One of the most successful and brightest musicians at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries is the singer Robbie Williams. It was also possible to verify this in Latvia, because on March 9 in Riga, this superstar pleased Latvian and Baltic fans by giving an ambitious show.
Guinness World Record holder
Robert Peter Williams, born 13 February 1974, better known by his stage name Robbie Williams, is a musician, songwriter and one of the most commercially successful solo artists in British history. The superstar is the winner of the Guinness world record – after the announcement of the 2006 world tour «World Tour 2016», 1.6 million tickets were sold in the public space during the day. As a solo musician in the history of the United Kingdom, Williams has sold the most albums and won the most awards in the history of the prestigious «Brit Awards» compared to other successful artists. In 2004, the king of hits deservedly entered the British Music Hall of Fame, as he was voted the best UK musician of 1990. The musician’s latest album called 25 (in Roman numerals – «XXV») symbolizes his «sung» years in his solo career, in September 2022 it ranked in the 1st position of the UK «Official Albums Chart Top». That means only one thing: the superstar is officially the artist with the most albums released in the UK, surpassing the legendary Elvis Presley’s record.
The musician’s life will be filmed
The platform “Netflix”, which has gained popularity in Latvia, where the greatest connoisseurs of films and TV series meet, will also show a series of documentary films about the life and career of the musician this year. Netflix has previously streamed documentaries about the lives of famous musicians, including Whitney Houston, Jennifer Lopez and Britney Spears, but Robbie Williams embarks on this adventure for the first time, revealing the most hidden moments of his life’s decline. The film series is directed by the experienced director Joe Perman, who is intrigued by the fact that it will be possible to see unique archive footage collected over 25 years, revealing the star in a never-before-seen form: “Robbie Williams, a member of the super-famous boy band “Take That”, reaped the first fruits of fame already at the age of 16 age, but unexpectedly left the group in 1995. His solo career took off shortly after. Although not all members of former bands are equally successful in their solo careers, Robbie Williams is one of the most successful musicians at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries. As one of the filmmakers, I promise a realistic and nuanced look at the life and behind the scenes of this internationally renowned musician. It will reveal details about his relationship with the paparazzi, addictions, scandals, professional and private divorces, reunions and also the musician’s mental health.»
The other side of the coin
Stormy parties after leaving the group “Take That” took the musicians to the harsh world of alcohol and, unfortunately, drugs. Like many other world-class stars, Williams ended up in a rehabilitation center where he was helped to change. However, the constant struggle with harmful substances has negatively affected the musician’s private life. He has spoken publicly about both depression and vegetative dystonia countless times, gaining a reputation as a man who was unable to establish stable relationships in his youth. In the late 1990s, Robbie dated several celebrities, including model and actress Rachel Hunter, but found true love with actress Aida Field. The couple married in Los Angeles in 2010 and had a daughter Theodora (2012) and a son Charlton (2014).
Latvia is especially sweet
The recent concert show “Arena Riga” is not the only proof that the star has taken a liking to Latvia. In 2015, Robbie Williams’ management asked to find a male choir in one of the Baltic countries. The lucky draw also went to the concert agency “FBI”, which contacted the Riga Technical University men’s choir “Gaudeamus”, more precisely, the conductor of the choir, Ivars Cinkus. It was emphasized that the superstar has never sung with a choir before. The conductor agreed to participate, saying that it is not only a new experience for himself and the choristers, but also an honor. A relatively short time was given to prepare for this exclusive opportunity, as the compositions were received only a few weeks before the recording, however, as Cinkus admitted, this did not prevent him from feeling satisfaction about the evaluation, because not every day Latvians get a unique opportunity to play music with world-class stars. And the name of Latvia has been heard in the world. The recording was made in the spring of 2015 in the studio of Latvian Radio. On October 1, 2016, Robbie Williams’ song «Party like a Russian» hit all music streaming sites. The video clip shows the celebration of Russian oligarchs, but in the background you can hear male voices belonging to the singers of “Gaudeamus”. This video has 46 million views on the YouTube.com platform.
