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Winter 2007/8

Ant And Dec Back On TV In February

This is good news for Robbie fans as well - as, 9 out of 10 times, Robert will be involved on any Ant and Dec project because they have carte blanche on their shows to do more or less as they like with whom they like. So they and Robbie have great fun on what could be termed a busman's holiday rather than work for them all.
The Brit Awards
There were rumours a while back that RW and Kylie would be doing a duet on the show this time hosted by Mr/Mrs Osbourne.Who knows? - funnier things have happened.

It is possible that Robbie will bring Ayda with him to watch the awards maybe. For one, it would put a stop to everyone speculating about Robbie being envious of Take That`s recent success, as they are very likely to win a couple of awards at least and Robbie is not nominated this year at all - so it would prove once and for all he is not as shallow as media makes out, and is there to congratulate them.
Another reason is, he seems to be fed up with LA for the moment and wants to go somewhere diff; why not England to visit old friends? This is questionable though as it is said that Ayda needs to stay in LA for her career which is taking off.
Robbie is said to be torn because of his stong feelings for his G`friend but also been bored in LA at this time.
I have a good idea which one will be the immediate one to be the winner, for the time being at least.

It occurred to me the other week Rob has been said to be dating Ayda prop now for about 9 or 10 months. Any Robbie fans worth their salt will know that RW, unlike married couples who are said to have the seven year itch, has a 9 month itch because none of his relationships have lasted much after 9 months in one go.
He says this frequently himself; Ayda has done the best so far in this case. There is nothing to say they or any of his past Partners finish after this though; like Nicole Appleton they got together again, didn`t they?
Anyway this is all hypothetic ramblings and I must speak forthright as I do tend to do (it`s a weakness in my ability to be a diplomat) and say that in my humble opinion Ayda has been so good for Robbie these last few months and helped him so much with personal probs and been such a support and incentive for him getting nearer to his happy self - and I am sure she will allways remain a close person of whatever nature to him.
When you see what poor Britney is going through, it makes you realise how much pressure these pop stars from young ages are put under mentally.
Never is there a worse thing to happen than to have your children kept away from a Mum. If only JT would come back on the scene with Brittany, as she seemed to go down hill as soon as they split up. Yet though Justin is a mega-star himself he seems to be able to maintain normality as well and would maybe be able to help Britney and her Children. The two of them seem to be right for each other (this of course only one amateur Psychiatrist's opinion!)

**

"G`day USA"

This is the name of a big Australian promo听 done听 for the country`s Tourist Board in America.
This Sat sees Ms K Minogue honoured at a very Posh Black Tie Dinner.
Then The Robster, along with Jude Law and a lot of England`s fittest guys will be playing for their Country in a Celeb Cricket Match held in LA against Australia`s best, like Shane Warne - who is about to become a Pro Poker Player!

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Robbie听 Not On Strike

Robbie is not on strike, as mentioned before, but his contract is up for renewal after he gives EMI his next Album which听could be a 'Swing When You Are Winning 2' or an Album, due in Sept, of about 10 or 12 of the sixty odd new songs he has written in hand.
Guy Chambers is back on board as听is Mark Ronson - so expect variety like the brille Hollywood Can Wait, over to s`thing retro like Goodbye To The Normals. I mention these two as they along with Radio and Monsoon (my namesake record) are my no 1s; oh, and of course, Sin Sin Sin and Angels.
I could go on: Come Undone and the one with a bit of听 a sim听 chorus to Gloria Gaynor's I Will Survive in it, and anything with Rob talking in it.
I must stop before going through RW`s whole Back Cat!

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New Year with Take That

What`s the next best thing to having RW with you at New Year ? Yes, having Take That seeing in the New Year LIVE at London from the O2 Stadium.
I know what all the tabs are saying that Gary says there is no place for Robbie in T/T anymore and Robbie is doing a tour that will make 拢150 million squid听to beat the Tatters and prove he`s bigger and better, and then of course there is also a听 lot more music including a New Angels, maybe, coming from the Robster.

What a lot of spin, enough to dry the听washing of the whole of England (sorry about the corny analogy,听I am a frustrated comedy actress you know).
In my humble opinion I think that given the right incentive Robbie and T/T would do a one off which would be a big hit for everyone including themselves.听听 There would not be a venue big enough or enough tickets to satisfy the demand though maybe the answer is do like Kylie, a big TV special . If there is听to be an audience, do a lottery with the two official fan clubs of T/T and RW.听听 In pyscho speak it would give Rob a happy closure to his T/T days and it would be a great gig and reminder for the fans and the Lads both.

