Robbie Williams (2023) s01e02 Episode Script

1
Sh!
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.
- That's it. You've won.
- Thank you very much.
- Thank you.
- You earned it.
D'you believe what's happening?
I don't know.
Really dunno. I'm just flummoxed.
I'm really, really happy at the moment.
I'm gonna be doing that
all over the world this time next year.
Yes.
You know, it's just, like, I'm 24.
I'm 24.
A year ago,
Robbie Williams' career seemed at an end.
The man who stormed the BRITs,
the MTV Awards, and the Ivor Novellos.
some people are saying
this is a huge runaway smash
and vulnerable.
He also can't seem to stay out of
According to the press,
he's been giving me one. Mr
- Robbie.
- Robbie Williams!
Trauma chats! ♪
Got ourselves
an opening-credits song.
Yeah. Trauma chats! ♪
I was in Take That
Then I got real fat ♪
In a trauma chat! ♪
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.
Hello!
From an auspicious start,
"Angels" happens,
and the career takes off.
Everything seems to keep gettin'
professionally bigger
and bigger and bigger.
I'm coming!
Just one moment!
From side to side like yay.
We got stars directing ♪
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 ♪
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.
And the winner is
Robbie Williams!
"Robbie Williams. 'Angels!'"
"Robbie Williams."
And we're prayin' it's not too late ♪
It looked like
I possessed the golden ticket.
♪we're fallin' from grace ♪
But when you become famous,
you become something other.
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 ♪
But doesn't everyone ♪
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.
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.
You gonna be able
to do music without him?
Uh, no.
Okay. Aw.
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.
- Sorry. This much is true.
- This much is true, isn't it?
At the time,
we were in a band called Robbie Williams,
and we interlocked
and fitted perfectly musically.
On keyboards, Mr. Guy "Angels" Chambers.
We were liberated
in each other's company
and enjoyin' each other's company.
Rob? Stand there for a minute.
I wanna get you in front of the jet.
Liberated by the feeling
of success that we're havin'.
I think you look marvelous, darling.
Don't look so bad yourself.
And it's working
in Europe and the UK.
It's amazing. It's beautiful.
But in the States,
no one knows me.
So now we go out of the trenches
and into America.
Are you ready? ♪
No! ♪
Great.
From the global village ♪
In the age of ♪
This is ninety
- Ninety
- one?
one. Just as I joined Take That.
- I got some money to buy this album.
- Yeah?
I used to listen to it
comin' up on the train.
- Sounds great, doesn't it?
- Deee-lite ♪
- Is this the first track?
- Yeah.
I bought it on tape.
'Cause I couldn't afford a CD.
Wow.
I couldn't afford the batteries
for the tape player.
- For the Walkman?
- No.
I was listening to this,
then having to sing "Do What U Like."
Yeah.
- A bit demoralizing.
- Mm.
But, hey Sat here in New York, aren't I?
- Eh?
- I'm sat here in New York.
New York City! ♪
- In a penthouse.
- In a penthouse.
Deee-lite ♪
Deee-lite ♪
There is
a massive thing in Britain
about being British
and going conquering America.
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.
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.
I've always wanted to say that.
Thank you very much for having me.
Here's a song about sex.
Wow, it's small.
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? ♪
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 ♪
I feel
I'm going slightly mad.
I 'ave only had two hours sleep
in two days.
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."
We don't get
all the jokes about his bum.
They had zero knowledge
or understanding of who I was.
And that was deeply uncomfortable.
- Wow.
- Yeah!
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
He's a recovering alcoholic.
Leave him alone.
Robbie You shoulda
Okay, then that's not a good idea.
Yeah, it just felt
massive and impossible.
Are you ready?
- Eh?
- Are you ready?
I'm always fuckin' ready, man.
I'm always on. Always on. All I do is
There's this very
Northern English bloke
being a Northern English bloke.
Here we go.
So classy.
And there is
a disconnect.
I appear to be a bit resentful.
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?
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.
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.
I wasn't in a good way.
It was exhausting.
Sh!
Don't scare the natives.
- I won't.
- All right then. Watch this.
Sh, sh, sh.
Sh, sh, sh, sh, sh.
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.
- Hello!
- Hello!
- See.
- We're very nice Canadians.
It's like they know stuff.
- All the way!
- Robbie!
Robbie, I give you my hand!
I will go in if you don't remove
everything from the side now!
I'm sorry!
I wasn't very nice to those fans.
Suppose you could become quite numb to
Yeah, you become quite numb to that.
There's an overload of
take, take, take, take, take everywhere.
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.
