Minogue and Williams released “Kids” in 2000; the duet was co-written by Williams and his writing partner Guy Chambers. The single originated from Williams and Minogue’s initial stages of their partnership; the two first started to work together when Minogue asked Williams to write music for her album Light Years. During the songwriting process, the two singers felt the creative chemistry between themselves and decided to turn “Kids” into a duet rather than a solo track for Minogue. The two later worked together the following year; Williams lent his writing talents to Minogue in 2001 when he co-wrote the track “Your Disco Needs You“.

During a recent appearance on Fox FM, Williams alluded to a reunion with the certified pop princess. The 48-year-old singer stated, “I need to ask her, maybe I should do that on this radio station right here, right now. Kylie, please come and sing with me. I’d love it if you did.” When pressed for more information, the “Let Me Entertain You” singer said, “I cannot confirm or deny [but] I will be singing a song that isn’t a Robbie Williams song. I’ll just put that out there.” Williams has also been vocal in his reactions to the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, the singer took to social media to post a tribute to the 96 year old monarch.

I am truly saddened at the passing of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. She represented Britain around the world with poise and strength – my thoughts are with the Royal Family and all who loved her. pic.twitter.com/kvCgas86aL

— Robbie Williams (@robbiewilliams) September 9, 2022

This week saw Williams make a recent return to the UK charts; the multiple Brit award-winning artist released XXV on 9th September 2022. The compilation album was released via Columbia Records and serves to commemorate the singer’s 25th anniversary as a solo artist. The album is the singer’s tenth greatest hits LP and comes with a twist on the format; the release contains re-worked, re-recorded and orchestrated renditions of the singer’s most beloved tracks from his long and storied solo career. The album contains many reimagined songs, including an XXV version of Williams’ fourth solo single, “Angels” the new version was released as XXV’s lead single on 7th June 2022.

My new album XXV is out September 9th, celebrating 25 years as a solo artist. Available on CD, cassette & 2LP vinyl – click the link to pre-order now x https://t.co/6H7tHeWYuH pic.twitter.com/DclexJHLYq

— Robbie Williams (@robbiewilliams) June 21, 2022

Recent data released via the UK official charts confirmed that Williams’ new album could reach the top of the album charts. The singer’s thirteenth studio album is outselling the rest of the top 10 albums combined and is tipped to become the UK’s number one album. If it continues to sell well, XXV will become Williams’ fourteenth solo number one album in the UK. The Stoke on Trent native first broke into the charts as a solo artist with his debut album, Life Thru A Lens; the album was released on 29th September 1997. The album marked a sharp re-direction from his boyband days and saw Williams adopt the Britpop sound, which was prominent during the 90s.

Have that.https://t.co/ldY1kcuZys pic.twitter.com/LOAtMfuOTU

— HECK (@abandcalledHECK) September 2, 2022

HECK’s history has been no stranger to publicity in the few years they were in the public eye. In 2015, the group were sued by Japanese film company Toho over their original band name, “Baby Godzilla”. Obviously, it’s hard to argue the case when they own the copyright to a character literally called “Baby Godzilla” (or Godzilla Junior in a few places, but the point remains the same) so they became HECK to avoid the lawsuit causing any real damage. Once the change settled, they released their debut LP Instructions. The album was particularly reminiscent of early Dillinger Escape Plan, or even some more grindcore-esque names like Napalm Death. But the timeline didn’t extend much farther than that. The split came the following year, and no one really knows why.

The band’s return this time around seems to have come with even less chatter than the previous. “It means the damn world that so many of you are still here for this band. Thank you for your patience. Smashing will resume this Friday. Big love to one and all.” Reads the band’s returning statement for 2000 Trees. After 5 years off, the wordless surprise return goes to show that some things aren’t really meant to change. No answers. All we can do at this point is hope that some more information comes to light. Why did they go? Why are they back? Does this mean there’s new music? Will we hear it? We may never know.

We may never go beyond what we have here. Odd one-off shows popping up every now and then. The prospect of new music seems to have been squashed after nothing new was even alluded to at the previous show. Maybe things will change.