I was never into T/T the the first time around but I took my Mum to see them at Wembley a while back and it was so good they converted me.
I do not听 know the secret of their new success but to me they are the epitome听 of the guys next door who have nat entertainment value,听 and anyway who says you cannot like Gary and Robbie?
Gary is very conservative with his neat and tidy Bank Clerk look and at times Rob looks like he has been through a force 10 gale but each suits diff and are lovely in their own way.
I bet if Robbie has seen the T/T at New Year gig now, he so wishes he was there.You know it`s true Rob, is it not?听 Prove you are not so petty as the tabs say and we know you are not听 - be the bigger man!

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Do Tabloids Not Understand Basic Attire? Or Do They just Like To Pick On RW?
For goodness sake, nobody expects the Tabloid Media Peeps to be fashion Gurus, but honestly!
If they called Robbie "Blobby" once it`s a million times, and over and over they go:听 "Has he not got fat again?", "Is he not pasty and out of condition, and let himself go?"

OK, he has been a bit out of sorts maybe and looks a bit pale but he is on vacation and having a rest. Let him grow his hair and veg out for a while...
As for Fat, he is in Puffa Jackets which make even a tiny person look fat; they are a puffed out padded jacket for cold weather. He may well have put a few pounds on while having a break but I bet under the jacket is still a very sexy Robbie Williams and not fat at all.
When he starts work again in public you can bet the clean shaven, toned lush Rob will be back.

I must confess I听 have an ideal Image of Robbie with flicked or wedge styled med length hair (as in Take That days) and I hate facial hair - but it`s still Robbie underneath, and that`s the main thing!

***

Well Done L.A. Vale!

Who would have thought when football mad Robbie moved to L.A. he would have ended up Chairman and No 1 Ambassador for making our football as popular as the Americans own.

OK, so money is no object and there are no limits to what he can buy to amuse himself but a football team?
Yes, a few Rich Men can do that but they do not get down and dirty听with no end of injuries - because听they have the money to be a Boss and buy power and position of anything, yes but that`s not Robbie.

He is still deep down a local boy made good, who sometimes wishes he could be just Joe Bloggs and not a Goldfish in a Bowl. Sure he has his Diva moods and his decadent听 moments but he loves nothing more to be with average guys and have a kick about or a laugh; so the only way to do this is to use听 his money to try and buy a bit of normality as it were.
So after a couple of years mucking about on his Footie Pitch in one of his back gardens he and some of his old friends from days gone by who were now in L.A as well or came out on holidays organised, registered, and added a few more they auditioned from the Entertainment sector and ex Pats - and L.A. Vale were on The Official Leagues.
At first it was low key but Robbie`s name and history has made it all bigger and more organised, not to mention bring in more supporters to the games.

To top it all off and to prove how serious Rob and the Guys take their football, even though a hobby, they have won The L.A Premier in their first season and when The Super Metro League closes soon they are expected to come second.
Well done Guys...听听听 from the Home of your Big Bruv, Port Vale!

(With thanks to Connie from Texas for input on the LA Vale article.)

Autumn 2007

November

Have you heard the latest?
Stoke's very own Robster is said to be making another virtual cameo role in The Regent Theatre's Panto!
Rumour has it that Robbie will appear as a hologram called "Stardust" in听pal Jonny Wilkes' Cinderella panto, in which Jon himself plays Buttons. Cinderella is playing at the Regent in Stoke on Trent.

Those of you like me (over twenty one) will associate the name Stardust with the听听 wonderful Movie starring he of the beautiful blue eyes , the star necklace, pierced ear and soft sexy Essex lilt of the one and only David Essex.
I must have watched that film five times and every time was in tears at the tragic ending.
It's the time old story of working class lad becomes famous Pop Star and sinks under the pressure.
It gave me a basic love of Opera with the beautiful "Dea Sancta Gloria" (translated听To The Glory Of Women). The character of Jim MacLaine wrote this in tribute to his Mother in the film and the talented wonderful Adam Faith played the star's Manager.

Anyway, I digress on a sea of my nostalgic memories of when I was a teeny bopper of sorts.

To get back to the reason behind听Robbie being called Stardust, at a guess, as I do not yet know myself the truth, maybe he is Cinderella's camp Genie Fairy Godmother of sorts maybe?

It is said that it's Robbie is pulling Take That`s eight legs in unison - in a a friendly way - about The Movie Theme of this year's film written by Jonathan Ross`s wife... of which they sang the Theme of the same name.

**

September

Robbie Williams has finally made up with former Take That bandmate Gary
Barlow.

