26/7/03
Robbie on Atkins diet -The Sun
Robbie Williams is fighting the flab - by feasting on fish. The singer who admits to having a weight problem is said to be desperate to stop the pounds piling on during his European tour. Currently tipping the scales at around 13 stone, he is living on sushi, tuna and tiger prawns to keep his spare tyre at bay. The star is reportedly on the Atkins Diet, which allows protein-rich meat and fish but no carbohydrates like potatoes, bread or pasta. An insider is quoted in the Sun as saying: "Robbie is desperate to lose weight. "He is living on sushi and has ordered his chef not to serve food with carbohydrates." Williams recently claimed that anti-depressant tablets had prevented him burning off the blubber. He said: "They've screwed up my metabolism. "I run and walk miles but the weight won't come off." (sky)
24/7/03
We all want Robbie at our weddings -This is London
Robbie Williams and disco legends The Village People are top of the pops at wedding receptions across Britain.
Robbie's 1997 hit Angels is the most frequently played first-dance song for newly-weds, while The Village People's YMCA is the most popular tune for those who like to perform synchronised routines.
Angels topped the first-dance poll ahead of Van Morrison's Have I Told You Lately and Eric Clapton's Wonderful Tonight.
Other popular choices were a mixture of romantic hits from the past three years, ballads from the Nineties and several Eighties oneoff chart-toppers - including The Power Of Love by Jennifer Rush and Chris de Burgh's Lady In Red.
The wedding tunes poll was commissioned by hotels group Corus. More than 1,000 staff were asked which songs they had most frequently heard in the past 18 months while working at wedding receptions.
Mark Staples, of Corus, said: "Angels by Robbie Williams has become the slow-dance song of choice for an entire generation of newly-weds. But Van Morrison and Eric Clapton seem to have enduring popularity."
Researchers also asked about the most frequently played floor-filling songs with dance routines.
YMCA easily topped the poll, followed by: Frank Sinatra's New York, New York; Macarena, by Los Del Rio; Time Warp, from the Rocky Horror Picture Show; and The Twist, by Chubby Checker.
22/7/03
Robbie Williams Official Site set for revamp. -www.robbiewilliams.com
Yes, it's true! The current Robbie Williams website has now been around for just over 3 years, and not only is it ready for a face-lift, but we are also thinking carefully about what features and services we will be offering on the new site, and how it will be organised... We'd like your feedback on what you like and what you don't about the existing site, as well as the way that you like to use the web in general. We've created a simple online questionnaire for you to fill in to help us understand what you'd like to see and to plan the new site.
If you take the trouble to fill in the questionnaire, you can choose to enter your email at the end and be entered into a draw. The lucky winner of the draw will win 2 VIP tickets to Knebworth and 25 runners-up will each win a copy of the Robbie Williams Escapology EPK. This special 'promotional use only' enhanced CD is extremely collectable and includes 25 minutes of footage of Robbie in the studio recording Escapology.
The online questionnaire will take no more than 5 minutes, and we would really value your feedback. The new site is going to take some planning but you can be sure it will come back even bigger and better with your help!
Click here for the questionnaire!
23/7/03
Making of 'Something Beautiful' on TV -thanks to Jackie
Channel 4 (UK) will be airing the making of 'Something Beautiful' on July 31st at 11.45pm.
22/7/03
Robbie heads celeb gig -Sky News
Chart hunk Robbie Williams will head a long list of top celebrities from the music and fashion worlds at a concert in aid of The Prince Of Wales' charity. The singer will return to the Royal Albert Hall for the show, featuring with Victoria Beckham and Sir Elton John, among others.
Liz Hurley will host the event, called Fashion Rocks, on October 15 when 18 of the world's leading fashion houses will work with leading celebrities. The idea is to fuse catwalk and concert and Robbie will be strutting his stuff for the designers as well as performing. He last appeared at the venue in October 2001 to premiere tracks from his Swing When You're Winning album and he said at the time it was a dream come true.
It is not yet clear whether Posh will be singing or simply modelling for the evening. She has previously posed on the catwalk for one of her favourite designers Maria Grachvogel. Also taking part is Bryan Ferry - and David Bowie will be beamed into the show by satellite.
