Robbie Williams thrilled in Vienna

Robbie Williams has finally arrived on the meta-level: Nine years after his last studio album and half a year after his biopic "Better Man," the Britpop star thrilled around 50,000 people at Vienna's Happel Stadium as part of his current tour. A humorously delivered best-of of songs from the past 28 years whetted the appetite for the album "Britpop" to be released in the fall. The 51-year-old let it be known: "I am the king of entertainment!"

Robbie Williams: First Studio Album Since 2016 Coming in Fall

Robbie Williams is a phenomenon. After causing a sensation following his departure from the British boy band Take That in the late 1990s and early 2000s, he has withdrawn more and more over the past ten years. The last studio album with new songs was released in 2016 under the title "The Heavy Entertainment Show," and in 2022, "XXV" was an orchestrally recorded best-of of the greatest hits for the 25th anniversary, accompanied by a tour.

The new album "Britpop" is announced for this fall. In the winter, Williams attracted attention with an idiosyncratic film biography called "Better Man," in which he was portrayed by a monkey. While the film was highly praised by critics, the approximately 110 million US dollar (around 94 million euro) expensive film failed at the box office. The film grossed only 22.5 million dollars (around 19.3 million euros) worldwide.

From "Rocket" to "Angels"

But that bothered the approximately 50,000 visitors at the Ernst-Happel-Stadium little. The concert was sold out months in advance, with tickets in the highest regular category costing well over 200 euros. With the powerful opener "Rocket" - a single precursor for the upcoming album - the 51-year-old got the crowd boiling under hard guitar riffs and immediately followed up with the 1997 evergreen "Let Me Entertain You" from his debut album "Life Thru a Lens."

"My name is Robbie Williams, this is my band and this is my ass," the singer greeted his Vienna fans. "Michael Jackson once decided to be the King of Pop. So I am the King of Entertainment," said Williams at the beginning of his two-hour show, in which he repeatedly involved his fans in the front rows.

Robbie Williams in Vienna

After a medley "to warm up the vocal cords," which included the Bon Jovi hit "Livin' on a Prayer," Williams sent a lot of emotion into the stadium with the ballad "Monsoon" and summed up his lifestyle from 2002: "I'm here to make money and get laid."

Excitement arose in the somewhat cheaper seats when Williams strolled from the main stage to a smaller stage in the middle of the stadium during the gentle "Road to Mandalay" ("Coldplay had a C-stage, I wanted that too"), where he performed hits like "Supreme" or "Relight my Fire" - a song from the biopic "Better Man," in which he covered the eponymous Take That hit.

With hits like "Millennium" or "Come Undone," the show continued on the main stage before concluding after two hours with the mega-ballads "Feel" and "Angels." Those who couldn't get tickets this time have another chance to experience Robbie Williams on September 14 in Klagenfurt.

(By Sonja Harter/APA)

(APA/Red)

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