"I was shocked. When you work with someone, you’re legally entitled to a share of the publishing. I have demos of the tape and will see him in court if I have to. I just want him to be a man and do the right thing." Ashley claims Robbie went "ballistic" when he tried to approach him and threatened to remove the track from his new album ’Rudebox’. Robbie says he wrote the song after seeing Madonna perform at last year’s MTV Europe awards, but Ashley insists the track was written three years ago. Robbie’s spokesperson said: "’She’s Madonna’ is a collaboration between Robbie and the Pet Shop Boys."
This is not the first time Robbie has faced legal action. In 2002, he was found guilty of plagiarising and ordered to remove his ’Jesus In A Camper Van’ track from future copies of his album ’I’ve Been Expecting You’ and told to pay £50,000 in royalties.
Tara 4 Robbie - May 2006
Tara Palmer Tomkinson has reportedly been having a steamy affair with Robbie Williams. According to Closer magazine the pair, who have known each other for ten years, got together after she split with posh whinger James Blunt. Previously Robbie had called Tara ’one of the sexiest creatures on earth’ while she was bemused at his inability to get a girlfriend and for just a week and a half they decided to get a little bit closer. A friend of TPT says they spent ten days locked up in a New York hotel room watching DVDs, eating takeout and ... well, much more besides.
However Robbie is now furious that Tara, who described him as an ’Elvis’ in the sack, couldn’t keep her mouth shut about her pop-conquest, "you’d think a posh girl would have more class. Especially one that old," he apparently fumed.
Robbie Williams is to rejoin Take That - April 25, 2020
The departed fifth member is planning on joining former band mates Gary Barlow, Mark Owen, Jason Orange and Howard Donald on stage during their sell-out comeback tour. On the first night of the tour, on Sunday (23.04.06), the ’Let Me Entertain You’ singer appeared in the show as a 10ft hologram.
It was confirmed last week that Robbie would be there in person for the Manchester homecoming concert but Gary has now revealed he will be doing more than one show. He said: "I don’t know which dates but he has told Mark Owen he is definitely coming back." The news gets even better for Take That fans. Following the overwhelmingly positive response to their comeback the group have revealed they are planning to release a new album and are hopeful Robbie will collaborate with them on some tracks.
Jason said: "It would be great if Rob wrote with us. We let Gary write all the songs before and he walked away with the money. "This time it’s going to be an equal split - as it should have been last time round." Gary wants the record released by Christmas, and is confident the band can have another chart-topping festive single. He said: "Another Christmas No1 would be perfect."
Robbie Williams is the biggest single shareholder - Feb 28, 2020
Robbie Williams has become the biggest single shareholder of his hometown football team. The superstar singer has invested around ?260,000 in struggling sports side Port Vale - the team he has supported all his life - buying himself a 20 per cent share. The ailing team, which has been suffering from well publicised financial problems, is based in Stoke-On-Trent, the town Robbie grew up in.
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Robbie joined Take That when he was only 16, he had only one job previous to that, as a double glazing salesman, but apparently he wasn’t very good - he would tell customers not to buy them because they were so bad! For five years, Robbie became the joker of the band, always smiling and playing gags on people as Take That rose to record-breaking stardom. However, in July 1995 Robbie announced he was to leave the band to concentrate on a solo career...a nation of teenage girls mourned.
After a stint eating pies, doing drugs and being friends with the Gallaghers, Robbie signed to Chrysalis Records. His first ever solo single on this label would be a cover of George Michael’s Freedom . It was released on July 29th 1996 exactly one year after his departure from Take That. It reached No 2 in the UK charts. Life began to get a bit rough for Robbie during the following months, he met Jacquie Hamilton-Smith at a New Years Eve Party of 1996, moved in with her the next day and partied (in more ways that one) for exactly one year before coming to his senses. In the middle of all this he released his second single Old Before I Die on April 14th 1997 which also reached No 2 in the charts.
At the beginning of June 1997 after many bad reports in the media, Robbie checked himself into a rehab centre to receive treatment for his addiction to alcohol and drugs. After 4 weeks at the centre Rob emerged 2 stones lighter, sporting a new haircut, and hopefully feeling much better. The release of Lazy Days followed soon after on July 14th, and made it’s first appearance in the UK charts at No 8, to be followed shortly by South Of The Border.
December 1997 was the real beginning for Robbie, he released ’Angels’ as his Christmas single, never knowing quite what an impact it would have on the market. Into the new year of 1998 it was still in the charts and ’Life Thru A Lens’ shot back into the album charts and has been there ever since. Robbie truly had arrived, signing up thousands of new fans daily. Millennium and accompanying album I’ve Been Expecting You followed up on this success, making Robbie the biggest selling artist of 1998.
He began trying to win over the US in 1999 touring The Ego Has Landed. His success continued in 2000 with the release of immediate hit, Rock DJ. Sing When You’re Winning, was as popular as his accompanying collection of lounge covers, Swing When You’re winning. In 2002, Robbie signed a record breaking contract with EMI for £50m, securing his place in pop history. Escapology duly topped the charts in the UK while Robbie spent time in LA being papped with new girlfriend Rachel Hunter.
The biggest outdoor concert ever was hosted by Robbie in 2003 at Knebworth Park attracting 375,000 fans over three days. He followed up this success with two album releases, a Greatest Hits and 2005’s Intensive Care which accompanied his appearance on stage at Live8. Around this time speculation was rife that Robbie was ready to patch things up with his former bandmates and take part in a Take That reunion tour. However Robbie disappointed fans and friends by failing to turn up at an ITV organised reunion and merely recording a video part for the tour which Gary and co embarked on a UK tour without him.
But Robbie wasn’t resting on his laurels. While Take That returned to the studio Robbie did the same, releasing his tenth album, Rudebox in 2006 which brought more controversy to the singer when he failed to credit a supposed co-writer.
It never seems to stop for Robbie.
updated Oct 2006
September 2007