Top designers taking part include Alexander McQueen, Calvin Klein, Chanel, Chloe, Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, Julien Macdonald, Matthew Williamson, Stella McCartney and Versace. They will showcase catwalk collections accompanied by live music from a star performer.
Sir Tom Shebbeare, chief executive of The Prince's Trust, said: "Fashion Rocks is a hugely exciting fundraising event for The Prince's Trust. "Music and fashion is a powerful combination and the fantastic support we have received from long-standing Trust supporters like Nicholas Coleridge, managing director of Conde Nast, and icons from the world of showbusiness will help us to give even more young people a second chance in life."
The charity has helped 450,000 young people since it was established in 1976.
Tickets for the show are now on sale.
21/7/03
Robbie's been plastered -People
HE'S not even halfway through his European tour and ROBBIE WILLIAMS has already picked up a huge gash on his face.
The star was pictured in Amsterdam with a four-inch plaster hiding the cut. But what caused it? A groupie's jealous man, a wild fan? Rob's spokesman says he cut himself shaving. Maybe he's not so sharp after all.
Robbie's found his Pop Idol -MTV
17/7/03
MTV viewers have decided the winner of the Robbie Williams impersonator contest on his new interactive pop video.
Peter Caruana from Manchester has been voted the best Robbie wannabe in the video to his new single ‘Something Beautiful’.
The clip featured a ‘Pop Idol’ style search for a Robbie impersonator. At the end of the video viewers were invited to vote at Robbie’s website or on MTV interactive for their fave from the three finalists.
The video now has a new ending, with Peter clutching his much-coveted prize.
17/7/03
Phhhroarghh it's Robbie Williams!! -thanks to Jackie
This weekend Coxy's off to interview Robbie Williams - dirty work - but someone's got to do it!
He's in the middle of his European tour at the moment and he's hitting the UK very soon - but he's taking time out to chat to his favourite special lady (that's Sara, by the way)...
You'll be able to hear what happened when Robbie and Sara are reunited the week running up to Friday 1st August - when Chris Moyles will be broadcasting LIVE backstage, at Robbie's first ever date at Knebworth.
Then, on Sunday the 3rd August, from 7pm-11pm on a special Scott Mills show, Radio 1 will broadcast the gig, LIVE.
We also want your questions that Sara can ask the Robster - so get logged onto the message board and tell us your name, where you're from, your fave Robbie song and your question!
www.bbc.co.uk
17/7/03
There is only one Robbie Williams TV Special -thanks to Jackie
KYLIE MINOGUE has admitted that Robbie Williams is more than just a mate - but only when they are on stage.
The pair teamed up for their duet Kids which went to No.2 in 2000 and, for a time, the inevitable romantic link with Robbie was headline news.
But the moment passed and now, while Robbie is still single, Kylie is dating French actor Olivier Martinez. However, the cheeky Aussie singer admits in a new BBC1 documentary There's Only One Robbie Williams - screened on July 27 - that their relationship gets raunchier when they are performing.
She admits: "Off stage we are just mates and he's lovely - but on stage, it just works.
"It's easy and allows us to go for it and have fun."
Following Robbie's amazing Murrayfield gigs at the end of last month the new documentary shows the former Take That singer captured audiences when he was still a teenager.
When he was leaving St Margaret Ward High School he managed to become the centre of attention by singing Everytime We Say Goodbye.
One of his school pals says in the documentary: "By the time he'd finished everyone was around him in a circle."
Thanks to his dad Pete Conway, a cabaret singer, Robbie knew how to make a good first impression. When he was 15 he won the part of the Artful Dodger in the North Staffordshire Amateur Operatic Society's production of Oliver.
Lee Bancroft who was in the stage show claimed some 30 to 40 young local lads went up for the juicy role of Dodger - but Robbie won the day - by turning up in full costume.
Lee said: "He had the top hat and the scarf everyone knew he'd got it."
13/7/03
Robbie Freebie -Exeter Express
Topsham Round Table has a big hit on its hands thanks to pop sensation Robbie Williams.