The pair have been feuding ever since Williams quit the band over a decade ago
- but they recently met up in Los Angeles and buried the hatchet.

Barlow said: "Yes, we met. We had a great chat. He's really well and we're
good buds again."

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April

Robbie Williams has scored a victory over his critics with an Ivor Novello songwriting nomination for his single Rudebox.

The attempt at electro-funk, panned by critics, is up for the International Hit of the Year, alongside Madonna's Sorry and the Scissor Sisters hit I Don't Feel Like Dancin'.

Back on track

Looks like rehab has turned Robbie Williams into a bit of an Angel. The singer has revealed his life is now "back on track" after his stint at Cottonwood clinic in Arizona.

Failing to crack America in his career, Robbie has said he is so happy living in the US without mega stardom that he won't be releasing any more records across the pond.

Robbie said: "I decided four albums ago I like living here (the US). I've got to the point where I'm famous enough to enjoy my celebrity and do fun stuff without all the rubbish that goes with it. So I'm not gonna bother promoting or releasing records here."

Robbie set to rejoin Take That?

Robbie Williams' mother has added to speculation that her son may rejoin his former band, Take That.

Jan Williams told the Stoke Sentinel newspaper that the 33-year-old star was "thrilled" at how successful the group had become after reforming in 2005.

"On the question of him doing something with them, I feel that will happen. It would be something he wanted to do," she said.

March 2007

Out of rehab

Robbie Williams has come out of rehab after spending three weeks in a clinic in Arizona. 听His spokeswoman said he's continuing with an after-care programme in Los Angeles. She declined to comment on reports he had walked out early.

He has been receiving treatment for a dependency on prescription drugs and is now being cared for by his mum Jan - who is a drink and drugs counsellor.

Worst album award for Rudebox

Talk about kicking a man when he's down... despite being in rehab for an addiction to prescription drugs, Robbie Williams has won an award he won't be putting on his mantle piece.

Robbie took the prize for worst album for his latest offering Rudebox at the 2007 NME Awards on 01 March.

Songs such as 'Lovelight' ranked him in the 'worst' category against contenders including the likes of Lily Allen, The Feeling, My Chemical Romance and Razorlight.

It's not an awards ceremony he's ever done particularly well in - in 2003 Robbie topped both the Worst Album and Worst Single categories, and was voted by NME readers as the Villain of the Year - an award he also got in 2001.

The NME awards are popular among alternative music fans, favouring genres like Indie and Rock, which is not really Robbie's target audience.

February 2007

Robbie back with the Take That boys?

He may be recovering in rehab but it seems Robbie Williams could be busy when he's fully better.

Take That singer Howard Donald has dropped strong suggestions that the Angels
singer may join up with the band for their new tour. Speaking at a press conference, Donald admitted the band would be ecstatic to welcome Robbie back.

"It would be lovely to have Robbie join us and let's just say we're keeping in touch about it," he said.

"Having Robbie on stage with us to sing would be amazing and we'll have to wait and see if he's up for it, we certainly are."

Checking into rehab

Robbie Williams is spending his 33rd birthday in rehab. The Burslem star's gone into a clinic to receive treatment for a dependency on prescription drugs. He's had a very public battle with drink and drugs in the past.

He checked into a clinic in America on Tuesday 13 February - his birthday.听In an exclusive interview Robbie's mother, Jan, told us that her son had picked the right time to deal with his problem:

"It's his birthday today and he's given himself a lovely gift of addressing his problem.听 I'm really, really proud of him.听 It's not an easy thing to do but he's now doing it.

"He's a very public figure and of course all the media attention at the moment, you know is added pressure or him.听 I shall be sending him loads and loads of love and as always, I always have done given him a lot of loving support.听 So for me it's a gift too that he's addressed this."

Worst album

Robbie Williams is up for NME's Worst Album award. The nomination is for Robbie's most recent release, Rudebox. The result will be announced at the NME Awards to be held on 01 March 2007.

January 2007

Hot stuff!

It's official, Robbie is one of the top ten sexiest men in the world! Readers of New Woman magazine have voted for their annual list of the world鈥檚 Top 100 Hunks and Robbie's made it to number nine while former band mates, Take That, pinched the top spot.

Robbie Spotting

We were sent the following message by Seeya Kasey in Australia...

Just wanted to let you know that Robbie is in Australia at the moment. He has been sighted at the lovely Airlie Beach in the Whitusndays, Queensland Australia. He is just taking a break and hanging with the locals... just thought I would let you all know.

