Robbie Williams

Out of all the members of Take That, Robbie Williams never really seemed to fit in.

Roguishly handsome where his bandmates were merely cute, Williams was tougher and sexier than the rest, which made him more distinctive.

He also fought regularly with the other members and their management, primarily because he was occasionally adverse to being so heavily packaged.

So it didn't come as a surprise that he was the first to leave the band, departing early in the summer of 1995 to pursue a solo career (by some accounts, he was fired from the group).

Although he was the first out of the gate, it took Williams awhile to get started.

For most of 1995, he attempted to boost his credibility by tagging along with Oasis, hoping that Noel Gallagher would give him a couple of songs.

He never did, but all of his time with Oasis launched Williams into a world of heavy partying, drinking, and drugging.

Over the course of 1996, he was only heard from in gossip columns, and every published picture indicated he had put on considerable weight.

Occasionally, he was quoted as saying his new music would abandon lightweight dance-pop for traditional Brit-pop, but his first single was a cover of George Michael's "Freedom '90." Released late in 1996, the single was a disaster, but his second single, 1997's "Old Before I Die," was more in the vein of his early pronouncements, featuring a distinct Oasis influence. Williams finally released his first solo album, Life Thru a Lens, in 1997.

The album became a big hit in Britain, prompting his second, I've Been Expecting You, to go multi-platinum upon its release in 1998.

(The Ego Has Landed, a U.S.-only compilation designed for breaking Williams to American audiences, was released stateside in the spring of 1999.) Sing When You're Winning followed in late 2000, gaining success with the video hit "Rock DJ," while a big-band album of standards (Swing When You're Winning) appeared a year later.

By this point, Robbie Williams had become one of Europe's premier pop stars, known for his headline-grabbing behavior as much as his hit-studded albums.

Moreover, his solo work had some far more copies than his work with Take That. During 2002, Williams celebrated an enormous new contract with EMI (rumored to be upwards of $80 million dollars), but suffered the loss of his longtime production partner, Guy Chambers.

Escapology, the fifth Robbie Williams album (and the last including Chambers' input), sold millions of copies in Europe, though it failed to persuade American audiences.

As a result, the 2003 concert record Live at Knebworth wasn't released in the States.

He introduced a new musical partner, Stephen Duffy, with a pair of songs from his compilation Greatest Hits, then reappeared in 2005 with Intensive Care.

Although the album topped charts in Europe and helped Williams set an impressive concert record -- his 2006 world tour sold over 1.5 million tickets in one day -- a certain creative atrophy was setting in, despite the new input of Duffy.

Within a year, he had recorded and released Rudebox, a dance album recorded with half a dozen outside producers, some featured guests, and several covers instead of self-penned material.

Rudebox hit number one across Europe but only went double platinum in the U.K., becoming his lowest-selling studio album to date.

Accordingly, Williams' next album -- the 2009 release Reality Killed the Video Star -- found him returning to the sound of his older albums, with the Buggles' Trevor Horn handling all production duties.

~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Robbie Williams has spoken about his struggles with stage fright, admitting he never knows how it will affect him.

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Robbie Williams says his stage fright is like "thinking you're going to throw yourself off" a balcony.

The 'Morning Sun' singer was amazed at how much his nerves spiralled out of control on his 2006 'Close Encounters' world tour and never knows how they will affect him.

He said: "I never know what I'm gonna get until the day of the show itself.

"I did a tour and on that tour an awful lot of people came to see me, and I bit off a bit more than I could chew and I buckled.

"The stage fright went from being something necessary to prepare yourself for the big show to an overwhelming fear of, 'I can't go on, I can't go on.'

"It's a bit like that feeling when you're standing on the balcony and you think you're going to throw yourself off. That kind of fear."

Robbie is still keeping tight-lipped about speculation he is to reunite with his former group Take That, despite reports revealing he joined his ex-bandmates - Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Jason Orange - in the studio this week to record some tracks.

Robbie - whose best friend in the band Mark Owen missed the sessions as he battles to save his marriage to Emma Ferguson following his cheating confession - said: "I've got something very exciting planned for the end of the year, too. Separate to me. and that's very, very, very exciting."

Robbie Williams is giving up smoking after his fiancee Ayda Field told him it would boost their chances of starting a family.

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Robbie Williams is giving up smoking to please his fiancee.

The 'Angels' singer has already cut his habit from 60 cigarettes to ten a day as he is keen to get healthier in order to start a family with actress Ayda Field.

A source told The Sun newspaper: "Ayda is very keen to start a family and knows the damage tobacco can do to sperm.

"It's hard for Robbie to say no to the woman he loves at the best of times. But it's even harder when, far from nagging him about smoking, she gives practical support and offers to be there for him when he's finding it tough.

"He has promised Ayda he will crack it. Now it's just a matter of when he's ready."

Ayda has banned Robbie from smoking cigarettes inside their Los Angeles mansion in a bid to make him reduce his habit even more.

The 30-year-old actress has also hired a personal trainer to help the 36-year-old pop star get in top shape before their wedding.

A source said: "Robbie is training hard. He is enjoying it and wants to do Ayda proud. She's putting pressure on him to shape up and set a wedding date."

Robbie recently admitted Ayda has been working hard to convince him to start a family.

Speaking about the possibility of having a baby, Robbie said: "I'm feeling good things. She keeps going on about it and really, really wants one - and I'm coming around to the idea. But it's slowly, slowly catchy monkey."

Robbie Williams has completed five songs with Take That - with a view to releasing an album with them later this year.

(BANG) -

Robbie Williams has recorded five songs with Take That.

The 36-year-old singer, who quit the group - consisting of Gary Barlow, Jason Orange, Howard Donald and Mark Owen - in 1995 has been busy in the studio with his former band mates, but has no plans to make any live appearances with them.

A source said: "There's been much speculation as to what they plan to do but it will definitely be a record and not a tour - for now anyway. Fans will not be disappointed with the results."

Rumours of a collaboration were triggered last month when the singer spent five hours in a Los Angeles studio (26.01.10) singing and recording with his old bandmates and was then spotted hugging each of them as he left.

A source revealed at the time: "All the signs are looking good. It's great news for the fans. They're using this time in Los Angeles to start working together as a band again. They were delighted with the session and were congratulating each other as they left. They're using this time together to crack on with reunion songs."

Take That were in the city to record their parts for Simon Cowell's charity single, which was released to raise funds for the relief effort for Haiti's earthquake victims.