and where we are now.
>> Yeah. Um a mini meditation. You say for
reasons you don't understand why people
would be so enthralled to see you
perform that original album. Why? Why
don't you understand that? Why?
>> Because I'm at the other end I'm at the
other side of the camera, you know? I
I'm the one that created it and put it
out there and then I I I can't be I can
understand because I understand what
other artists albums and songs have
meant to me but I can't completely
understand because this is me going
here's this thing.
>> Yeah.
>> It's not me receiving the thing.
>> Yeah. Sense of trepidation at all
because it's a smaller little venue.
>> No, not at all. Not at all. I I am very
much looking forward to
receiving and and um receiving and
giving back the love that people give me
and
>> I give back in return.
>> It is such an iconic venue um back in
the day when the Brit era was was at its
height at its peak really. Do you
remember it from back then?
>> Um I do. I can't remember if I was ever
there. I I think I was. Yeah, I must
have been. I was everywhere. I turned up
at the opening of a letter. So, um I I
definitely if I was to put money on it,
I saw a band there at some point.
>> You reckon? Yeah. Chances are high. And
the album was the new album was called
Brit Pop. And you know, it just says
everything about that time really. I
mean, was this is a very conscious
decision for you to name it Brit Pop?
Because we're having this ' 90s
resurgence right now, aren't we, at the
moment? Yeah.
>> Yeah. This the universe does interesting
things all of the time.
>> Yeah. And this album has been in the
making for five or six years. And it was
always called Brit Pop and it always had
guitars and it's coming out now because
of I don't know co My Film pushed it
back. You know, things have pushed it
back and it's come out exactly in the
right time that it should be coming out.
Oasis are back. Blur have done their
gigs. Supergrass are about, Pulp are
about. You know, it's um it's wonderful
to notice these things when these things
happen that there is it feels like there
are strings being pulled.
>> It certainly does. The stars have
aligned. You you kind of preempted my
next question. You mentioned Oasis,
Blur, Supercraft. All these bands are
kind of back. You're in the middle of a
stadium tour right now. Are you going to
get together and do like a joint?
>> A JV a JV with Oasis?
>> Why not?
>> I'd do it.
>> You're friends now, isn't it? Well,
well, we're not exactly friends, but I
don't think we're enemies. Um,
>> well, that's a start.
>> I would absolutely do it, but you know
what would be the point for them, you
know? I would uh and it, you know, it be
be it would be funny if like I I instead
of Richard Ashcroft, it would be me
opening for them, but Richard
Ashcraftoft makes complete sense.
>> Do you think you'd be prepared to open
for them? I thought you'd want top
billing.
>> No, I'd open for Oasis.
>> Oh, wow. in, you know, in this moment
that they're having right now, you know,
they are omnipresent and they are at the
peak zeitgeist. I I can't compete with
that. So, I I would I would open for
Oasis.
>> They've still got a couple of shows at
Wembley in September if you want to go
and watch them.
>> Give me some notes.
>> Yeah. Would you go?
>> Uh, well, the here's the thing is like I
don't go to gigs. I'm not a big fan of
crowds. No.
>> If I'm if I'm going to be if I'm going
to be with a crowd, I want to be in
front of them telling them what to do
>> on that stage owning it.
>> Yeah. Yeah. Put your hands in the air,
etc.
>> I thought we could just go in disguise
or incognito or something with you.
You're going to hide. Nobody would ever
>> I'd go with chest, stand on 10 toes and
all of that. Yeah. No, I wouldn't hide.
>> Listen, we're talking about you being
back in London. Obviously, you know, you
spent so much time here over your career
and I know it means a lot to you. It's a
really important place when it comes to
to music. and the culture and generally.
Um, but I read that last year you did a
big gig at High Park, didn't you? You
actually walked around, you didn't get
recognized.
>> Yeah. It was sobering.
>> Really?
>> Yeah, it was sobering cuz we were on our
way to somewhere and I've got this pink
outfit on
>> and these like bejeweled um Yeah. I I I
look like Alton John's nephew
>> blending in.
>> Yeah. Yeah. Completely blending in. when
we couldn't get to somewhere cuz there
was a protest on and my wife is like
we're going to be late so we're walking
and I turned to my wife and I went
>> me Robbie Williams
>> dressed in pink walking in London are
you mad
>> so we walked and then um we were fine
but I was I was I was totally
concentrating on getting to the
restaurant and then afterwards we
couldn't get picked up because of the
protest so we walked through Hide Park
>> mate no absolutely zero people were just
like there's Robbie Williams there's
Robbie Williams. It was very, very
Sober.
>> What do you think that says about London
though as well? That you can kind of be
whoever you are.
>> No, because you couldn't.
>> No.
>> No, you couldn't. I think it what it
says about me and my career right now.
But this was just a glitch because I
went out the next day and I was just
like, we've got to put this to right
because look, you know, the only reason
I say this is my career based on
attention. You know, I'm in an attention
economy and I'm still really ambitious
and the things there's things that I
really want to do. So, it's quite
important that people know who I am
because that's my job. Yeah.
>> So, I did go back out there and I put
the worlds to write. I I wrote I had I
went out with a shirt that says Robbie
on the back.
>> Yeah. Just to really
>> the speaker would let me entertain you
playing and I'm completely fine. I'm
still famous. It's all good.
>> Um I read as well that you you know you
went out and you actually asked people
to get pictures with you.
>> That was that was in Holland. Can I can
I have a picture? Can I can we can I
have a picture with you?
>> That's interesting. Why did you do that?
Because you get approached a lot for
people asking you for your selfies and
stuff and does that that still gives you
a bit of anxiety. Does it?
>> Yeah, I'm an introvert doing an
extrovert's job. So, you know,
introverts aren't the best with people
and strangers.
>> And um you know, and that's me. It's
like I I I have to meet 20 to 30
strangers a day and it's just the it's
my makeup. It's how I'm made. It's like
I'm I'm scared of you know social
interaction but yet I'm expected to have
social interaction every day all day.
I'm not complaining because you know I
need and I want that and you know it's
part of my job but also at the same time
there's a human thing that is happening
and the human thing that is happening is
me constantly going up
up not a complaint and observation
>> and that's always there.
>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I because I'm
I'm I have anxiety. I have anxiety as a
person
>> and um it's either low or high
>> and these days I'm very happy to say
that it's mainly low but it can be
triggered at any time.
>> Yeah. Yeah. I want to ask you about a
lyric one of your new songs from the new
album which is Rocket. Very rocky. It's
almost quite punky this song
of your punk era a little bit.
>> Well, the album's called Brit Pop.
>> Yeah. But it's it feels like quite Yeah.
It's just it's, you know, it's got
adrenaline in it.
>> It's high octane.
>> It is.
>> Um,
>> I wanted to go back to the start. What
is the album that I would have written
>> had I just left Take That now knowing
what I know
>> and all the experience I've got with
songwriting blah blah blah blah blah.
And what would have made 20-year-old me
happy?
>> Mhm.
>> That in particular, Rocket would have
made me very happy. Very proud.
>> Yeah. We're from that era where we
didn't have to deal with having our
phones constantly and being bombarded
with things constantly. How do you
navigate that? Because your dad of four
mate, how do you navigate all that?
>> They don't have phones. They're not
going to have phones
>> for as long as humanly possible. And um
you know they're going to go they are at
school, other people have phones.
>> Why can't I have phones? Tough. That's
as simple as it is. I'm 51. I can't deal
with the corrosive nature of the
internet and things. It hurts me. It
ruins my day.
>> How can I give this drug to a 12y old?
How can I give this drug to a
sevenyear-old? It's abuse.