Robbie Williams has become the British artist with the most UK Number One albums, usurping The Beatles previous record of 15 across their career as a band. New release ‘BRITPOP’, his first solo studio album since 2019, stormed into the charts in first place, further securing his place in British music history.
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Williams first rose to prominence with boy band Take That, formed in 1990. He joined the band at the age of just 16, going on to have a string of number one hits and number one albums, before he struck an iceberg. He had developed serious substance abuse problems, and was struggling with the hierarchy neglecting his input in the songwriting process. In 1995, he was pressured into leaving the band due to his behaviour, and after a run of partying and trying to break free from the record label contracts binding his future, he began releasing solo music in 1996.
Debut solo album ‘Life Thru A Lens’, was a serious statement of intent, only managing 11th in the chart on its first week, but going on to spend 2 weeks at number one, and 147 weeks in the chart since its 1997 launch. Other singles ‘Old Before I Die’ and ‘Let Me Entertain You’ were big hits in their own right, but the fourth single ‘Angels’, became the biggest song of Williams’ career to date by both sales and streamed plays.
From there, Robbie became the biggest pop sensation of the 90s, through to much of the early 2000’s. His charismatic “bad boy” image and diverse assortment of songs made him a superstar both at home and abroad. The only albums in his catalogue not to reach UK Number Album were 2009’s ‘Reality Killed The Video Star’ and 2003 live album ‘Live At Knebworth’, both of which peaked in second place.
‘BRITPOP’ released on the 16th of January, with a selection of guests and collaborators. Single ‘Rocket’ featured Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi, and Gaz Coombes of Supergrass lent his talents to several songs. Most interesting is the participation of Take That main man Gary Barlow, whose feud with Williams was responsible for his 1995 exit. They have since mended their relationship, with Robbie rejoining the band for number one album ‘Progress’ in 2010.
Now with his 13th studio album, Robbie Williams is feeling on top of the world again. In a video he shared with the Official Charts Company, he reflected on a career of highs and lows, and how much his dedicated fans have meant to him over his lifetime. He said “You have given me a life and saved my life at the same time”. Elsewhere in the feature, he expressed gratitude for the album, saying “’BRITPOP’ is the album I always wanted to make, and seeing it become my 16th number one album means everything to me”. As well as this, in an interview with the BBC, he celebrated his sobriety, joking that he and wife Ayda Field would celebrate the chart success with “a Coke Zero and a salad”.
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Including his live and compilation albums, this gives Robbie Williams the record for most number one albums, above The Beatles, the biggest band of all time by most metrics. Interestingly, when you put his Take That numbers in the mix, he has 21 total number one albums, second only to former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney, who has 23 across all of his endeavours. Robbie Williams heartening story comes at an exciting time for the UK’s Official Album Chart, which celebrates its 70th anniversary this July.
