Robbie Williams has never been one to hold back when it comes to spilling secrets, and he’s never been more open than in his new tour.
Stripped back from the stadium lights and aerial acrobatics, the 51-year-old singer still manages to be a world-class entertainer with both feet firmly planted on the ground.
While I was fully prepared for him to sing his first and 16th number one albums back to back on his Long 90’s tour, I wasn’t prepared for his unflinching dark comedy.
‘Congratulations to me for not being in the Epstein files,’ Robbie declared midway through latest album, Britpop.
A smattering of cheers broke out as most of the crowd picked their jaws up off the floor, before Robbie explained he was ‘too agoraphobic’ for that.
Admitting he may have been known for his wild partying in his youth, during the 2000s, ‘the universe crippled him with anxiety’.
He’s previously shared he was housebound between 2006 and 2009, but on stage at Brixton’s O2 Academy on Sunday night, he suggested the feeling stretched far beyond those years.
In his usual fashion, the emotional moment didn’t last long as he quipped that there were ‘still files to be released’.
Robbie may be a great showman, but removing him from his armour of bright suits and stage props allowed a more vulnerable side to shine.
It’s impossible not to warm to him, especially in a less than 5,000 capacity venue when he is (as he said himself) a ‘stadium artist’.
Robbie’s familiar ego was most at play when, just three songs in, we reached Angels, a behemoth in his discography.
As has become his custom, he stepped back and allowed the crowd to take it away. We were up to the challenge, giving a word-perfect rendition, only joined by the singer in the final verse.
When I saw Robbie at Emirates Stadium last year, that was the tune he chose to finish on with masses of people still belting it out as they left the venue.
It’s almost jarring to hear it so early in the set, like popping champagne at 10am on New Year’s Eve – still fun, but you have to wonder if you’re going to make it to the big finish.
Getting the heavy hitter out of the way had a strange impact on the rest of the show, allowing us to relax into the album without waiting for the big number.
A quiet highlight was Killing Me, as it took on a new meaning after Robbie shared how his daughter, Teddy, recently wrote a song about being excluded from friendships.
While he didn’t name names, the Better Man star acknowledged how he suffered from feeling cut out and abandoned by people he thought were friends, which inspired the song.
‘But words cut deep when you’re defenceless/ And they’re killing me, but killing me slowly,’ Robbie sings on the emotional track.
In a slip-up, he actually performed this early at Brixton, meaning Let Me Entertain You came next – but I’d argue this works better than the original order.
It brought the crowd back up to carry them through Clean and Baby Girl Window, which exposed the one issue with singing an entire album through, front to back – there is nowhere to hide from the weaker songs.
That being said, after almost 29 years, Life Thru A Lens holds up surprisingly well, with even the hidden spoken word track Hello Sir echoed by the crowd.
Unfortunately for the second half of the gig, Britpop has not had three decades to marinate.
The two albums do work well together, with a cohesive guitar sound running through almost book-ending his long career (although he has promised more music is on the way).
Opening strong with Rocket, fans were immediately up and dancing again after the short interval. It’s no surprise he picked that for his first single.
Spies and Bite Your Tongue are catchy, feeling instantly like they’ll be regularly in rotation, and fans were loving the Gary Barlow co-written track Morrissey.
The new album clearly has flashes of Robbie at his best, but unfortunately, there’s not quite enough familiarity to carry the weaker songs as there was in the first half.
He interestingly cut track You from the set list, perhaps a silent acknowledgement that not every song on Britpop is a banger.
When following up Life Thru A Lens, his 16th number one album, does manage to hold its own … but only just.
If anything, the back-to-back performance exposes a weakness in Robbie’s records, as the latter half of both albums feels a little flat compared to the start.
I wish we’d had a stronger album closer or even another Angels rendition to finish, as Selfish Disco (from Britpop’s deluxe version) just didn’t hit the same.
However, there’s something undeniably magnetic about Robbie. As he said himself, he owes his career to winks and personality.
Whereas his stadium gigs are for the masses, this tour feels very much for the dedicated hardcore fans, of which there are still plenty.
Verdict
Robbie Williams is as charming as ever, even with his show stripped back to the bare bones. Seeing him in a much smaller venue only amplifies the vulnerability and self-deprecatory human behind the persona.
If you’re a fan – specifically of Life Thru A Lens and Britpop – you’ll love the show. But Robbie, maybe let’s throw in an Angels reprise just to carry us home.
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