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.
I thought that was shit!
Better.
Slane is, um,
three days away, and, um
and I'm really scared.
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?
- 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.
- Why?
- Why am I scared?
- You're great out there. Rocking it.
- Yeah, I know. That's
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.
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.
- Bothered about America?
- Anythin'.
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
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.
I was looking for
more of a positive spin.
- No, not gonna get that.
- Just on the Slane thing.
- Sorry.
- Shall we do it again?
Do you want a really happy one?
No, I just want an honest one.
- Okay.
- D'you know what I mean?
Uh
- Looking forward to Slane?
- 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.
I was diagnosed
with depression
very early, maybe 22, 23.
Two miles out,
and these are the buses.
Wow.
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?
- Have a good show, Robbie!
- Cheers, mate.
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.
Robbie!
Hi, baby.
Come in!
- I can?
- Yeah.
For a little bit. Jump in. Spoon.
- Who's that?
- It's me.
Oh my God!
I always wanna feel this way ♪
Just like a phoenix from the flames ♪
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪
I think I got that note! Brilliant!
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!
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.
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
Fuck!
Yeah! Very good!
Lead-in, three seconds.
And you've got speed.
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?
- 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?
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?
- Wanna sing this?
- What is it?
- It's "Rock DJ."
- Sing what? I haven't got any lyrics.
- Write them, then.
- Okay.
Can I put "shite" in a song?
No, I don't think you should.
I don't like, "When I meet your mum,
I'll be quite polite."
Okay.
"Rock DJ" as a song
remained unwritten for 12 months.
Because it's cheeky chappy, sort of
Consider yourself at 'ome ♪
Put your hands up
If you're with the man ♪
- Can I kick it? ♪
- Raise your hands.
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."
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? ♪
- Yes, you can! ♪
- I got ♪
But it was hugely successful.
Everybody! ♪
I've got the gift
Gonna stick it in the goal ♪
Time to move your body ♪
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 ♪
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.
There is a safety in success.
You take that away,
"Who is this man?"
"What does he mean?"
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.
I needed a break in
on-field activity
between the opposing sides in my head.
It is us!
- Welcome to the villa.
- Hi.
- Hello.
- Hello.
The wasted rock star awakes.
You look suitably wasted this morning.
- Do I?
- Yeah.
I go on holiday with Guy,
Emma, Guy's wife, and Geri Halliwell,
Ginger Spice off of the Spice Girls.
You've been very, very naughty.
Very, very naughty.
And until you behave,
you have to go in that boat.
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.
Go on, Guy.
It's being recorded. As we speak.
Just do it, mate.
It's only as high as the, um, springboard.
Where's he gone? There he is.
Hello!
Hello!
Hello.
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 ♪
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 ♪
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?
- Yeah.
- Trashy but
- Trashy?
- Like, early '80s
- So, very me?
- No, no!
- Thanks.
- Early '80s
- Okay. I can do trashy.
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!
Uh, we like
What music do we like?
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.
Won't this be art? Isn't this art?
With the right music,
it could appear like art.
Put it behind it afterwards.
Tell us about what you do, Guy.
I write songs. With Robert.
Do you ever argue?
- About, like, a lyric? A "the"?
- No.
- No?
- Not much about songs, have we?
- No.
- No?
No, we've had a couple
of hairy moments, haven't we?
- That's good, though.
- Only
Not really.
You've lost it with me
a couple of times. You 'ave!
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
How did he lose it with you?
It was over a stupid thing
on the second album.
- Yeah.
- Um
- Uh, the guitarist, Phil
- Yeah.
had a cowrite with Rob.
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.
- Yeah.
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.
Really?
It isn't your album anymore.
Stirred the pot somewhat.
Then, next minute,
he was on the phone giving me
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.
- Uh-huh.
And what happened to it?
You binned it, didn't you?
- It's a B-side on "Rock DJ."
- Tell us, Guy
- It was a B-side, but, you know
- A B-side of what?
- Uh, the current single.
- "Rock DJ"?
We're now It's August, by the way.
- Ah yes, can you
- 2000.
You've got something to celebrate.
That's why you've got champagne.
Two things. Wedding anniversary and?
- We have a number-one single.
- How many did you sell?
I don't know.
- 200,000.
- 200,000.
Gonna be a nobody someday ♪
I'm gonna be a nobody someday.
And that's great!
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 ♪
Gonna be a nobody someday ♪
- That was fuckin' wicked.
- Booyaka!
But for now
I'm a twisted genius ♪
Then suddenly it goes
But for now ♪
I'm a twisted genius ♪
With a big penis! ♪
And a villa
In the south of France ♪
- Are you happy here?
