Robbie Williams

AAMI Stadium

As the sun set over the open roofed AAMI Stadium, fans gathered to witness the arrival of pop sensation and lovable bad boy Robbie Williams.  As a pillar of fog clears, Williams rises to the stage dressed in black sequins from head to toe, the 49-year old heralds his arrival to the stage. Opening with ‘Hey Yeah Wow Wow’, followed by his biggest hit ‘ Let Me Entertain You’ .

Beginning his career as a fresh faced 16 year old in the popular band Take That, Williams 33 year music career has had and impressive number of hits, and fans are treated to an array of songs from his former bad including ‘ Could It Be Magic’ and ‘Back For Good”. We are also treated to a look at his first music video release the cheeky ” Do What You Like” , bums of the entire band on display for the entire venue to see.

The captivating thing about Williams as a performer is that underneath all the glamour, rock star status and hype is a vulnerable lad from Stoke-on Trent that just wants to be loved. His ability to show this side of him is what makes him relatable- he suffers just like the rest of us, with anxiety and self doubt. However, the Robbie we see before us tonight is confident and happy, finally comfortable in his own skin.

Taking fans through a trip down memory lane, Williams covers three decades of his career with hits ” Rock DJ”, ‘ Feel” “Come Undone” and ” Better Man”, a sea of mobile phones swaying in harmony to each song. Throughout the evening Williams demonstrates that he is still on top of his game, and his performance is pure perfection.

Paying homage to the UN-official national anthem, Williams begins the encore with a rendition of John Farnham’s ‘ Your the Voice’, dressed in a yellow Australian cricket polo with Shane Warne’s 23 emblazoned on the back. Moving on he finds an audience member to sing ‘ She’s the One’ to, while seated on stage. Before wrapping up the show he pauses to express heartfelt condolences to the family of Robyn Hall, a fan who passed away after attending his Sydney show earlier in the week.

“I’ve been thinking about it an awful lot and I’ve thought about it through the show tonight,” Williams said to the packed audience.

“I just want to give a big shout out and lots of love from me and my band to Robyn and Robyn’s family.

“Let’s all sing up, she was somebody just like you who came to the gig just like you did tonight, this is for her.”

Dedicating his 1997 hit ‘ Angels’ to Ms Hall was a touching moment from the singer, who revealed that the incident had left him heartbroken.

Not wanting to leave the stage, Williams begins a three minuet a Capella sing a long medley of his hits, before cheekily asking

” I’m just gonna ask a question, coz I wanna see the reaction this question gets – Are there any Carlton Fans in the house?” which is answered with a resounding BOOO from the audience. ” That’s fucking hilarious” he quips, before wrapping up the show with the opening bars of  ” Better Man”, disappearing from the stage.

Robbie Williams is some what like a fine red wine, he only gets better with age and once again he has proven that by leaving Take That he has forged a career that has seen him more successful than anyone could predict. He is engaging, charming, a bit of a brat and an exceptionally talented singer, all which make a spectacular night of entertainment.

Words by Amanda Lee Starkey