22/5/03
Dave Adelson [on a roof top in LA]: Beautiful day here in LA. Air is so clean you could touch it. Anyhow it really is hard to overstate exactly how big of a star Robbie Williams is in England and the rest of Europe, he’s so big he actually finds his lack of fame here in America downright refreshing.
[Clip of Feel showing]
DA: [voice over] The song is Feel, the album Escapology, the artist is Robbie Williams. For you Americans, this may be your first introduction, no small irony since England’s Robbie Williams is one of the biggest music superstars in the world.
Robbie Williams: [seated in a studio, wearing black T-Shirt and black leather jacket] And that’s pretty much why I got out of the country for a while, livin’ in LA, um, cos I can walk around here, but it’s, y’know, another celebrity moaning again, and that’s me, I’m another celebrity moaning again, hello I’m moaning Robbie Williams.
DA: [voice over] Indeed since being a member of boy band Take That in the early 90’s, and then embarking on a huge solo career, Williams has dominated the tabloids of England and the rest of Europe. There, Robbie Williams’ every move creates a press frenzy.
RW: I don’t mind the tabloids keeping tab, keeping tight check and reporting on me, it’s great. I’ve got an album out, but over here I don’t meet people that already know me, they’re not actually coming up and meeting Robbie Williams that slept with such and such last week, and said a disgusting thing on the television about the Catholic Church, and ah….yes and oh did he take some smack last week too…
DA: [voice over] Of course it’s not like he doesn’t give them things to talk about.
RW: I got into drugs, and I got into drinking and I liked them a lot and I don’t think I would have had a job that would have been able to maintain my habit, you know, I pretty much think that I would have probably ended up being a dealer or something, um, so as fate may have it, I auditioned for a boy band and I got in.
DA: [voice over] Just like everything involving Robbie Williams, his approach to the American market is well ….complicated. Here’s one Robbie Williams on breaking in America.
RW: I don’t see it selling an awful lot. Either which way I’ll be happy - if it doesn’t – great, if it does – great.
DA: [voice over] Here’s another Robbie Williams on America.
RW: I’m completely gonna contradict myself once again, by being here and promoting an album. Y’know, my record company’s just been so great with me here, treating me so good.
DA: [voice over] And here’s yet another Robbie Williams on breaking in America.
RW: To tell you the truth, I am here because I’m still young enough to be bothered about what people think, um. you know, the British media kind of bullied me into doing this, you know, and as it happens I’m enjoying myself but y’know, I got that playground bully ‘You won’t break America, you won’t break America, ha ha ha ha ha’, and me [in pretend crying voice] ‘I will’. So, um, that’s why I’m here [laughs].
DA: A super great guy and really, the album right now, Escapology it’s selling about 7 to 8 thousand a week, which is hardly a barn-burner here in America but again, he’s living here now. Guys, I don’t think he’s ever gonna be as big as he is in England, they grew up with him, they grew up watching Robbie from a boy band and he is everywhere. When I go to London it is all Robbie all the time, he is so huge, here he’s, y’know, what he needs to do is catch a single, if that happens the record’s gonna sell.
Giuliana [in the E! News studio]: Yeah, that’s true, it’s funny, I was actually at a bar recently with some girlfriends and I’m like ‘Oh my God, look, Robbie Williams’, and they’re like ‘Who?’. And that was here in LA and they know about the music business and everything but they just had no idea who Robbie Williams was.
DA: It’s unheard of, he could not walk outside in London without causing a mob scene, here he can go out and, as I said earlier, he actually finds it refreshing.
Patrick Stenson [in the E! News studio]: He’s doing well though, Dave, I was watching one of those home shows on another network and his house is bananas. It’s out of this world.
DA: Believe me, this guy is a multi multi multi millionaire, zillionaire, he’s made so much money and as he says he can go across Europe and boom, sells out multiple stadium nights, here a small theatre maybe.
G: Yeah, America’s always the hardest place to break in.
PS: So take it from Dave, he said he was super great.
G: Yes, Dave loves him! All right Dave, we’ll see you later.
Robbie Williams Interview on E! News Live
E! News Live
