History of Robbie Williams in Timeline
Robbie Williams is an English singer-songwriter who rose to fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995 before embarking on a highly successful solo career in 1996. His debut album, *Life thru a Lens* (1997), featured the hit single "Angels." Williams achieved further success with albums like *I've Been Expecting You*, featuring number-one singles "Millennium" and "She's the One." He has seven UK No. 1 singles and multiple chart-topping albums, with six of his albums among the UK's best-selling. In 2006, he set a Guinness World Record for selling 1.6 million concert tickets in a single day.
February 1974: Robert Peter Williams was born
In February 1974, Robert Peter Williams was born in Stoke-on-Trent, the son of Janet and Peter Williams. His father ran a pub before becoming a licensee.
1990: Joined Take That
In 1990, Robbie Williams joined the pop group Take That, marking the beginning of his rise to fame.
1990: Joined Take That as Youngest Member
In 1990, at sixteen years old, Robbie Williams became the youngest member of Take That after his mother encouraged him to audition.
1990: 20 years as performing artist
October 2010 marked 20 years as performing artist for Robbie Williams.
July 1995: Left Take That Before Tour
In July 1995, Robbie Williams agreed to quit Take That after being confronted about his behavior, leading to his departure before their tour commenced.
1995: Left Take That
In 1995, Robbie Williams departed from Take That, paving the way for his solo career in the music industry.
February 1996: Take That Disbanded
On February 13, 1996, Robbie Williams' 22nd birthday, Take That disbanded following his departure in July 1995.
June 1996: Signed with Chrysalis Records
On June 27, 1996, after resolving legal battles over his right to a solo career, Robbie Williams signed with Chrysalis Records.
1996: Launched Solo Career
In 1996, Robbie Williams launched his solo career with a cover of George Michael's "Freedom", reaching number two in the UK Singles Chart.
March 1997: Began Recording First Album
In March 1997, Robbie Williams began recordings for his first album at London's Maison Rouge studios.
September 1997: Released Debut Album Life thru a Lens
In September 1997, Robbie Williams released his debut album, "Life thru a Lens", and performed his first live solo gig in Paris.
1997: Life thru a Lens Album Release
In 1997, Robbie Williams released his debut studio album, "Life thru a Lens", which featured the hit single "Angels".
October 1998: I've Been Expecting You Album Release
In late October 1998, Robbie Williams released "I've Been Expecting You", which debuted at number one in the UK Albums Chart.
1998: Wrote Second Album, I've Been Expecting You
In early 1998, Robbie Williams and Guy Chambers began writing the second album, "I've Been Expecting You", in Jamaica.
July 1999: The Ego Has Landed Album Release
In July 1999, Robbie Williams released the compilation album "The Ego Has Landed" in the United States and Canada.
1999: European Tour
In late 1999, Robbie Williams finished the year with a European Tour.
August 2000: Sing When You're Winning Album Release
In August 2000, Robbie Williams released the album "Sing When You're Winning", which topped the charts in many countries.
2000: Topped the 2000-2010 UK airplay chart
From 2000 to 2010, Robbie Williams topped the UK airplay chart, solidifying his popularity during that decade.
2000: "Rock DJ" Released
In 2000, Robbie Williams released "Rock DJ" which became an instant hit despite controversy over its music video. It won several awards, including "Best Song of 2000" at the MTV Europe Music Awards.
2000: Take That's Progress Album Released
In November 2010, the Take That album "Progress" was released, becoming the fastest selling album since 2000 and the second fastest selling album in UK history.
2001: Take The Crown Album
During the end of August 2012 his official website began a countdown to the release of information regarding his latest solo material, with an image of his face and his mind unveiled daily as the countdown expired. Titled Take the Crown, the album debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart making it Williams' tenth number one album. It also marked the second time that Williams had a number one single and album at the same time on the chart, the first time was in 2001 when "Somethin' Stupid" and Swing When You're Winning were number one on the singles and albums chart respectively.
2001: Duet with Nicole Kidman
In 2001, Robbie Williams duetted with Nicole Kidman on "Somethin' Stupid", which became his fifth number one hit in the UK.
2001: Recorded Swing When You're Winning album
In 2001, Robbie Williams recorded Swing When You're Winning, his fourth studio album at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles.
2001: Announcement of follow up of swing album
In September 2013, Robbie Williams announced a follow-up to his 2001 swing album, titled Swings Both Ways, scheduled for release in November.
2002: Record-breaking contract with EMI
In 2002, Robbie Williams signed a record-breaking £80 million contract with EMI, granting him greater creative control and aiming to break him into the US market. This remains the biggest music deal in British history. He also started working on his fifth studio album.