The teen heartthrob has given the Round Table two pairs of VIP backstage passes for his sell-out concerts. And the kind-hearted fundraisers will be auctioning them tonight - with all the profits going to local children's charities.
Topsham Round Table was given the tickets after one of its members, Brian Sansom, helped Robbie to continue his passion for motorcycling by tailoring a set of leathers for him.
Brian was contacted at his Exmouth firm, BKS Leathers, by Robbie's bodyguard, who frequently takes the star around Los Angeles on the back of a high-powered Ducati motorcycle. However, the bodyguard, who lives in East Devon, refused to let him continue to ride pillion until he got a decent set of leathers for protection.
Robbie, who is currently in the middle of a European tour, promptly ordered a £1,800 suit from BKS.
Surprisingly, the flamboyant star asked for a suit in understated, plain black.
Many of BKS's clients come to the firm to have measurements taken, but Robbie's tour prevented that. Instead the bodyguard took 40 measurements, tapped them into a computer and emailed them to Exmouth.
Grateful for the special efforts Brian was making on his behalf, Robbie asked if he could reciprocate. When told that Brian was a member of Topsham Round Table and it was holding a charity auction he offered the tickets as a star lot.
One pair is to a gig in Dublin and the other is to a massive concert at Knebworth.
Brian, who has also made leathers for Dire Straits guitarist Mark Knopfler and Hollywood actor Daniel Day-Lewis, was delighted with the tickets. After next month's Knebworth concert Robbie will try on his new suit for a final fitting.
Brian, managing director of BKS, said: "We thought he might donate a T-shirt, or some other merchandise so we were over the moon when he donated these tickets which are for two concerts which have both sold out.
"Topsham Round Table is hoping to raise more than £16,000 for various children's charities in Devon this year. The tickets should give us a real boost."
The tickets will be among many items auctioned off by the Round Table at a Spanish-themed event at the Matthews Hall, Fore Street, Topsham, from 7pm tonight. The event is open to the public.
13/7/03
Robbie records with Presley -thanks to Jackie
Reported in Sky News, Robbie Williams has teamed up and recorded two songs with Lisa Marie Presley. Presley would like to break into the Europe and UK markets. Both artists are from EMI but no actual mention as to whether anything will actually be released.
13/7/03
Williams nominated for Comet Awards -thanks to Jackie
Robbie is nominated for the Comets Awards, for categories INTERNATIONNAL ACT and LIVE ACT. The ceremony will take place on August 15 in Kholn on the channel TV Viva.
11/7/03
Pop Idle -TOTP
Ever wanted to know the key to making it in the heady world of pop? Well don't bother asking Robbie Williams then, because he's as much help as Craig David in a half-price hat sale.
The Robster told the Daily Mirror that all that jetset living, champagne and fancy hotels is just not worth the effort, which we can only assume is what he was feeling when recording 'Escapology'.
It's especially bleak if you like your pop on the manufactured side, as Robbie explains: "I know Take That were a manufactured band but it's all gone too far. These shows promise fame and fortune but they just chew people up and spit them out."
Just in case anyone's spirits were left undampened, Robbie doused all with more mopey wisdom, saying: "People don't realise how fleeting it can be. In the end, they are being humiliated for mass entertainment." Sheesh! Sounds like Mr Williams needs a holiday.
9/7/03
Win Robbie's bed -thanks to RW United
Many women - and men DREAM of sharing a bed with Robbie Williams
,and now one of those can become reality.Well almost! When were dusting out a dark corner in Heat Towers we stumbled across Robbie's bed and unfortunatley none if us have room for it!! SO NOW YOU CAN WIN IT!!
The bed is KING size (A HUUUUGE 7'x8') finished in green velveteen and was originally bought from a posh furniture shop heals a few years ago.
The sumptious mattress still bears a label marked 'CUSTOMER-WILLIAMS' and the green sheet is signed 'love Robbie' in black marker pen (tut tut scribbling on the sheets again rob!!)
Most 'excitingly' off all its the bed Rob shared with Nicole Appleton when they dated, so we can only IMAGINE the fun thats been had in it!!
