- [short beep] - [tape whirs]
[short beep]
[camera clicks]
["Strong" playing in background]
Sh!
[man 1] So, Rob?
Reason I've come down here today is to give you one of these.
Unfortunately, I'm afraid it's not vinyl, but they did send all of it.
- Thank you very much. - You're very welcome.
- Cheers. - [applause, cheering]
- [woman] That's it. You've won. - Thank you very much.
- Thank you. - You earned it.
[man 2] D'you believe what's happening?
[sighs]
I don't know.
Really dunno. I'm just flummoxed.
I'm really, really happy at the moment.
[sighs]
[chuckles]
I'm gonna be doing that all over the world this time next year.
- [camera clicks] - Yes.
You know, it's just, like, I'm 24.
I'm 24.
[short beep]
[music distorts, echoes]
[man 1] A year ago, Robbie Williams' career seemed at an end.
[man 2] The man who stormed the BRITs, the MTV Awards, and the Ivor Novellos.
[man 3] ...some people are saying this is a huge runaway smash...
[man 4] ...and vulnerable. He also can't seem to stay out of--
[woman] According to the press, he's been giving me one. Mr...
- [voices overlap] Robbie. - [man] Robbie Williams!
[grand music playing]
[Robbie sings a tune]
♪ Trauma chats! ♪
[man] Got ourselves an opening-credits song.
[Robbie] Yeah. ♪ Trauma chats! ♪
[man laughs]
♪ I was in Take That Then I got real fat ♪
♪ In a trauma chat! ♪
[laughs]
You're only supposed to do this at the pearly gates with St. Peter.
This looking back at your life.
There's a ... a lot to unpack
in the feelings of watching myself over the years.
I don't know if this is something that people should do.
Or this people.
But, you know,
Pandora's box has been opened.
[fans screaming]
- [Robbie] Hello! - [screaming]
[current Robbie] From an auspicious start, "Angels" happens,
and the career takes off.
Everything seems to keep gettin' professionally bigger
and bigger and bigger.
- [cheering] - I'm coming!
- [man laughs] - Just one moment!
[screaming]
["Millennium" playing]
[Robbie] From side to side like yay.
♪ We got stars directing... ♪
[host] Time now for a brand-new number one.
Can you believe it's the first of his career as a solo artist?
♪ ...it's not too late ♪
- ♪ Millennium ♪ - ♪ Some say that we... ♪
[current Robbie] Back then, I was box office.
And I find myself in a stratosphere that very few have existed in.
It was
fuckin' insane.
Absolutely insane.
[man] And the winner is
Robbie Williams!
[cheering]
- "Robbie Williams. 'Angels!'" - [cheering]
"Robbie Williams."
♪ And we're prayin' it's not too late... ♪
[current Robbie] It looked like I possessed the golden ticket.
♪ ...we're fallin' from grace... ♪
But when you become famous, you become something other.
[music distorts]
[young Robbie] I'm getting a bit scared by all the success and what's happenin'.
I dunno. It's all a bit too much at the minute.
Especially becomin' really, really famous again
and not knowin' who to trust.
It's weird 'cause my last memory of being really, really famous
was being really, really sad with it.
So it's just about dealin'
with the fame in a different way now.
And I'm not dealing with it that good at the minute.
You know, I've got a couple of really good friends,
I think, now... Well, I... I know.
But then, you know, you just question everybody else's intention
why they're with you, why they're around you,
and why they're listening so intently. You know.
♪ Twenty-five and I've come alive ♪
♪ Twenty-one was the time I came undone ♪
[both] ♪ But doesn't everyone ♪
[acoustic guitar playing]
Test recording. Testing to see if the microphone--
Oh no, we haven't even plugged the microphone in.
What did they say in the papers? Today, about you?
Uh, they said that um ... What did they say? I'm self-destructive.
[laughter]
[current Robbie] I don't know how easy it is for people
to get to know me, to be my friend, because
instinctively, I am
a loner.
So, those that manage it
have to be a special kind of person.
Yeah, and me and Guy are getting on so well 'ere.
You know, we're... we're... we're definitely...
we're definitely brothers in this moment.
[interviewer] You gonna be able to do music without him?
Uh, no.
[interviewer] Okay. Aw.
[young Robbie] I have a perfect scenario
where I write songs with somebody who is one of, if not my best mate.
Do you know what I mean?
And... we write great songs together.
And I... you know, I like writing melodies and lyrics.
I can't be arsed to learn how to play the guitar or keyboards or whatever.
[Guy laughs]
- Sorry. This much is true. - This much is true, isn't it?
[plays piano softly]
[current Robbie] At the time, we were in a band called Robbie Williams,
and we interlocked and fitted perfectly musically.
On keyboards, Mr. Guy "Angels" Chambers.
