It's good to see you looking so well..
Yeah, I'm feeling great at the moment. But I'm taking
each day as it comes.
How have you managed to lose weight so quickly?
Easy, I just stopped drinking and the pounds fell
off.
Your new album, Life Thru A Lens, is about to come
out. Will you read all the reviews?
Well, it will be interesting just to see what musical
pigeonhole people try to put me in. The music is a big change
from Take That. People may have difficulty liking it because it's
me, but I love what I have done. (Gives big Robbie grin.) It's
fantastic.
Your lyrics on the album are at times painfully honest,
especially Clean (about coming off drink and drugs) and Ego A
Go Go (about people on star trips). Don't you want to keep anything
private?
My lyrics are really personal but that's just the
way I write. Anyway, so much of my private life is on display,
why should I worry? Then again there are times when I think I
should be more guarded about what I say to people. When I was
in Take That everything was controlled and we were very careful
about what we did and said. I'm not like that now, you may have
noticed!
Your song One Of God's Better People is all about
your mum. How did she react when you first palyed it to her?
(Rob takes a big gulp of his coffee.)Erm...(long
pause and then with wobbly voice)...she cried. It meant a lot
to her.
Last time we spoke, you said you were lucky because
the newspapers had been kind to you. So what changed?
Well, I've had a problem, that's obvious. The papers
wrote about my problem, but only The Mirror turned on me. I used
to do a lot of people-pleasing when it came to the press, I thought
if I gave everybody an exclusive then they'd all love me. That's
not how it works. Some people don't like me, others will. It doesn't
concern me, it used to, but not any more. The important thing
is that I'm not a bad person, I just had a problem.
So what was your problem?
The problem was me, it wasn't the drink and drugs,
they were a symptom. It's the same with any addiction, like an
eating obsession, it's not the food that is the problem but the
person. So I checked into rehab to sort my head out. I've learnt
to be comfortable with myself and I feel proud of what I've done.
What made you seek help?
I just decided that the time was right. Nobody credits
me with any sense because I'm Robbie the funny man, but I decided
something was wrong. I made that decision. Sometimes I wonder
though, how many times I can step in it. I think there'll be a
new term in the dictionary soon, 'to do the Robbie'. It'll mean
when everything goes arse-up and you put your foot in it constantly,
ha ha!
Do you ever take anything seriously? You recently
emerged from your court case with former manager Nigel Martin-Smith
cracking jokes...
I do have a serious side and being in court is serious,
but money is money, that's all. I saved my serious side for a
bit of deep thinking in my car on the way back from court. The
thing is, if a funny thing pops into my head, I have to say it.
It's how I deal with things. I have so much rubbish in my life
at the moment that if I let it ride to the top, I'd be lost. So
I let things wash over me. It's like, 'Oh, someone else is suing
me. Oh well.'
So what's the truth about you and Anna Friel?
She's a good mate and still is, despite what the
papers say. For a time we were both vulnerable, we both needed
support and gave it to each other. But there was no bitter breakup
and now we have a really good friendship.
TOTP, September,1997