Star Image Evolution

Robbie Williams

1990-1995Take That and The Start of His

Solo Career

Robbie Williams joined Take That aged 16 and together they had a strong boy band image with their songs being mostly ballads. In 1995, Williams decided that he was tired of the restrictions of the band and started his solo career with a cover of George Michael’s ‘Freedom’. Robbie was interested in pursuing some hip hop and rap, which the rest of Take That decreed didn’t suit their image, this meant that Williams’ first solo album, ‘Life Thru A Lens’ contained songs like ‘Let Me Entertain You’, a big contrast to his previous work with the band. He also lost his boy band image and replaced it with a harder and more punk style.

In 2000, Robbie Williams brought out a new album called ‘Sing When You’re Winning’ which was compiled of pop and adult contemporary music. This album fitted with his ‘bad boy’ persona and his music had his signature Britpop flare too. However, in 2001, Williams released another album called ‘Swing When You’re Winning’ for which he completely changed his style. He was influenced by Frank Sinatra and mimicked his jazzy swing style of singing and changed his personal style to fit the typical image that suits this style of music. While this album was very different to his usual style, it was very well received and instantly went to #1 in the UK charts where it stayed for 6 consecutive weeks.

Sing When You’re Winning and Swing When You’re Winning

In November 2006, Williams released an album that was very different to his usual pop rock and adult contemporary style. Rudebox contained a selection of genres including hip hop, R&B, electropop and dance. Since he left Take That back in 1995, he had been interested in branching out and trying some of these different styles, however this album was the first he had released to do so in such contrasting way to the rest of his work. His fans and the album reviews showed mixed reactions and despite the fact that it reached #1 position in the charts, his record label were disappointed in the sales levels of the album with sales being down on what they expected.

2006- Rudebox

Two of his more recent albums ‘Take the Crown’ and ‘Swings Both Ways’ were very successful and brought Robbie Williams back into the charts. The song ‘Candy’ was widely recognised and got a great reception from new and old fans as it was back to his signature and more entertaining style. He was the lovable rogue and he slotted back into his ‘classy bad boy’ type persona too. In 2013 he released another swing album, again featuring a lot of duets with other artists. After experimenting with other styles and genres of music, it would seem that Robbie Williams’ fans prefer him to stick to what they saw in his earlier years, especially between 1997-2005.

His Recent Comeback