[crowd screaming]
[current Robbie] We were liberated in each other's company
and enjoyin' each other's company.
[Guy] Rob? Stand there for a minute. I wanna get you in front of the jet.
[current Robbie] Liberated by the feeling of success that we're havin'.
I think you look marvelous, darling.
Don't look so bad yourself.
[current Robbie] And it's working in Europe and the UK.
[Guy] It's amazing. It's beautiful.
[current Robbie] But in the States, no one knows me.
So now we go out of the trenches and into America.
["Deee-Lite Theme" playing]
♪ Are you ready? ♪
♪ No! ♪
[music continues on stereo]
[Guy] Great.
♪ From the global village ♪
♪ In the age of... ♪
[Guy] This is ninety...
- Ninety... - [Guy] ...one?
...one. Just as I joined Take That.
- I got some money to buy this album. - [Guy] Yeah?
I used to listen to it comin' up on the train.
- [Guy] Sounds great, doesn't it? - ♪ Deee-lite ♪
- [Guy] Is this the first track? - Yeah.
I bought it on tape. 'Cause I couldn't afford a CD.
[Guy] Wow.
I couldn't afford the batteries for the tape player.
- [Guy laughs] For the Walkman? - No.
I was listening to this, then having to sing "Do What U Like."
[Guy] Yeah.
- A bit demoralizing. - [Guy] Mm.
But, hey... Sat here in New York, aren't I?
- [Guy] Eh? - I'm sat here in New York.
♪ New York City! ♪
- [Guy] In a penthouse. - In a penthouse.
♪ Deee-lite ♪
[current Robbie] There is a massive thing in Britain
about being British and going conquering America.
[song fades]
At this point, everywhere else in the world,
I have cachet, and there is a understanding of who I am.
And here in America, I'm startin' again.
[young Robbie] Well, to tell you the truth, right, it's like this.
I haven't got a fuckin' clue about America.
It kinda scares me 'cause it's so fuckin' big.
I would really love to break it here and sell a lot of records,
'cause it'll piss a lot of people off back home.
That's basically the gear. That's what I wanna do.
Hello, America.
- [cheering, laughter] - [Robbie cheers]
I've always wanted to say that.
Thank you very much for having me . Here's a song about sex.
["Forever Texas" playing]
[Guy] Wow, it's small.
[Robbie] I'm sure none of you know who I am, so I'm very, very grateful
for you all coming down. I'm Robbie Williams. This is my band.
♪ Am I talkin' too freely? ♪
[man] ...number-one star in England right now. Oasis opens for him.
Good morning, San Francisco. I'm Robbie Williams.
I'm from England. I do well there. I do not very well here, yet.
♪ Just lie on your back ♪
♪ Baby, I'm crazy... ♪
Tell your friends, tell your neighbors.
Tell people you don't like even. Do me a favor.
♪ Amaze me... ♪
[West Country accent] I feel I'm going slightly mad.
I 'ave only had two hours sleep in two days.
[cheering, whistling]
- [music ends] - [cheering fades]
[man] I think what may confuse a lot of Americans is
kinda his cheeky humor, which is very British.
A lot of Americans don't get that style of humor.
Also, his songs,
he'll be saying in one line, "woe is me," the next line, "I'm a global superstar."
[woman] We don't get all the jokes about his bum.
[current Robbie] They had zero knowledge or understanding of who I was.
And that was deeply uncomfortable.
- [Robbie] Wow. - [Guy laughs] Yeah!
[Guy] This is like out of a Beatles movie. It's brilliant.
- Robbie Williams. - Yeah, how you doin', all right?
- How many drinks have you had? - I've had no--
- No drinks?! - I've had no drinks.
- I haven't drank for a long time. - Gotta get him with the Jäger chicks.
We need to hook him up with the Jägermeister chicks.
- Believe me... - [Guy laughs]
[Guy] He's a recovering alcoholic. Leave him alone.
Robbie... You shoulda... Okay, then that's not a good idea.
[current Robbie] Yeah, it just felt massive and impossible.
[man] Are you ready?
- Eh? - [man] Are you ready?
I'm always fuckin' ready, man. I'm always on. Always on. All I do is...
[current Robbie] There's this very Northern English bloke
being a Northern English bloke.
[man] Here we go.
So classy.
[Guy laughs]
[current Robbie] And there is a disconnect.
I appear to be a bit resentful.
[man] Robbie Williams hanging out with us. How you doin'?
I'm really good, man.
I am. I am.
One song we played the heck out of a couple years ago was "I Want You Back,"
you wrote with Take That, which is an excellent song.
You know, that's a phase of your life that is gone now or?
[Robbie] That's a phase of my life that's definitely gone now.
Every time it's mentioned, a part of me dies.
Just throws up.