Robbie says ''The bed has seen plenty of action as well as a few evenings with me by myself watching Sky and CNN''
So if you want to wake up every morning on Robs mattress just tell us at heat why you need a new bed (photo's optional) by e-mailing us at heatcomp@emap.com by 15th July with the subject heading ''ROBBIE'S BED''
9/7/03
Robbie in daze over Diaz -thanks to Jackie
ROBBIE WILLIAMS and CAMERON DIAZ have been on an intimate date — go-karting. The liaison will infuriate Cameron’s boyfriend JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE who is touring in the US. Robbie considers Justin his biggest chart rival and admits he fancies the actress. The couple bumped into each other in Berlin’s Four Seasons hotel. The pair know each other from Los Angeles and Cameron was so pleased to see a familiar face she leapt at Robbie’s invitation to go for an evening’s racing. The teetotal singer is in the German capital for two gigs while Cameron is promoting Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle with pals LUCY LIU and DREW BARRYMORE.A friend of Robbie’s said: “They bumped into each other in the bar and decided it would be fun to go karting.
“They headed off to a posh track in the Spandau area of the city and had a great time. They both have very bubbly personalities and bounce off each other. I don’t really know if there was much romance involved but who knows what might happen?”
Flash Robbie has hired a jet costing £160,000 a month to fly him around Europe. The plane has RW on the tail, a double bedroom and games lounge. Rock and roll.
8/7/03
Let me entertain you, in more ways than one -Europe Media
A critique on mass-entertainment reality entertainment shows, a cynical attempt to revive the flagging singles market or just a damn good idea for a pop-video?
All three descriptions will no doubt be applied to the video to UK pop star Robbie Williams’ latest single, to be released on July 28, which is believed to be the world’s first interactive music video where viewers will get to decide the ending from three possibilities.
Conceived as a satire on the ‘Idols’ phenomenon, there’s a fair bit of cod-philosophising driving this latest venture of Mr Williams and company, with the former boy band member himself labelling the reality TV craze as “mass entertainment humiliation.” In an attempt to spear the genre, Williams and record label EMI ran a mock Idol’s auditioning process for Robbie Wannabes who imitated their hero in front of a panel of judges. The video captures the process and ends on the cliff-hanger of the finale where the field has been whittled down to three contestants and viewers must decide who they want to win, registering their vote via phone or text message. 10 days after voting, the winner will be announced, at which point one of three pre-filmed endings will feature Robbie warmly congratulating his successful doppelganger before no doubt delivering a few mildly acerbic comments on the general malaise that is manufactured pop.
You’ve got to admit, it’s quite a good idea, and a concept that has the potential to tread that slippery, half-ironic barrier between successfully cashing in on a pop cultural phenomenon whilst keeping a hip, slightly aloof distance.
Though Williams may linger on the withering critique of fame that’s become his stock in trade since leaving Take That, others behind the singer certainly recognise the potential benefits opened to them by the launch of the ‘i-video.’ Eric Winbolt, New Media manager for EMI records, told the Guardian, "We're used to doing that [interactivity] on the web, but this experience is now something for people who were previously just passively watching TV." He went on to say: "If you create more profile and engage people with the artist, that's more likely to fuel singles sales, which is still the bulk of the record company's marketing activity. Hit singles lead to album sales.”
8/7/03
How will you end it? -Guardian
Robbie Williams's new single opens with the line "You can't manufacture a miracle." Well, he might be right about that, but he and his record company EMI are trying to manufacture something miraculous for their industry - the world's first interactive music video where the TV audience votes for their favourite ending.
Something Beautiful, the third single from Williams's Escapology album, will be released on July 28. However, fans (who first started seeing the music video over the weekend) can decide how the story of the video will end.
A few months ago, Williams and EMI faced a dilemma - they wanted to create a video for the song, but the star was heavily into his latest tour. It was then that two ideas collided.
