On the press confernce the day before he played the cute parvenu and enfolded the reporters flown in to Paris from all over Europe, while the cover artwork of his first solo album was emblazoned overpowering across the background.
Today the ex Take That dancer Robbie Williams, who was perhaps just sacked from the biggest boyband of all times because he has too much talent and too much humor, today he holds an audience on the sunny terrace of his Parisian hotel. And lets his heart speak, somehow.
A true profi and a damn nice guy he is, Robbie, who tells his opposite: " The performance yesterday on the press conference was pure insecurity. To cover it up, I spread an aura of arrogance around me. That's partly because I don't really know who I am. Without applause I can't exist. I define myself through the feedback from the audience. That's like a mirror, in which I can see myself. And of course, I want to be pleased when I look in this mirror. My god! I'm almost 24 now and with every year I'm getting more addicted to applause."
That he can get, the applause. 'Life Thru A Lens' is a solid britpop album, and it's more important than any other britpop album in the last months because there appears someone like a author on it. Someone who could truly ask 'D'you know what I mean?', in contrast to his friends from Oasis. Although Robbie tries to pretend that he just wants to entertain us. But that is no contradiction it's just the solution of all problems.
A great Vaudevill-artist is this young man, who willingly fulfills all demands of the entertainment business, just to dig below the surface with his songs. The song 'Angels' for example sounds like it's written by Elton John and because of that it shall be released at christmas. It's a song about angels but it describes the abscence of love. Like the album altogether. " I wouldn't know how to write a song about love" says Robbie. " That's something that's complete alien to me. I know what lust is but I have never loved in my life."
Which brings us to the topic pop and illusions: In Take That Robbie had to play the chaste boy but now he's allowed to have something like sexuality. Ergo at his show at the 'Elysee Montmatre' his hips were next to his voice the most strained parts of his body. Does he live out now the sexuality the management forbid for many years ? " Of course, Take That were asexuell. But although we weren't allowed to show sexuality on stage - after the show I seldom walked home alone. Today I show off my sexuality on stage then I go to the hotel and play backgammon. On stage I'm the animal but in reality I'm chaste. In the past it was different."
Someone like Robbie is there for everyone, his life is also ours. Eventually we know everything of him. "Not true. What was written about me was just the tip of the iceberg. Perhaps the secret files of Robbie Williams will be published some day - you wouldn't believe how big they would be! I've gone through extremes and I didn't leave out one single drug. First alcohol, then coke and at last the harder drugs. Eventually I saw it: the big nothing. I wouldn't want to recommend to take the substances I took but it helped me to realise what I really want. Even tough it almost killed me."
By Christian Buss
Translated and typed by Chris, thanx mate!