[Robbie] You know, it's nice because it's, like, very therapeutic
that you do mention this for me every now and again.
Um, yeah. That's... That... I was in Take That. Now I'm not.
Okay, that... You certainly covered the salient points on that one.
Tell us about the new CD. What's goin' on with that?
The new CD is a collection of... of pop songs
written by my own fair hand, with my number-one man,
Mr. Guy Chambers.
[tense music playing]
[current Robbie] I wasn't in a good way.
It was exhausting.
[cockney accent] Sh! Don't scare the natives.
- [Guy] I won't. - [Robbie] All right then. Watch this.
Sh, sh, sh.
Sh, sh, sh, sh, sh.
[woman] Robbie, I thought you were a good pop star,
but you're turning out to be a very bad bloke.
Look at them. Look at them.
They even talk.
Watch. Watch. Watch as they talk.
We're being very nice to you.
- [Robbie] Hello! - Hello!
- [Robbie] See. - We're very nice Canadians.
It's like they know stuff.
- [fan 1] All the way! - [fan 2] Robbie!
[fan 3] Robbie, I give you my hand!
I will go in if you don't remove everything from the side now!
[fan 4] I'm sorry!
[fans clamoring]
I wasn't very nice to those fans.
Suppose you could become quite numb to... [imitates fans screaming]
Yeah, you become quite numb to that.
There's an overload of
take, take, take, take, take everywhere.
[pensive piano music playing]
It's like I was afraid.
Waking up with a sense of foreboding and anxiety.
I used to drink and do drugs
because it helped me not feel this way.
When you strip that away,
all the everything comes up that you've been suppressing,
and at this point, I'd been suppressing that for years.
I'm depressed.
I'm mentally ill.
[man on radio] He's the man who was written off a has-been by the age of 22,
but Robbie Williams has confounded all his critics,
and I suppose infuriated his, um, less successful former bandmates,
to become the pop star of the moment.
He plays Slane tomorrow, and if his last performance there is anything to go by,
a fantastic day is in store for the 80,000 or so
who will descend on the small County Meath town for the gig.
[band plays short riff]
I thought that was shit!
[laughter]
- [band repeats riff] - Better.
[young Robbie] Slane is, um, three days away, and, um...
and I'm really scared.
[man] You've been in America this year.
This is one of the first big kinda UK things.
What've you learned from America? How excited are you as well?
- How excited am I? - [man] Yeah.
I've been in a black depression for about the last five weeks
and came out of it last week.
So, um, I'm not excited about very much at the minute, but, um...
Nice, innit? Nice for you.
Um...
But I'm doing me job. I'm 'ere, and I'm doin' me job.
I really want to enjoy Slane, but I'm really scared of it.
I'm scared of everything at the minute.
- [man] Why? - Why am I scared?
- [man] You're great out there. Rocking it. - Yeah, I know. That's... [hesitates]
I was in bed fucking worryin' about it last week.
Wouldn't get out of bed. Um... Dunno. Dunno why I'm scared.
Just... me confidence has left, and, uh...
my job's all about confidence.
[man] Guy, do you wanna come in as well?
From touring America, kind of what did you pick up outta that?
That we had lots of work to do.
That we had lots of work to do, and I'm not really that bothered.
- [man] Bothered about America? - Anythin'.
- [laughter] - [man] How do you deal with that?
Dunno. Uh...
How do I deal with that? Uh...
Just try and be a mate.
- Try and be a friend. - That's a wank answer.
Try and be a friend. That's all I can do.
It's always good for songwriting when Rob gets...
[current Robbie] You can tell Guy's worried. He's concerned about me.
But also, at the same time, there'll be a confusion for people
You know, he's not experienced
that kind of depression.
So I think it just confuses him.
[man] I was looking for more of a positive spin.
- No, not gonna get that. - [man] Just on the Slane thing.
- Sorry. - [Robbie] Shall we do it again?
Do you want a really happy one?
[man] No, I just want an honest one.
- Okay. - [man] D'you know what I mean?
[Robbie] Uh... [laughs]
- [man] Looking forward to Slane? - [Robbie] Definitely.
There's gonna be 80,000 people. Biggest gig of my life.
It's gonna be a wonderful experience. I just hope and pray
that it's good enough from both angles. My side and their side.
You know, it's a huge event, and , um...
it can only be good.
[current Robbie] I was diagnosed with depression
very early, maybe 22, 23.
[man] Two miles out, and these are the buses.
[Guy] Wow.
[current Robbie] But people at this point
still thought that if good things are happening to you
and you're successful,
what's there to be upset about?
- [fan] Have a good show, Robbie! - Cheers, mate.
[fan laughs]
[current Robbie] I had to go on stage in front of thousands of people,
feeling like you're on the 100th floor,
the room's burnin'...
and you either stay in the room and burn to death
or you jump out of the window to your death.