Williams had long wanted to produce a video making fun of Pop Idol and the reality TV craze he considers "mass entertainment humiliation". Meanwhile, EMI had seen the positive effects of interactivity on the music video format. It was decided to make a music video about Williams wannabes going through a Pop Idol process to choose the best. It films the story of hundreds of hopefuls auditioning in front of a panel of judges with the field being whittled down to 30 semi-finalists. The final three - Rebecca, Bjorn and Peter - are treated like superstars and the climax is their performances before a studio audience. The interactive part comes at the end when the video invites the TV audience at home to vote, via telephone text message, for their favourite.
After 10 days of voting, a winner will be announced and the video's original cliffhanger ending will be altered to show the lucky wannabe meeting the real thing. What that revised ending will look like, and what Williams might do or say, are heavily guarded secrets as EMI wants to build up the suspense. But, suffice to say, the real Williams is promising to deliver a typically cheeky opinion on the subject of how modern pop stars are made, something he feels passionate about.
"I know Take That were a manufactured band but I think it's all gone too far nowadays," he says. "These shows - you know which ones I mean - promise fame and fortune but they just chew people up and spit them out. People don't realise how fleeting their moment of fame can be. In the end they are being humiliated for mass entertainment."
Eric Winbolt, New Media manager for EMI records, says the i-video is a way of making the artist and the content of a video more involving and exciting for the audience. "We're used to doing that on the web, but this experience is now something for people who were previously just passively watching TV."
EMI first experimented with an i-music video at the start of the year when heavy metal band Hell Is For Heroes re-released a single called You Drove Me To It. On its first release in 2002, the single achieved a best chart position of just No 63. But the second release in January was promoted by an enhanced video featuring "the man in red" - actually someone in a red tracksuit - who appeared on screen and triggered much red button-pushing. This interactive action took fans behind the video to additional content, including extra exclusive material, but with a main focus of directing them to the band's website. This enhanced video put the single on to the A-list rotation of MTV2 and pushed it to 28 in the charts.
If this i-video experiment works, it could help spark a revival in the UK singles market which has been depressed for years. Whereas singles in the 1970s had to sell more than a million copies to top the charts, the dance act Tomcraft only needed to sell 36,000 to go straight to No 1 in May. The chairman of EMI UK & Ireland, Tony Wadsworth, says the singles format is "in decline. It's definitely undergoing radical surgery."
So, while music downloading from the web continues to increase, the UK music industry still believes that buying singles is the main way to keep traditional album sales alive.
"If you create more profile and engage people with the artist, that's more likely to fuel singles sales, which is still the bulk of the record company's marketing activity," says Winbolt. "Hit singles lead to album sales." He says that the record label is not trying to make money from the telephone text voting itself, which is why fans in the UK can't use the red button to vote; they must make a (cheaper) telephone text call.
The big difference with William's cliffhanger i-video is that its content will change as a result of fan voting. All three possible endings have already been filmed and different markets may vote in a different winner - for example, German Bjorn is probably a certain winner there.
In the UK, MTV has decided to pull out all the stops. The channel is dedicating MTV Peep - its four-screen interactive service - to the new song. Fans can see Something Beautiful 24 hours a day plus video out-takes and short documentaries about the lookalikes. There will also be a phone voting number for Robbie Rebecca, Robbie Bjorn or Robbie Peter.
The head-spinning part of this concept is that despite real Robbie trying to poke fun at manufactured pop stars, EMI actually did operate real Pop Idol-style auditions to find their three wannabe finalists.
Video producer Gillian Nisbet says: "We treated them like rock stars for a week, driving them around in limousines and giving them dancing lessons with Robbie's choreographer, but we also briefed them that this is not going to change their lives."
That might turn out to be a debatable point for the trio. All three were picked because they "embodied the essence of Robbie" rather than just looking like him. Rebecca was the very first in line for the auditions in London in May that attracted hundreds of hopefuls. Bjorn flew in from Germany, while Peter was one of the wannabes who impressed the judges (who included William's father) as looking most like the star.
Unlike Pop Idol or Fame Academy, no one has promised them a record contract and they only mimed to Williams's song. But the gift of celebrity might still be theirs. Maybe Williams has got it wrong and even he may end up manufacturing a miracle for one of his own music video stars.
