I was watching a documentary the other day, it was about Robbie Williams, called “You are not alone” – now I have been a Robbie fan for many years, it’s been a long and winding journey, and I have seen other docos of him on tour before, some of you reading this may have as well – Nobody Someday was the really depressing one where I don’t think Robbie truly had any idea who he was but he was famous and singing and selling millions of albums. And surprisingly there will be people in the US reading this wondering who the fsck is this Robbie Williams guy? Many people there have *never* heard of him, can you believe that?
So I was watching this and they kept having screens pop up before each concert saying where it was and how many people, and most of them were 50,000 – 60,000 and even one with 90,000, and I remember he played Knebworth with something like 375,000+ people there. I was thinking, there’s really not that many performers who can expect such a crowd at their concerts. I can’t even think of many. Perhaps U2 and Madonna but after that I’m drawing a blank trying to think of performers who could expect that type of crowd.
Robbie is an amazing talent and we’re very lucky he didn’t crash and burn at a younger age as so many amazing talents do. He’s been through all the usual silly things people do, like drugs etc, but he’s managed to get clean and sober. Odd as it might sound, he’s struggled with low self esteem and depression and is only just now really beginning to value himself as highly as his fans do. Performing was not easy for him, it’s been a love hate thing, where he didn’t love it much, but now it seems he is starting to enjoy it as much as the crowd enjoys it. The one thing that eludes him is love. Sure, he can get sex anytime, but it’s not the same thing at all.
I feel sad for Robbie that so many people adore him but he can’t seem to find “the one”. I’ve been blessed in my life to find that person, and the experience of loving and being loved is about so much more than just the physical so I totally get what Robbie is missing. It’s about companionship and shared experience and working together towards goals and all kinds of stuff. The Other Half makes me laugh all the time, and I value that so much.
Aaaah! Robbie! Soooo sexy.
And that crowd was just amazing!