It's that uncomfortable.
[cheering]
[crowd chanting] Robbie!
[Robbie] Hi, baby.
Come in!
- [Teddy] I can? - Yeah.
For a little bit. Jump in. Spoon.
- Who's that? - It's me.
[Teddy] Oh my God!
["Phoenix from the Flames" playing on video]
♪ I always wanna feel this way ♪
♪ Just like a phoenix from the flames ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪
I think I got that note! Brilliant!
[music fades]
[cheering]
Obviously, I'm not allowed to swear. I can't say "shit" or "fuck"
or anything like that 'cause the television's on.
- But you all can! - [cheering]
[current Robbie] I don't think you should be watching this.
Yeah, I should stay.
No, you shouldn't.
And I think there should be a Guinness Book of Records put aside
for the biggest collective swearing session ever.
[crowd screaming]
Grown-up stuff. You'll have to go, Boo.
Sorry. I would love you to be able to watch all of this and be with me,
but it's not for your age.
One, two, three...
[crowd] Fuck!
[Robbie] Yeah! Very good!
[man 1] Lead-in, three seconds.
And you've got speed.
[man 2] Um, to start with, I think you should say where and when this is.
Um...
This is ten past six on the what of April?
- [man 2] 12th. - On the 12th of April.
Um...
The year 2000.
At Hook End Studios.
I'm making a record.
It has been emotional. It's been, "Ooh, I'm sad."
"Ooh, I need love."
Or "Ooh, I'm lonely."
But done in an upbeat way!
Having said that, the first single off the album's
gonna be that commercial it scares me.
I don't know why it should scare me. It's never scared me in the past, but, uh...
I'm having real difficulties with the lyrics as a party song.
And, uh, I d... I'm not sure whether to release that first
or release something else first
that's a bit more credible, if you like.
What do you go for? Money or credibility?
[electric guitar strumming gently]
[current Robbie] At this point, it's like, we're doin' an album a year.
And I'm mentally coming up against
what and who Robbie Williams should be.
Do I really have to do this... for a living?
[giggles]
- [man] Wanna sing this? - [Robbie] What is it?
- It's "Rock DJ." - Sing what? I haven't got any lyrics.
- Write them, then. - Okay.
[Robbie sings softly]
[guitar strums]
Can I put "shite" in a song?
[Guy] No, I don't think you should.
I don't like, "When I meet your mum, I'll be quite polite."
[Guy] Okay.
[Robbie] "Rock DJ" as a song remained unwritten for 12 months.
Because it's cheeky chappy, sort of...
♪ Consider yourself at 'ome ♪
[Robbie on video] ♪ Put your hands up If you're with the man ♪
- ♪ Can I kick it? ♪ - [Guy] Raise your hands.
[current Robbie] And there's something in me that just is going,
"No. I've done this."
I must've written this lyric out
20 times?
"Can you..."
You know, I wanna write "Karma Police."
And I'm writing "Karma Chameleon."
["Rock DJ" playing]
♪ Me with the floorshow Kickin' with your torso ♪
♪ Girls getting high And the boys even more so ♪
♪ Raise your hands If you're not with a man ♪
♪ Can I kick it ? ♪
- [Guy, squeakily] ♪ Yes, you can! ♪ - ♪ I got... ♪
[current Robbie] But it was hugely successful.
[crowd] ♪ Everybody! ♪
[Robbie] ♪ I've got the gift Gonna stick it in the goal ♪
[all] ♪ Time to move your body ♪
[Robbie] ♪ I don't wanna rock, DJ ♪
♪ But you're making me feel so nice ♪
♪ When's it gonna stop, DJ? ♪
♪ 'Cause you're keepin' me up all night ♪
[music distorts, fades]
[poignant music playing]
[camera clicks]
[current Robbie] This huge success,
I suppose, is an incredible diversion.
But it's not healing anythin'.
Like, how difficult it was to wake up and be in my head every day.
[camera clicks]
There is a safety in success.
You take that away,
"Who is this man?"
"What does he mean?"
[camera clicks]
And now it felt
like I was giving more and more of myself away.
To the point where you're not somebody that you recognize anymore.
[music fades]
I needed a break in...
on-field activity
between the opposing sides in my head.
[lounge music playing]
[Guy] It is us!
- [woman] Welcome to the villa. - [Guy] Hi.
- [Guy] Hello. - [woman] Hello.
[Guy] The wasted rock star awakes. You look suitably wasted this morning.
- [Robbie] Do I? - [Guy] Yeah.
[current Robbie] I go on holiday with Guy,
Emma, Guy's wife, and Geri Halliwell,
Ginger Spice off of the Spice Girls.
[Guy] You've been very, very naughty.