7/7/03
'Something Beautiful' clip on RW official site: vote now -from Tania and www.robbiewilliams.com
The video 'Manufactured Miracles' is now airing on the official RW website waiting for you to cast your vote. Click here and go the the Escapology MiniSite, and enter the UK site. It is under 'watch'.
7/7/03
Robbie launches reality iTV spoof -netimperative
Creative agency Weapon7 has teamed with EMI Records to launch what it claims to be the first interactive music video for UK singer Robbie Williams.
The video, for Williams' latest single 'Something Beautiful', spoofs reality game shows and enables viewers to vote interactively for a week. It will be shown on MTV, MTV hits and VH1 from today.
The winner of the spoof contest, designed to poke fun a reality TV shows such as Pop Idol, Fame Academy and Pop Stars, will be revealed next Monday in a changed version of the music video, which is called 'manufactured miracles'.
UK digital satellite viewers will be invited to press the red button when viewing the video, which will take them through to a Robbie Williams branded 4-screen video application, which allows them to choose between three different videos featuring three finalists' finest moments. Viewers can vote for their favourite finalist via text message.
Simon Smith, creative director at Weapon7 said: "the interactive element is also rather cheeky. It parodies the endless voting applications we see on TV that we keep being told are really 'compelling' and 'enhancing' the broadcast when they are clearly not."
The launch of the interactive video follows an agreement between Weapon7 and EMI last November. The record label signed up Weapon7 to develop enhanced music content on TV for the label and advise it on the marketing potential offered by digital broadcasting, in a bid to help offset the slump in record sales blamed on internet piracy.
7/7/03
Shania Twain likes British men -Teenmusic
Sexy country pop singer Shania Twain has a passion for British men - despite being happily married.
The That Don't Impress Me Much singer thinks Coldplay singer Chris Martin is "very attractive" and finds soccer superstar David Beckham "very handsome".
Shania also has a liking for Feel hunk Robbie Williams, who she thinks has "beautiful eyes" and "is funny too, which is charming".
6/7/03
60 Minutes interview preview -from Tania
On stage, Robbie Williams is a chameleon. Just when you think you've got him worked out, he changes again. And he's a bit like that in person too, camping it up outrageously one minute, thoughtful and introspective the next. Yet never far below the surface is the lad from the north of England who can't quite believe his luck; a good-looking, rich superstar with millions of adoring fans around the world. But there's another change in the wind. The rock 'n' roll Romeo is cleaning up his act. He's ready to settle down and is on the lookout for Miss Right. Or so he says ...
See more here.
Transcript and video should be available tomorrow.
Here's a very brief run down of the interview:
Just watched the 60 Minutes Australian interview and it was great! Robbie looked healthy and happy. Showed alot of footage from Albert Hall and Nobody Someday aswell as MTV Cribs. Talked about the drug addiction, hanging up his shagging boots and whats next for the future.
Said he has hung up his shagging boots but knows where the closet is. Said he would like the white picket fence and the kids next, and doesn't want to do another Robbie album for a while. He's ready to break out for a while. Asked about Nicole Kidman and he said that she was a 'real princess' and that he felt very shy around her but now thanks to his medication he no longer feels shy. Also said he 'absolutely' likes the Aussie chicks, in reference to Kylie and Nicole and said that Danni rocks. Touched on the gay issue, said that he started all the rumors so that no one could say he denys it and made a point of saying 'i would like to marry a woman and fall in love, please'. Said he loves his home country very much but the press report everything including when he farts in which he let one go!! Everyone was laughing. I think it was filmed in the UK and it showed him cracking a whip in like a big hall room. Talked briefly about the TT days and when he lived on vodka and cocaine and how everyone gets a booklet when they are born of tickets for drink and drugs and how his was just a pamphlet and how he has used it up and his body said no more. The reporter asked what would he be like in ten years and he said he would probably have the white picket fence and the divorce. Also said how he has life pinching moments where he pinches himself to understand how all this is his and how far he has come. Also referred to being able to get any girl he wants as 'great'. Said he is the luckiest man in the world. Overall it was a great interview, didn't touch on anything too personal. If I think of more I'll post it up.
