Robbie Williams has opened up about his historical past of psychological well being and self-harming in a frank dialogue forward of a new documentary chronicling his life, together with sharing what he regrets most in his profession.
The four-part sequence, merely titled Robbie Williams, sees the “Angels” and “Let Me Entertain You” singer present commentary as he watches footage from the early Nineties proper by means of to the 2010s, showcasing his stratospheric rise to fame and the quite a few obstacles he confronted as a consequence of his melancholy and dependancy struggles.
“As people, no one likes images of themselves and nobody likes listening to their very own voice, so in case you multiply that by watching your self endure with psychological sickness, breakdowns, alcoholism, melancholy, agoraphobia, you’re in a tortuous headlock the place you’re compelled to look at the automobile crash in slo- mo,” the singer tells The Unbiased. He wryly provides: “It’s alright – it’s gonna work out for me.”
Williams, 49, described making the documentary as “traumatic”, including: “I hope it’s for the viewer too.” In reality, to psych himself up for the shoot, which came about in his bed room, the singer got here up with a brand new track, the lyrics of which go: “Trauma watch, trauma watch, come and watch me have a trauma watch.”
Within the Nineties, when the Stoke-on-Trent-hailing Williams efficiently launched into a solo profession after leaving boyband Take That, he achieved what, on paper, each musician would think about the top: record-breaking success that led to him matching UK chart information beforehand held by Elvis Presley, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. Nevertheless, he was struggling internally and, as a consequence of being “field workplace” within the eyes of tabloids, what ought to have been occurring behind shut doorways discovered its method onto the entrance pages.
“It’s very tough for individuals to grasp the psychology of this nice reward that has been given to you however but it’s breaking you,” Williams defined. “So far, psychological well being was talked about differently. It was very complicated for individuals who went, ‘All he’s gotta do is stand up a sing one other track. Give him a nudge or else we’ll lose all the cash.’ What ought to have occurred is, ‘Get in a automobile, we’ll simply go get higher.’ But it surely didn’t and it’s OK, ‘trigger I lived to inform the story. It makes life’s tapestry richer, I suppose.”
One element that was omitted from the docmentary is an incident that noticed Williams, in his personal phrases, “slash my very own wrists”. Williams will get onto this topic following a query on whether or not he has contacted Lewis Capaldi within the wake of the singer’s determination to postpone all dates after changing into overcome by Tourette’s tics throughout a Glastonbury 2023 set. Williams says he has.
“There’s nothing attractive about taking a knife and slashing your personal wrists, which I did. I keep in mind within the Nineties, once I tried to speak about what was occurring with me, I used to be berated and belittled and instructed to tug my socks up. What that does is isolate you much more. I do know celebs are celebs, however they’re individuals too.”
When requested to make clear his feedback about self-harming, Williams instructed reporters: “The rationale I say that’s to qualify that individuals are individuals. Whether or not they’re on MAFS [Married at First Sight] or in Martin Scorsese’s new movie, we higher watch out how and what we accuse individuals of or say what we consider them with regards to their very own psychological sicknesses. I haven’t had a drink for twenty-four years and I haven’t completed medicine for a decade or so. There’s a motive individuals cease: as a result of they’re in hell.”
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The documentary shines a highlight on Williams’s fractured relationships with key figures from totally different chapters of his life: his former Take That bandmate Gary Barlow, his ex-girlfriend Geri Halliwell and songwriter Man Chambers, with whom he loved big success till they parted methods in 2002. I ask whether or not he consulted with any of them forward of, throughout or after manufacturing.
“No, as a result of legally I didn’t need to,” he replied. Nevertheless, he says “with regards to the biopic [the forthcoming Better Man, directed by The Greatest Showman’s Michael Gracey], “I’ve needed to have chats there, yeah, and they’re uncomfortable. The chats have been uncomfortable. For sure, when the biopic was being made, there have been a number of c***s in that movie. Now there’s just one – it’s me.”
When it comes to regrets, there’s one which rests on the forefront of Williams’s thoughts: the panned track “Rudebox”, which was the title observe from his divisive 2006 album.
“I believe what occurred with that album is, for the primary time, I used to be having actual, correct enjoyable making a report. There was no skilled enterprise about it and it was foolish and filled with humour and I believed, ‘Individuals are going to like this ‘trigger I’m being me for the primary time.’ I ought to have put it out third and defined correctly: ‘It’s daft, I do know! I’m not attempting to be a grime artist – let’s all snigger collectively!’
He says “the most important cringe level” for him within the documentary “is once I clarify to an viewers which might be about to take heed to ‘Rudebox’ for the primary time that that is going to be the most important single since ‘Angels’.”
Making the documentary has additionally been a time for Williams to be notably introspective about his fame. “Individuals began filming me once I was 16 they usually by no means stopped,” he says, including: “I don’t f***Ing know why; I didn’t ask them to.” He additionally says he’s “not a musician”, however “an entertainer who writes some songs”, and believes that, if he was a teen immediately, he’d in all probability have “grow to be a content material creator” as an alternative of one of many nation’s greatest pop stars.
Nonetheless, he’s completely happy together with his lot, and could be very a lot conscious of the extent of his success. “What I’ve completed is the equal of stretching an elastic band from Stoke to Mars with regards to my abilities and the place I’ve discovered myself. And I’ve bought essentially the most quantity ones within the UK ever: The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Elvis and me – that wasn’t alleged to f***ing occur. And I say that in a method like I’m as dumbfounded as anyone else.”
Williams has additionally been fortunately married to Ayda Subject since 2010, and the couple have 4 youngsters, one among whom, 11-year-old daughter Teddy, seems within the documentary. However, whereas he says his psychological well being is “higher than it ever was”, he “refused” to present Netflix producers the catharsis they desired for the ultimate episode.
“I believe that was the narrative, advert the final day was 5 hours of them attempting to get that out of me. I used to be like, ‘That’s not how I f***ing really feel!’ I do know for the final 4 weeks, I’ve been out of the headlock and been having a very nice time, however who is aware of what occurs. I’m not bi-polar, however there’s a type of semi-bipolaresque component to my psychological well being. Some days good, some days unhealthy – however it’s higher than it ever was within the Nineties and in the beginning of this century.”
‘Robbie Williams’ will likely be launched on Netflix on 8 November.
In case you are experiencing emotions of misery and isolation, or are struggling to manage, The Samaritans presents help; you possibly can converse to somebody without cost over the telephone, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), e-mail jo@samaritans.org, or go to the Samaritans web site to search out particulars of your nearest department.
You can too contact the next organisations for help: actiononaddiction.org.uk, mind.org.uk, nhs.uk/livewell/mentalhealth, mentalhealth.org.uk.