Very, very naughty.
And until you behave, you have to go in that boat.
[current Robbie] It was a very confusing relationship,
because she's a girl, I'm a boy.
We are very good friends
trying to sort out the wreckage of the past.
That dinghy was punishing.
[Robbie yells]
[laughter]
[Emma] Go on, Guy.
It's being recorded. As we speak.
[Robbie] Just do it, mate.
It's only as high as the, um, springboard.
[Guy yells]
- [ "Family Coach" playing] - [Geri hums along]
[Geri] Where's he gone? There he is.
Hello!
[Robbie] Hello!
[Geri] Hello.
[Geri hums "Family Coach"]
[Geri and Robbie] ♪ All aboard The family coach ♪
♪ It's leaving Bamville Road ♪
♪ Christmas, 1968 ♪
♪ The Christmas when it snowed ♪
♪ Whilst on board the family coach ♪
♪ They were circling the moon ♪
[Geri laughs]
♪ No one had been there before ♪
♪ And they were landing there in June ♪
♪ Hey, hey, family coach ♪
♪ My old family coach ♪
♪ You've gotta make the most ♪
♪ The most of your family coach ♪
[they laugh]
[current Robbie] Our relationship starts when I am in AA.
Like, you're told don't get into a relationship for the first year,
and I get it, you know.
Can't even look after a cactus, let alone somebody else.
- Can you see me in leopard skin? - [Guy] Yeah.
- [Guy] Trashy but... - Trashy?
- [Guy] Like, early '80s-- - So, very me?
- [Guy] No, no! - Thanks.
- [Guy] Early '80s-- - Okay. I can do trashy.
[current Robbie] I just found her company very, very easy.
There is a... silliness.
We really got on really well. It was fun.
And we were just a little gang
that are sharing a very magical moment
in a magical place.
- Hello. - Hello.
- I'm Reg. And this is Peter. - Peter.
Peter. Hello.
We're on holiday here in the Costa Brava!
[Geri laughs]
[camp voice] Uh, we like... What music do we like?
[cockney accent] We like... Vengaboys.
We like the Vengaboys.
Also, I like, um...
I like Victoria Beckham's new song.
- Do ya? - Yeah!
- 'Cause, uh... - This track's gonna punish you.
- My hairdo will punish you! - My hairdo will punish you.
[laughter]
Won't this be art? Isn't this art?
[Guy] With the right music, it could appear like art.
[Geri] Put it behind it afterwards.
Tell us about what you do, Guy.
[Guy] I write songs. With Robert.
[Geri] Do you ever argue?
- About, like, a lyric? A "the"? - No.
- [Geri] No? - Not much about songs, have we?
- No. - [Geri] No?
No, we've had a couple of hairy moments, haven't we?
- [Geri] That's good, though. - Only...
[Robbie] Not really.
You've lost it with me a couple of times. You 'ave!
[Geri] It's good 'cause it sieves out... How did he lose it with you?
I've never lost it with him. I will lose it with him...
[Geri] How did he lose it with you?
It was over a stupid thing on the second album.
- [Geri] Yeah. - Um...
- Uh, the guitarist, Phil... - [Geri] Yeah.
...had a cowrite with Rob.
[Geri] Uh-huh.
And, uh, he...
he felt that... It was gonna be recorded for the second album.
- In the end, we didn't record it. - [Geri] Yeah.
[Robbie] I can't remember. I was off me 'ead.
And Phil... Phil complained to Rob that... He said... He...
He said that somebody else was taking control of your album.
[Geri] Really?
It isn't your album anymore. Stirred the pot somewhat.
Then, next minute, he was on the phone giving me...
[Geri] Really? He got wound up.
Yeah, 'cause he thought that I was ignoring one of the songs.
- I wasn't. I just hadn't got to it. - [Geri] Uh-huh.
And what happened to it? You binned it, didn't you?
- [Robbie] It's a B-side on "Rock DJ." - [Geri] Tell us, Guy...
- It was a B-side, but, you know... - [Geri] A B-side of what?
- Uh, the current single. - [Geri] "Rock DJ"?
We're now... It's August, by the way.
- [Geri] Ah yes, can you... - 2000.
[Geri] You've got something to celebrate. That's why you've got champagne.
Two things. Wedding anniversary and?
- We have a number-one single. - [Geri] How many did you sell?
I don't know.
- [Robbie] 200,000. - 200,000.
[acoustic guitar playing]
♪ Gonna be a nobody someday ♪
I'm gonna be a nobody someday.
And that's great!
[Guy laughs]
♪ Gonna be a nobody ♪
♪ Someday ♪
♪ Take my castle and my island ♪
♪ Throw them both away ♪
♪ I wanna be a nobody ♪
♪ Sick of being somebody ♪
♪ I used to dream it all away ♪
♪ Don't wanna be a somebody ♪
♪ Happy being a nobody ♪
♪ Gonna be a nobody someday ♪
- [Robbie] That was fuckin' wicked. - [Geri] Booyaka !