6/7/03
Robbie Dazzler -thanks to Loopy Loo on the forum
The Robbie Williams success wagon chugs on - he has just added another 8 dates to his Escapology Tour. Rob's already broken all sales records by selling out his UK dates in just 8 hours combined with pan-European ticket sales hitting over 1,230,000. My snapper clearly caught Robbie in Paris just after he'd heard the good news about the added gigs. (nice Piccie of Robbie in shades and arm raised in salute) A Robbie spokesman said "He's a hard worker and while many artists would see extra dates as a chore, Robbie is delighted".
The extra dates are spread through out October and Novemebr and take in Portugal Spain Italy and Norway Poland. Go Robbie Go..
5/7/03
'Something Beautiful' Australian DVD details -EMI
Well not sure what is happening in the land of EMI Australia. Yesterday they said that 'Something Beautiful' would be released in Australia on July 21st. Today it has changed to August 4th so not sure what is happening there. But they have issued details on the CD/DVD release. The DVD will contain:
Something Beautiful
Berliner Star
Coffee Tea and Sympathy
Something Beautiful video
No cover details as yet.
5/7/03
Manufactured Miracles -You Decide -www.robbiewilliams.com
When it comes to the latest Robbie Williams video you can be sure its always going to break new ground, and the new video to Robbie's current single Something Beautiful (flying high at radio right now), is no exception...
On a sunny Saturday in May, hundreds of fans from all around Europe, answered the call to perform 'as Robbie Williams'. No sound-alikes or look-alikes required, the request garnered a whole range of wannabes, all up for the chance to appear in a Robbie Williams video. In a reality-tv spoof, the fans took part in a series of first round auditions to find the finalists of a 'Robbie Idols' style competition. At the end of the day 3 'finalists' were chosen, to be trained for a week for the final 'showdown' the following Saturday.
However the cameras had been following all the fans who entered the competition from the moment they entered the door... and hence the video is a tightly packed miniature reality-tv spoof from start to finish.
Behind the fun though is a serious comment, and as Robbie himself says: "I know Take That were a manufactured band but I think it's all gone too far nowadays. These shows - you know which ones I mean! - promise fame and fortune but they just chew people up and spit them out. People don't realise how fleeting their moment of fame can be. In the end, they are being humiliated for mass entertainment."
The three lucky chosen finalists all entered into the ironic spirit of the show, aptly named 'Manufactured Miracles' and enjoyed living a showbiz lifestyle of limos, champagne and parties for a week.
So finally, it's now up to you to decide who wins...
The video will be playing on the Escapology Microsite! from Monday 7th July! As well as their condensed appearances within the video, you will be able to see extra footage of each of the 3 contestants; Peter, Rebecca and Bjorn. Simply vote for the contestant you would like to see win! The full-length version starring the winner voted by RobbieWilliams.com visitors will be featured on the site from Monday 14th July!
Get ready to vote!
4/7/03
Robbie to perform in Norway -RW United
Robbie Williams has been to Norway before but only to promote his albums. On 14 November he will finally give a concert as well, in Valhall, Oslo.
The venue Valhall is chosen before the Oslo Spektrum because of its capacity. The box office will open on Saturday this week and there are 11,000 tickets for sale, according to VG.
Williams cancelled his gig at the Quart Festival in 1999 only ten weeks beforehand. His only performances in Norway are a small private one for a few handpicked guests at the Grand Hotel in 1999 and the mini concert for TV channel TV 2 last winter.
The Valhall concert is not part of Williams' official tour this year.
His latest album «Escapology» has sold 170,000 in Norway.
4/7/03
Traders face court action over bootleg RW merchandise -Edinburgh News
EIGHT traders are facing court action after being caught selling bootleg Robbie Williams merchandise at Murrayfield over the weekend.
More than 200 unofficial T-shirts and over 80 fake programmes were seized during a major crackdown by trading standards officers on Saturday and Sunday.
The swoops were made in the wake of warnings by the council last week that it was determined to clamp down on "Del-Boy"-style traders trying to cash in on the sell-out concerts.