- Yes.
Is this the first time
we've seen you happy?
Yes. In all of the footage.
Okay, so,
you know the title of this song?
Yeah.
- "I'm gonna be nobody someday."
- Yeah?
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.
- Yeah.
- In the south of France.
- Yeah.
- It's really sunny.
- Yeah.
- That's really a heavy question.
- Come on! It's a heavy song
- Haven't even finished the song yet.
- We don't know what it's about.
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.
- Are you having a nice time, Guy?
- I'm having a great time, Geri.
- Are you, Robert?
- I'm having a lovely time.
Yeah?
They're our bodyguards behind us.
Can you put your seatbelt on,
Geri, please?
Why?
Is Guy scaring you?
- What about you?
- I know, I'm gonna get in the van.
Are ya?
Don't be such a wuss.
I sat in the back with no seat
- Well, that's up to you.
- 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?
Yeah.
- What do you mean? In what sense?
- Well
Singing about, "I'm gonna be
a, uh a nobody someday."
- That's what he wants. In some ways.
- Yeah.
Back to anonym nimnity.
Nobody, as in
not this sort of
- This lifestyle?
- No, he wants the lifestyle.
But without being famous.
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.
- That sort of
- Uh-huh. The everyman?
- Yeah.
- He wants to be the everyman.
He wants to be normal in that sense.
He's quite straight in some ways.
Find peace of mind.
Tranquility, which we all want.
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.
English posse!
Hardcore. Geri. Nice one.
You can now never go back
and undo what you have done.
Cheers, mate.
Get in.
Watch yourself.
All right. Au revoir.
- She gettin' in 'ere?
- No, I'll get in the back.
I'll lock it for ya.
Okay.
- What a zoo.
- What a zoo.
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.
There's people still here.
Get out here. Let's do it out here.
- It's nice being outside, isn't it?
- Yeah.
Freedom ♪
Eternity ♪
I said I'd write a song
for Geri, actually,
about everything that happened
on the holiday.
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.
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.
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 ♪
For eternity ♪
And it ruined,
in some way, the memory
of such an important part of my life
and such a joyous occasion.
For eternity ♪
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.
The tabloids find out
about absolutely everythin'.
What's that helicopter doing?
Do you think that's a press helicopter?
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.
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.
You feel you are a sitting duck.
And there's nowhere to hide.
You'd wake up in the mornin',
open your curtains flash-flash-flash.
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.
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
Yeah. Spiritually. No, physically.
Physically, we're in my back garden
in Los Angeles.
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 ♪
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.
You were gonna
split Robbie Williams up?
Yeah, but we'd been together
longer than the Beatles.
You know. On this album, I have been
together longer than the Beatles.
It drives me insane ♪
I'm just the same ♪
The same ♪
The same ♪
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.
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.
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 ♪
It started
when I wrote "Come Undone,"
and I knew this was a great tune.
It goes on longer.
Only a little bit.
I think it's still a good track slow.
Okay.
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.
- Really?
- Yeah.
- Why?
- "There's a love"
- We can't change them, mate.
- Oh, we can!
- Fuckin' gospel choir on tape.
- Really?
I mean, we can.
We'd have to get the choir in LA.
At huge expense.
- Should have asked me!
- Asked you what?
"How are you?" More often.
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."
Shall we do another take, then?
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.
- Okay.
- What would you like me to do?
- What?
- What do you want me to do?
Well, I was thinking
you could do a harmony on "Feel."
Mm-hmm.
And then we do song three.
How do you
Fuck off! Fuck off!
Fuck off!
I'm sure Guy
consciously thought,
"We are a band called Robbie Williams."
I needed full control.
As much as possible.
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
- "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."
That's the way you read it.
Well, how would you read it, Dave?
I'm staying out of this.
- Yeah?
- 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!
I would say,
subconsciously,
if it ain't broke, then break it.
I must get you angry more often!
Hi! It's me in the vocal booth!
You're never gonna see this again!
- Hopefully not.
- One-time-only experience.
- Okay.
- I'm done with 'im.
Yeah, I'm done with 'im. Yeah.
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.
- 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.
- Robbie!
Please join me now
in welcoming Robbie Williams.
Hello.
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.
No,
there's no sadness there.
What happened after that?
Guy didn't make it
to the tour that I promised him.
There was nothing or no one
holding me back for the first time.
But somethin' is fractured.
Broken.
Can you tell me
what lies ahead of you?
The acute
breakdown of
me as a person.
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 ♪