[Robbie] ♪ But for now I'm a twisted genius ♪
[laughter]
[Guy] Then suddenly it goes ...
♪ But for now ♪
[Guy and Robbie] ♪ I'm a twisted genius ♪
[Guy] ♪ With a big penis! ♪
[Robbie on video] ♪ And a villa In the south of France ♪
- [man] Are you happy here? - Yes.
[man] Is this the first time we've seen you happy?
Yes. In all of the footage.
[Geri] Okay, so, you know the title of this song?
Yeah.
- [Geri] "I'm gonna be nobody someday." - Yeah?
[Geri] Is that what you want?
What is the meaning behind it? Come on. Just... Don't think about it.
What do you feel about it?
- I'm goin' up a mountain. - [Geri] Yeah.
- In the south of France. - [Geri] Yeah.
- It's really sunny. - [Geri] Yeah.
- That's really a heavy question. - [Geri] Come on! It's a heavy song--
- Haven't even finished the song yet. - We don't know what it's about.
[Geri] Don't you think about what it's about before you start?
- No, not really. - No, we don't.
No.
I mean, it was... It was definitely gonna be about something when I first started it,
but it's turned into something else.
I don't know where it's finishin' yet. So we don't know.
- [Geri] Are you having a nice time, Guy? - [Guy] I'm having a great time, Geri.
- [Geri] Are you , Robert? - [Robbie] I'm having a lovely time.
[Geri] Yeah? They're our bodyguards behind us.
Can you put your seatbelt on, Geri, please?
[Geri] Why?
Is Guy... scaring you?
- What about you? - I know, I'm gonna get in the van.
[Geri] Are ya?
Don't be such a wuss. I sat in the back with no seat--
- Well, that's up to you. - [Geri] Oh, okay, then.
Mr. Sensible. Well, good for you.
We all felt the same way about each other. We were very fond of each other.
Very fond of Geri. Very fond of Guy. I got them. They got me.
And it was just... I was very comfortable in their presence here.
Do you think sometimes music is self-prophesizing though?
[Robbie] Yeah.
- [Guy] What do you mean? In what sense? - Well...
Singing about, "I'm gonna be a, uh... a nobody someday."
- [Guy] That's what he wants. In some ways. - Yeah.
Back to anonym... nimnity.
[Guy] Nobody, as in
not this sort of...
- This lifestyle? - [Guy] No, he wants the lifestyle.
- But without being famous. - [Guy laughs]
[Guy] No, he wants the fame. And he wants to be...
I think he means "nobody" as in somebody who's happily married.
- Wife, two kids. - Uh-huh.
- [Guy] That sort of... - Uh-huh. The everyman?
- [Guy] Yeah. - He wants to be the everyman.
[Guy] He wants to be normal in that sense. He's quite straight in some ways.
Find peace of mind. Tranquility, which we all want.
[majestic music plays]
[current Robbie] What my new life and profession has afforded me...
The perks are incredible, obviously.
But there is still somebody that is craving normality.
This isn't normal.
None of this is normal.
Geri.
[man 1] English posse!
[man 2] Hardcore. Geri. Nice one.
[current Robbie] You can now never go back and undo what you have done.
[Robbie] Cheers, mate.
Get in.
Watch yourself.
[Geri] All right. Au revoir.
- [man 1] She gettin' in 'ere? - [man 2] No, I'll get in the back.
I'll lock it for ya.
Okay.
- [Guy] What a zoo. - What a zoo.
[current Robbie] You know, I cannot be a nobody, 'cause...
I'm somebody.
I suppose it's part of coming to terms with
the life of normality
shattered.
[Guy] There's people still here.
[guitar strumming]
[Guy] Get out here. Let's do it out here.
- It's nice being outside, isn't it? - [Robbie] Yeah.
♪ Freedom ♪
♪ Eternity ♪
I said I'd write a song for Geri, actually,
about everything that happened on the holiday.
[Guy] Okay.
♪ You were there for summer dreamin' ♪
♪ You were there for all I need ♪
That's good.
♪ And I hope you find your freedom ♪
- ♪ For eternity ♪ - That's great.
That's great.
- Write that down. - "You were there for summer dreamin'."
"You were there for what I need."
- That's true. That's it, isn't it? - Mm-hmm.
"You were there for summer dreaming" is really nice.
[current Robbie] I had a friendship with our Ginger that meant a lot to me.
In a time when I didn't have any
relationships that I felt
completely comfortable with.
[young Robbie ad-libs a tune to piano music]
[current Robbie] But wherever we went,
the paparazzi were there before we got there.
