Former bad boy Robbie Williams has gone all saintly - but has he found the woman who will give him a child?
You're dating All Saints' star Nicky Appleton. Getting to the stage where you want to settle down?
I want a kid! Last year I found myself getting really broody - it was a major thing for me. I've deliberately tried to calm myself down because eventually I want to be a good role model to my kids. I've been there, seen it and done it and if my kids want to have a go at it, then fine, I'll be able to talk to them about it. I've even written a song called If I Ever Have A Son
Why do they call you Sir Bonk-a-lot?
The thing about drugs and sex is that you lose all your inhibitions. I've had sex in trains, planes, wine bars... and quite a few car parks!
So you've slept around a bit?
Yeah, I'm a bit of a slag. I think to myself:'Well, I'm young.' Some people don't think it's very nice but I don't care. I'm 24, I've got hormones, and sex is there, so why not? Sex is good. Everybody does it, and everybody should!
Who's the most important woman to you?
My mum, Jam. She's my best friend and I'd die without her. If I mess up again, she'll go: 'Well come on, let's start again from today.'
Did you turn to your mum, a drugs counsellor, when things were hardest?
Yeah, definitely. It's fantastic, because normally I suppose people's parents wouldn't understand. They'd go: 'Oh you can't do that. You've got an excellent career, you're f***ing that up!' If you say that to somebody they're going to go: 'I can't take it. I'll take some more drugs.' It's not the way to handle things. You need to hear: 'Okay, you've got a problem. Let's sit down and talk about it, let's chat about you.' No matter how caned I got, I never lost sight of how much my mum means to me, and things are great between us now.
How crazy did you get?
Well, I lost the plot for about a year after leaving Take That. I went out on New Year's Eve and told my mum I'd only be out for the night. But I moved in with someone in London and I year later I returned to my mum's on New Year's Day with my overnight bag, and said: 'That was some party, Mum.'
You look fit - are you on a diet?
Yeah, I've been watching what I eat. When I was putting on all the weight, I was drinking Guinness and not eating. I didn't have room to because I was drinking all the time. The weight also piled on after I left Take That because I stopped dancing.
Early experience of getting drunk?
The second time I got drunk I was 14. All the tellies in the house were smashed, my sidned Muhammad Ali picture was destroyed and I couldn't remember a second of any of it!
Is it true that you took acid for the first time, half an hour before your RE GCSE?
I knew I hadn't a hope in hell of passing it, so I thought: 'This is a laugh. How can I make it even more of one?' I was tripping all the way through. It was great! 'Why was Jesus refused entry into Nazareth?' Because he wasn't wearing a shirt and tie. 'What did Peter say when he was baptised?' Glug glug. I realise now this was a very bad idea.
Do you stay in touch with your old mates from home?
I lost contact with them a bit when I was busy with Take That. Whenever I bumped into them, some would go: 'Now you think you're a star and too good for us!' It wasn't like that at all but they'd never understand my situation. I feel like I'm always having to justify why I haven't kept in touch with anyone from the old days in Stoke-on-Trent, but I'm like that with anybody. I don't let anybody in. I just rely on myself.
So are you a bit of a loner?
Yeah. It's been exactly the same since I was a kid. I live alone and it's good. You just need to have a bit of patience sometimes. I stick on a video, watch telly. I am a bit lonely sometimes, but I laugh at my own jokes and dance around by myself when I'm making something to eat. I'd like to do a bit more reading maybe. I've tried, but somehow I just can't get into that book thing yet. I'll keep on trying, though.
Eva Magazine, 18th March 1998