Officers went undercover in a bid to catch bogus traders in the act, amid fears they would be travelling to Murrayfield from across Britain. A spokeswoman for the council said 224 T-shirts were seized from five traders while traders were caught with 85 programmes, being sold at £5-a-time compared with the £12 being charged for an official Robbie Williams publication.
Meanwhile, police and council chiefs today praised fans for their behaviour at the concerts, which passed off without any serious incident.
A spokesman for Lothian and Borders Police said: "Over the course of the two concerts there were five arrests and seven ejections from the stadium, all for minor offences."
2/7/03
Robbie Williams Interview on Australian TV -EMI Australia
Australian exclusive Robbie interview - 60 Minutes 06.07.03
Be watching 60 Minutes this Sunday to see Peter Overton's incredibly informative and open interview with Robbie Williams. Channel 9 at 7.30pm - Sunday 06th July.
Keep your ears open for the new single 'Something Beautiful' as this track will be with radio stations next week. This is the 3rd HOT single from the 'Escapology' album.
2/7/03
Smart forfour and Robbie Williams tour Europe -CarPages
As joint headline sponsor, smart gmbh is accompanying the Robbie Williams tour with the first public showcase of the smart forfour. From July until August 2003, those interested across Europe have the chance to experience the smart forfour and the Robbie Williams tour.
Philipp Schiemer, Marketing & Sales director at smart gmbh, is looking forward to the joint events: "With our unconventional activities we want to convince people of the emotional character of the smart forfour, and to present the vehicle as a new member of the smart product family. Nobody embodies the lifestyle of our target group as authentically as Robbie Williams." Two promotions are at the heart of smart’s sponsoring commitment – the "smart forfour ambassadors" and the "studio forfour".
Three days prior to each Robbie Williams concert, smart will start the action with the presentation of the smart forfour. In selected cities across the Robbie Williams tour, so-called "smart forfour ambassadors" can personally experience the new smart model for the first time. In addition to this first impression of the smart forfour, the "smart forfour ambassadors" will also be given opportunity to win tickets for the tour, which has already sold out.
The Robbie Williams warm-up party held in each city in the specially set up "studio forfour" is smart’s way of ringing in the last night before the British entertainer plays in concert. Alongside music and pictures of Robbie Williams in a selected trendy club in the tour cities, fans and friends can win one of five sets of two VIP packages – admission to the concert as well as to the hospitality area – in an American-style auction. Proceeds from this campaign will go to the "Give it Sum!" foundation established by Robbie Williams.
Robbie Williams – himself a smart car owner – is looking forward to the events of the title sponsor: "I just love the smart brand and its cool products. I think the events that have been planned are exciting, and the new smart forfour is – like all smart models – a wicked car which people will love at first sight."
smart gmbh and Robbie Williams have been working together since the premiere of the film "Nobody Someday" in December 2001 and the handing-over of the smart crossblade in April 2002. The European tour marks the next stage of the cooperation between the international entertainer and smart.
1/7/03
I'm looking for a wife, says Robbie -Irish Examiner
Robbie Williams has told how he has given up casual sex and is finally ready for a proper relationship.
The star said that he has always dated women whom he would find it easy to leave until now.
In an interview with music magazine Q, 29-year-old Williams said he was now keen to find a wife and had already named the first of their two future children
"The first one’s going to be called Sunny whether it’s a boy or a girl,” said the singer.
Williams said there were plenty of opportunities for sex in his adopted home of Los Angeles and admitted he used to be “a little terror”.
But he said: “That’s subsided over the past couple of years because along with soulless sex comes self-hatred.”
Speaking about LA, he said: “I could have a lot of sex here. But there’s no wife, which is what I want.”
The singer, who has just kicked off his European tour, claimed he would love a girlfriend “because I’m ready”.
“I don’t think I was up to it before. You just wouldn’t have gone out with me. I chose women I could leave.
“But I’m close now to my ideal of what a man should be in a relationship, and that’s honest.
“You can lie forever and I don’t want that,” he told the August edition of Q, which is on sale tomorrow.
In the past Williams has dated stars such as Nicole Appleton, now the partner of Oasis singer Liam Gallagher, and actress Anna Friel.