And very private, personal moments...
became public property.
And we were just dumbfounded how this could be happenin'.
I bumped into a guy who's a paparazzi.
He told me that it was Geri doing that.
Now, I don't think that's true for one second,
but at the time, I did believe it.
It just goes to show what being in the spotlight
can do to your psyche when you can't trust anybody.
♪ And I know you'll find your freedom ♪
♪ For eternity ♪
[current Robbie] And it ruined, in some way, the memory
of such an important part of my life and such a joyous occasion.
♪ For eternity ♪
[holds note]
[mournful notes drone]
[man] Big headline in the paper, "He's in love with Geri."
You went on holiday, of course, didn't you, when...
after the last show, to get away from it all.
You were followed by about 300 paparazzi, weren't you?
Yeah. We were.
But it's nice 'cause it saves on photos, holiday photos.
[laughter]
[current Robbie] The tabloids find out about absolutely everythin'.
[helicopter whirs]
[Guy] What's that helicopter doing? Do you think that's a press helicopter?
[current Robbie] You just don't know where they are.
You don't know what moment they're capturing.
Derek, it's Robbie Williams.
Listen, I just got the paper out here, yesterday's paper,
and I thought it was really unfair. Can I explain a few things to you?
I went out on a boat. I come back.
Sat to the left of me, by my hotel, is a paparazzi man,
not givin' a shit about my fucking privacy.
This is obviously "stroppy"
because I went over and told him what I thought about him.
The only person I've been stroppy to is the man that came over
to take pictures of me.
[current Robbie] You don't talk to them, it does you no good.
You talk to them, and it does you no good.
You want to give away the privacy that you want to give away.
You don't wanna have your privacy taken from you.
[crowd cheering, whistling]
You feel you are a sitting duck.
[cheering]
And there's nowhere to hide.
[cheering]
You'd wake up in the mornin', open your curtains... flash-flash-flash.
[voices clamoring]
We are talkin' about an industry that was tappin' phones.
People, half a mile away, hidin' in a bush.
Six or seven carfuls following me around everywhere I went.
- [fans cheering] - [cameras clicking]
[sounds fade]
[man] All right?
Do you want to just briefly introduce where we are?
Do I wanna introduce where I am? Where we are? What, spiritually or...
[man] Yeah. Spiritually. No, physically.
Physically, we're in my back garden in Los Angeles.
["When The Ship Goes Down" playing]
I went out to Los Angeles to get away from the tabloids.
It was like a blessing.
I realized very quickly that
what I needed from America
wasn't to break it.
It was to heal me.
♪ ...hard to swallow Why wallow when ya come ta roll on... ♪
[current Robbie] No one knows me here.
I turn on the television, and my name's not mentioned.
The grown-up took charge of the car that was drivin'.
And went, "This'll probably save your life, actually."
"Let's move to Los Angeles, have anonymity,"
and that's what I chose to do.
At the beginning of the year, I... I'd sort of had it with all things Robbie.
[man] You were gonna split Robbie Williams up?
[Robbie] Yeah, but we'd been together longer than the Beatles.
You know. On this album, I have been together longer than the Beatles.
[drum solo playing]
♪ It drives me insane ♪
♪ I'm just the same ♪
♪ The same ♪
You got the point.
I think, ultimately, I wanted to do something different musically.
I wasn't getting my kicks anymore
from the set-up that I had with me and Guy.
[man] So, would you mind beginning by telling me,
who are you? What the hell are you doing here?
My name is Guy Chambers,
and I'm recording the fifth Robbie Williams album.
[man] How is your working relationship?
Think it's difficult when I'm back in London,
and he's here, and...
got all that... sea between us.
It's hard to know where he is right now.
It's hard to communicate with him these days.
♪ I pray that when I'm coming down You'll be asleep... ♪
[current Robbie] It started when I wrote "Come Undone,"
and I knew this was a great tune.
[Guy] It goes on longer. Only a little bit.
I think it's still a good track slow.
[Guy] Okay.
[current Robbie] I took it into Guy, and he goes, "Mm, it's not very good."
And I'm like, "Oh, we've got a problem. This is a problem."
I'm not sure about the lyrics in the middle eight.
- [Guy] Really? - Yeah.
- [Guy] Why? - "There's a love--"
- [Guy] We can't change them, mate. - Oh, we can!
- [Guy] Fuckin' gospel choir on tape. - Really?
[Guy] I mean, we can . We'd have to get the choir in LA.
At huge expense.
- Should have asked me! - [Guy] Asked you what?
"How are you?" More often.
[laughter]
Well, you know, I'll just have to live with it, I suppose.
It's only my album. It's only there for the rest of time.
Oof.
Thinkin', "If only we'd just
talked a bit more to each other."