2002: Release in the United States
In 2002, the album Escapology by Robbie Williams, was released in the United States.
2002: Release of "Feel" and Escapology
In late 2002, Robbie Williams released "Feel" as the first single from his fifth album, Escapology. "Feel" became an international hit, and Escapology reached number one in numerous countries. The demo version of "Feel", co-written with Guy Chambers, was used as the single after Robbie was dissatisfied with re-recording the vocals.
August 2003: Knebworth concerts
From 1–3 August 2003, Robbie Williams performed three consecutive concerts at Knebworth, drawing 125,000 people each night. This was the biggest event in UK music history. He performed "Come Undone" and interacted with the audience.
October 2003: Release of Live at Knebworth
In October 2003, Robbie Williams released a live album of the Knebworth concerts, titled Live at Knebworth.
2003: "Beyond the Sea" featured in Finding Nemo
In 2003, Robbie Williams' "Beyond the Sea" was featured in the film Finding Nemo and released on the film's soundtrack CD.
2003: Concerts at Knebworth
In 2003, Robbie Williams' three concerts at Knebworth drew over 375,000 people, becoming the UK's biggest music event to that point.
October 2004: Release of Greatest Hits and "Radio"
In October 2004, Robbie Williams released Greatest Hits, a retrospective album containing new tracks with Stephen Duffy. The first single, "Radio", debuted at number one in the UK Singles Chart. The compilation was the best-selling album of the year in the UK and Europe.
2004: Working on Intensive Care album
After touring Latin America in late 2004, Robbie Williams started working on his sixth studio album, Intensive Care, co-written with Stephen Duffy over 24 months.
2004: Inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame
In 2004, Robbie Williams was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame, recognized as the Greatest Artist of the 1990s.
2004: Number one single since "Radio"
In September 2012, Robbie Williams' single "Candy" became his first number one single since "Radio" in 2004.
November 2005: MTV Europe Music Award and Guinness World Record
In November 2005, Robbie Williams won the MTV Europe Music Award for 'Best Male'. He also entered The Guinness Book of World Records for selling 1.6 million tickets in a single day for his 2006 World Tour.
2005: "Angels" voted best single
In 2005, eight years after its release, Robbie Williams' song "Angels" was voted as the "Best Single of the Past Twenty-Five Years" at the Brit Awards.
April 2006: Close Encounters World Tour begins
In April 2006, Robbie Williams kicked off his Close Encounters World Tour in South Africa. By the end of the European leg, 2.5 million people had attended the show, with the total reaching 3 million after touring Latin America and Australia.
October 2006: Release of Rudebox
On 23 October 2006, Robbie Williams released his dance/electro album, Rudebox, featuring collaborations with various artists. The album received mixed reviews but became the fastest platinum-selling album of 2006 in Europe. A series of short films were commissioned to promote the album.
2006: Guinness World Record
In 2006, Robbie Williams earned a Guinness World Record for selling 1.6 million tickets in a single day during his "Close Encounters Tour".
February 2009: Writing new material
In February 2009, Robbie Williams was confirmed to have written new material with Guy Chambers and Mark Ronson, with recording sessions planned for March. The album was expected to be released in late 2009 and would likely be the last Robbie Williams album released by EMI.
October 2009: New album promotion
In October 2009, Robbie Williams published a compilation album, Songbook, as a free CD for The Mail on Sunday. He also performed his new single "Bodies" live on The X Factor and opened the BBC Electric Proms at the London RoundHouse.
November 2009: Release of Reality Killed the Video Star and ARIA Music Awards performance
In November 2009, Robbie Williams' album Reality Killed the Video Star was officially released after being previewed on Spotify. He competed against JLS for the number one spot, ultimately being outsold by 1500 copies. He also travelled to Australia to perform at the ARIA Music Awards of 2009.
November 2009: Release of Reality Killed the Video Star
On 9 November 2009, Robbie Williams released his album Reality Killed the Video Star in the United Kingdom, working with producer Trevor Horn. The title references the song "Video Killed the Radio Star".
July 2010: Rejoined Take That
On July 15, 2010, Robbie Williams reconciled with his former colleagues and rejoined Take That.
October 2010: Release of In and Out of Consciousness and "Shame"
In October 2010, Robbie Williams released his second greatest hits album, In and Out of Consciousness: The Greatest Hits 1990–2010, to celebrate 20 years as a performing artist. The single "Shame", co-written and sung with Gary Barlow, was also released.