Dressing up in his birthday suit

It may be Elton John's 60th soon, but it's Robbie Williams who's set to
strip down to his birthday suit! The singer is getting ready to recreate the famous striptease performance from The Full Monty for Elton's birthday bash in New York. Elton's big night on 25 March will culminate in Robbie getting his kit off to Tom Jones' You Can Leave Your Hat On.

Brit Awards

Robbie Williams has been nominated for Best British Live Act at the Brit Awards. He's up against George Michael, the Guillemots, Kasabian and Muse. The winner will be announced on 14 February at the awards ceremony which will be broadcast live on TV.

Unfortunately he missed out on the Best British Male nominations which went to James Morrison, Jarvis Cocker, Lemar, Paolo Nutini and Thom Yorkemours.

Relationship rumours

IT girl Tara Palmer Tomkinson has revealed that she has rekindled her relationship with Robbie Williams.

The singer and the famous socialite regularly get together whenever she's in LA, according to newspaper The Daily Mirror.

"There's still chemistry between me and Robbie," said Tara.

"Robbie texts me all the time now. I've known him for three years and we are
still close. Robbie has to share himself with millions of people and I'm lucky
he's got time for me."

Tara refused to be drawn on whether she and Robbie were officially "an item".

December 2006

No little angels

It looks like Robbie Williams has no plans for little Angels in the
future. The 32-year-old singer said he couldn't see himself ever having children and also revealed to The Big Issue that he didn't want a partner,

"I don't know if I want to be in a relationship. I don't believe that to be
fulfilled you have to have kids," he said.

"What's the point? I can't guarantee my child won't suffer pain - because that kid's going to be in pain at some point in their life. I don't want to see that."

Robbie smokes on stage

Australian cancer charities have criticised Robbie Williams for smoking during his sell-out concerts in Brisbane.听He has been fined for lighting up at the Suncorop stadium on two consecutive nights but it looks like Robbie's celebrity status will help him escape paying - the leader of Australia's Queensland state offered to pay the fines, saying that Robbie was a guest of the state.

November 2006

Three wishes

Robbie Williams will be in panto again in Stoke-on-Trent this Christmas. He'll appear as a hologram on stage as the The Genie of The Lamp in Aladdin at the Regent Theatre. Last year Robbie featured on a video screen during the theatre's show.

'And Through It All' released!

From his first Paris show in 1997 to the global stadium stages of today, Robbie's new DVD, follows his journey up the ladder of superstardom. 'And Through It All - Robbie Williams Live 1997 - 2006' was released on 13 November.

Old chums

Former Take That band-mate, Gary Barlow made a heartfelt comment about Robbie's regular features in the media this week saying, "when we see things about him in papers I think we are all genuinely worried about him from time to time and happy for him at other times."

OCTOBER 2006

Rudebox tops the charts

Robbie Williams secured the top slot in the album charts with 'Rudebox'. His release was the highest entry among several new albums and knocked The Killers from the pole position.

But here's what you think of Robbie's latest album...

I brought Rudebox and i love it! I don't think all Robbie fans will like it because its not typical 'Robbie'. A lot of the music on the album reminds me of the music I listened to when I was growing up in the 80s. I dont have a favourite track but do like Lovelight, Bongo bong and She's Madonna.
Shelley, Staffordshire.

We want to know how you rate Robbie's new album. Is it his best yet? What do you think of the new sound? Send us your comments and reviews and we'll put the best up on this site.

Email: stoke@bbc.co.uk

Rudebox released!

Robbie Williams realeased his 10th album on October 23. The album titled 'Rudebox' features 17 songs, one of which is the single 'Rudebox' which was released on the September 04 2006 and peaked at number four in the UK charts.听

His last album 'Intensive Care' was released in October 2005 and reached number one in the UK charts - lets see if he can match his chart topping position a year on with the new album...

MTV 2006 Best International Pop artist award

Robbie Williams won best international pop artist at MTV's 2006 Latin America Music Awards held in Mexico City on October 19. It was also reported that he gave the audience an eye-full before performing "Rock DJ" when he pulled his pants down and mooned the audience!

Record breaking ticket sales

Currently on his Close Encounters World Tour, Robbie will be playing to more than 3 million people around the globe. He broke the World Record for selling 1.6 million tickets in a single day for the tour which kicked off the tour in South Africa. So far he's played over 40 shows.

The end of the road?

If you managed to get tickets for Robbie William's European tour count
yourself lucky - the singer has once again threatened to quit touring for good. He recently cancelled the Asian leg of his Close Encounters show due to stress and exhaustion.

That's your Robbie round-up for now. Check back next week for another blast of your favourite artist's hot news!