May 11

Take That, Robbie Williams!

Robbie Williams’ early years with the British boy band Take That were in turns troubled and fulfilling. He had to deal with an impending alcohol and drug abuse problem, and also with friction with his other band mates. When he eventually left the band to focus on a solo career, he found such resounding musical and personal success that it seemed as if there was no going back for him; at least as far as reuniting with Take That and mending rifts with the likes of Gary Barlow were concerned.

Fast-forward to today, and we get heartwarming and humorous news bits about how Robbie Williams takes on Gary Barlow in diet challenge. Not only are all rifts mended and the band definitely back together, but the banter and camaraderie are apparent, too. ThisLondon site describes Take That’s Robbie Williams and Gary Barlow’s friendly dieting competition in a bid to lose weight.

Image borrowed from http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/showbiz/robbie-williams-takes-on-gary-barlow-in-diet-challenge-6383778.html

The “challenge” supposedly started when the band was at Robbie’s LA home. The singer describes the defining moment thusly:

“Gary and the boys were at my house in Los Angeles last week when Gary turns to me and says, ‘I won’t be needing these clothes soon, do you want them?’ – because he’s going on a diet.

“That was the day I thought, ‘Right, if you’re eating a lettuce, I’m eating half a lettuce.’ “

Apparently, Take That’s members enjoyed the Christmas season’s festivities just a tad too much by gorging on calorie-laden fare, and are now on the road to shedding the extra poundage they put on. Robbie Williams describes his and Gary Barlow’s weights as fluctuating, moving up one week and down the next. He jokes about wanting the body of Christian Bale in the film The Machinist, which required the actor to lose sixty pounds prior to shooting the movie by eating just a can of tuna and an apple each day (not a recommended diet by any long shot to anyone, as it was done for the sake of art…or at least, we hope so).

The rest of the band seems to be in on the challenge, as well. Robbie’s real intention, despite the flippant quips, is to really go back to a healthy weight and lifestyle, and maintain both. He has started working out with his own personal trainer, as well as consulting a nutritionist whom he shares with Gary Barlow. Both intend to work on their diet and exercise regimen until the group begins their Take That ‘Progresss Live’ tour in May.

So is Robbie Williams, to quote a line from Take That’s prophetic early hit song, “back for good”? In the twist of separation, he excelled at being free. But as far as friction with the band went, whatever he said, whatever he did, he didn’t mean it. Looks like Robbie is indeed, back for good.

May 7

Interesting Robbie Williams Trivia For You

Robbie Williams

Robbie Williams—jeaneeem (Flickr.com)

Robbie Williams is estimated to be worth £90 million by the 2011 Sunday Times Rich List.

In 2009, he proposed marriage to his long-time girlfriend, Turkish-American actress Ayda Field, live during an Australian radio interview. He later rescinded the proposal, announcing on his blog that they are not engaged, and that the marriage proposal was a joke.

Robbie Williams used to be a heavy chain-smoker, consuming up to 5 dozen sticks a day. He quit cold turkey in 2009 upon the request of his girlfriend Ayda.

“We Sing Robbie Williams”, released in 2010, is a karaoke video game expressly made for Robbie’s fans.

The 2005 BRIT Awards proclaimed Robbie Williams’ song “Angels” as the “Best Single of the Past Twenty-Five Years”.

He collaborated with a couple of Australian beauties on two chart-topping hits: with Kylie Minogue for “Kids” (it reached Number 2 on the 2000 UK Singles chart), and with Nicole Kidman for a cover of Sinatra’s “Somethin’ Stupid” (it reached Number 1 in the 2001 UK Singles chart).

In 2007, Robbie Williams entered a rehabilitation program in Tucson to battle his addiction to certain prescription drugs like Xanax, Vicodin, and others.

Even with the misunderstandings he had with his former boy band Take That, Robbie Williams still got a Take That tattoo in 2008 in honor of them.

He officially reunited with Take That in 2010, mended his long-standing rift with Gary Barlow, and released the record-breaking album Progress with the band.

After living together since 2009 in a Wiltshire mansion, Robbie Williams married Ayda Field in his Los Angeles home on August 2010.

He claims to have seen a UFO in his youth, and has spotted a couple more as an adult. Robbie Williams went on to write a song about contacting aliens. His interest in UFO phenomenon led him to take part in a BBC documentary about it around 2007.

BBC Radio 2 banned Robbie Williams’ song “Come Undone” for having “explicit content”.

Throughout his life, it was believed that Robbie Williams battled with self-esteem issues, and had to address obesity, alcoholism, depression, and substance abuse. Even during his stint with Take That, it was reported that his close personal friend Elton John encouraged him to seek professional help to treat his drug use.

The prestigious UK list of Top 100 Bestselling Albums of all time has featured Robbie Williams half a dozen times already.

The publishers MGN and Northern & Shell claimed in a couple of articles that Robbie Williams was a “closet homosexual”. The singer sued the publishers for libel and won. He got paid for damages to his reputation, and MGN and Northern & Shell took back what they claimed in their publications about Robbie Williams’ sexuality.

May 2

Robbie Williams Who?

Image borrowed from http://www.topnews.in/light/robbie-williams-father-rejects-mansion-offer-238077

Just the Facts, Ma’am:

He was born on February 13, 1974 in England as Robert Peter Williams, to pub owners Peter and Janet Williams.

He sings, writes songs, does vocal coaching, and the occasional acting.

He used to be part of the British “boy band” pop group called Take That, along with Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Jason Orange, and Mark Owen. Drug and drinking problems, plus constant friction with his band mates and manager made his stint with the group tense. He eventually left the group in 1995 to launch his solo career.

His debut album “Life Thru a Lens” was released September of 1997, debuting at number 11 on the UK Singles Chart.

The song “Angels” which is the 4th single off this album, became the main reason for skyrocketing sales for it (over 3 million copies in Europe alone, making it the 58th best selling album in UK history. Click to watch Angels, by Robbie Williams.)

He achieved his first solo Number 1 single in the UK with “Millennium”. It became popular in Latin America, Australia, and many other European countries. His second album “I’ve Been Expecting You” debuted at Number 1 in the UK Albums Chart. It sold almost 3 million copies in the UK alone, making it a certified Platinum.

In 1999, he released his album “The Ego Has Landed” in the United States, after signing up with Capitol Records. He also did a promotional tour in the country. “Rock DJ”, the first song from that album, reached number 1 in the UK and won “Best Song of 2000″ at the MTV Europe Music Awards. The video that accompanied the song was heavily edited by music channels because of its graphic content. Nevertheless, it won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Special Effects for that year.

After his successful third album, Robbie Williams ventured into different musical directions, including recording with a big band, and contributing to a film soundtrack (he sang “Have You Met Miss Jones?” for the 2001 Bridget Jones movie). He also covered “Beyond the Sea” for the animated movie Finding Nemo’s soundtrack in 2003. It was also during this time that he collaborated with Nicole Kidman on a cover for the Sinatra original “Somethin’ Stupid”. It became Robbie Williams’ 5th Number 1 hit in the UK, and one of 2001′s most unforgettable hits.

One of Europe’s all-time bestselling  DVDs is also from Robbie Williams. His Live at the Albert Hall, released in late 2003, became a certified Platinum hit in both the UK and Germany.