November 2010: Take That's Progress Album Released
In November 2010, the Take That album "Progress" was released, becoming the fastest selling album since 2000 and the second fastest selling album in UK history.
2010: Topped the 2000-2010 UK airplay chart
From 2000 to 2010, Robbie Williams topped the UK airplay chart, solidifying his popularity during that decade.
2010: Rejoined Take That
In 2010, Robbie Williams rejoined Take That after 15 years, contributing to their album Progress.
2010: Leaves EMI
In October 2011, Robbie Williams signed with Island Records (Universal Music) after leaving EMI in 2010.
October 2011: Signs with Island Records
On 21 October 2011, Robbie Williams signed with Island Records (Universal Music) after leaving EMI in 2010.
2011: Left Take That for the Second Time
In 2011, Robbie Williams left Take That for a second time to concentrate on his solo career.
2011: Progress Tour
Since the 2011's Progress tour, although still officially part of Take That, Robbie Williams chose not to return for group's seventh and eighth studio albums and their accompanying tours, focusing instead on his solo commitments.
June 2012: Diamond Jubilee Concert performance
On 4 June 2012, Robbie Williams was the opening act at the Diamond Jubilee Concert, co-organised by Gary Barlow, held outside Buckingham Palace.
August 2012: Missed Olympics Closing Ceremony Performance
In August 2012, Take That performed at the closing ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics; Robbie Williams missed the performance due to his wife giving birth around the same time.
September 2012: Release of "Candy"
In September 2012, Robbie Williams' single "Candy" premiered on 10 September and was released on 11 September in most countries and 29 October in the UK. It became his first number one single since "Radio" (2004) and his seventh solo number one single, selling 137,000 copies in its first week.
November 2012: European Stadium Tour announced
On 26 November 2012, Robbie Williams announced a 17-date stadium tour of Europe with Olly Murs as the support act. Universal and EMI merged in 2012, bringing Williams' Chrysalis/Virgin recordings full circle to Universal.
September 2013: Swings Both Ways album announcement
In September 2013, Robbie Williams announced a follow-up to his 2001 swing album, titled Swings Both Ways, scheduled for release in November.
November 2013: Release of Swings Both Ways and appearance in Olly Murs' video
In November 2013, Robbie Williams made a cameo appearance in the video for Olly Murs' song "Hand on Heart".
December 2014: Release of Under the Radar Volume 1
On 1 December 2014, Robbie Williams released a compilation album titled Under the Radar Volume 1 through his website, featuring unreleased songs. He mentioned Guy Chambers' disagreement regarding the online release.
2014: Awarded Freedom of Stoke-on-Trent
In 2014, Robbie Williams was awarded the freedom of his hometown of Stoke-on-Trent, and a tourist trail was created in his honor.
May 2016: Signs with Sony Music
In May 2016, Robbie Williams signed a recording contract with Sony Music, expressing his excitement about the partnership. He mentioned working on an album he was proud of.
July 2017: Announcement of Under the Radar Volume 2
In July 2017, Robbie Williams announced a new album, Under the Radar Volume 2, which was released in November 2017.
November 2017: Release of Under the Radar Volume 2
In July 2017, Robbie Williams announced a new album, Under the Radar Volume 2, which was released in November 2017.
June 2018: Performance at FIFA World Cup opening ceremony
On 14 June 2018, Robbie Williams performed at the 2018 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony in Moscow, Russia. He sang "Let Me Entertain You" and "Feel" before performing "Angels" with Aida Garifullina. He caused controversy by giving the finger during "Rock DJ".
July 2018: Joins The X Factor as a judge
On 17 July 2018, Robbie Williams, along with his wife and Louis Tomlinson, were announced as the new judges on the fifteenth series of The X Factor in the UK.
December 2019: Release of The Christmas Present and "Hey Tiger"
In December 2019, Robbie Williams released his first Christmas album, The Christmas Present, featuring various guest appearances. It debuted at number two on the UK Charts but later reached number one. He also released the promotional single "Hey Tiger" for The Tiger Who Came to Tea.
2019: Release of Under the Radar Volume 3
In 2019, Robbie Williams released a third edition in the Under the Radar series on Valentine's Day.
2019: Planned Take That 30th Anniversary Tour
Robbie Williams planned to return for a full tour in 2019 to celebrate Take That's 30th anniversary, although he had been focusing on his solo commitments.
September 2022: XXV Compilation Album Release
On September 9, 2022, Robbie Williams released his latest compilation album, XXV.
2024: Better Man film release
In 2024, the film "Better Man", based on Robbie Williams' life, was released.
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