[tense music playing]
Shall we do another take, then?
[current Robbie] When you're startin' a band, you are a gang,
and it's you against the world.
But you lose chemistry.
I had a meeting with Guy and said, "Look,
I want you to come on tour with me as a thank you,
but this is the last album we're gonna do together."
And he melted.
And now there's a different Guy.
Maybe there's a different me too.
- [Guy] Okay. - [Robbie] What would you like me to do?
- [Guy] What? - What do you want me to do?
[Guy] Well, I was thinking you could do a harmony on "Feel."
[Robbie] Mm-hmm.
[Guy] And then we do song three. How do you--
Fuck off! Fuck off!
Fuck off!
[current Robbie] I'm sure Guy consciously thought,
"We are a band called Robbie Williams."
I needed full control.
As much as possible.
[young Robbie] Guy turned to me, and he said, uh, "Well, you know, um...
why don't you just go and sing it again,
and then we'll compile it, and we'll do our best
with what you've got?"
- Translation... - [Guy] "What we've got."
Yeah. "Why don't you go and sing it again, then we'll compile it,
and see if we can make it into a decent vocal."
"But to be honest with you, Rob, we can't polish a turd."
- [laughter] - [Guy] That's the way you read it.
Well, how would you read it, Dave?
[Dave] I'm staying out of this. [laughs]
- Yeah? - [Dave] Oh yes.
"Can't polish a turd, Rob. Unfortunately."
♪ I am scum ♪
♪ Love your son ♪
Compile that, yer fucker!
- See if you can do your best with that! - [laughter]
[applause]
[current Robbie] I would say, subconsciously,
if it ain't broke, then break it.
[Guy] I must get you angry more often!
Hi! It's me in the vocal booth! You're never gonna see this again!
- [man] Hopefully not. - One-time-only experience.
- [man] Okay. - [current Robbie] I'm done with 'im.
Yeah, I'm done with 'im. Yeah.
[poignant music playing]
[woman] Robbie Williams isn't saying much about those claims
he's split up with his main songwriting partner.
Guy Chambers is the man who worked on hits like "Angels" and "Rock DJ."
- We caught up with him. - [young Robbie] Me mum says,
"If you haven't got anything nice to say about somebody,
go to the News of the World ."
I wish Guy all the best of luck.
I don't mean it with any sarcasm. I love him to bits. I'm being straight.
- See you later. - [voices shout] Robbie!
[man] Please join me now in welcoming Robbie Williams.
[applause, cheering]
Hello.
[man] Are you afraid of the time after Guy Chambers,
writing songs on your own or doing songs with another?
My partnership with Guy, unfortunately, for the foreseeable future,
has come to an end
for reasons that I don't wanna get into in front of everybody here.
Another thing that's come to pass during all this Guy Chambers thing,
is because that I'm Robbie Williams that has come from Take That, um,
nobody credits me with anythin'.
You know, people automatically assume
that a lion's share of it is done by somebody else.
My name is Robbie Williams. I write lyrics. I write melodies.
All of them. And I occasionally write the music too.
You know, um... it has pissed me off, that.
[poignant music playing]
[music fades]
[current Robbie] No, there's no sadness there.
[man] What happened after that?
Guy didn't make it to the tour that I promised him.
[thunder rumbling]
[tense music playing]
There was nothing or no one holding me back for the first time.
But somethin' is fractured.
Broken.
[cheering]
[man] Can you tell me what lies ahead of you?
The acute
breakdown of
me as a person.
[cheering, whistling]
[cheering fades]
- [gentle plucked guitar plays] - [young Robbie] Is it recordin'?
♪ If I'm not mistaken ♪
♪ This is my heart breakin' ♪
♪ I'm the man who threw it all away ♪
♪ Destiny is callin' ♪
♪ Tellin' me to be borin' ♪
♪ And I don't care anyway ♪
♪ Gonna be nobody someday ♪
♪ Gonna be nobody ♪
♪ Someday ♪
♪ I'm a demon that you fear ♪
♪ I'm the joker, I'm the thief ♪
♪ I'm the lonesome cowboy ridin' ♪
♪ I'm the Indian chief ♪
♪ Gotta watch my figure ♪
♪ Boy, if I get much bigger ♪
♪ They'll stick a pin in me And I'll blow away ♪
♪ But I'll get richer ♪
♪ While they take my picture ♪
♪ Takin' my soul away ♪
♪ Gonna be somebody someday ♪
♪ Gonna be nobody someday ♪
♪ I'm a moonlight serenade ♪
♪ I'm your bed when you are cold ♪
♪ I'm the captain of Titanic ♪
♪ I'm the passenger in the hold ♪
♪ From the way I'm thinkin' ♪
♪ We'll both be sinkin' ♪
♪ I knew before we sailed away ♪