Attempting hip hop for the first time, Williams was met with confusion upon the release of the track. He has now shared his embarrassment surrounding “Rudebox” in his new 4-part Netflix documentary.

Williams said, “My biggest regret is putting that out as the first single. If I’d have put it out third and explained properly [that] it’s daft – I know! I’m not trying to be a grime artist. I know it’s daft.”

He continued, “In the documentary, the biggest cringe point for me is explaining to an audience who are about to listen to ‘Rudebox’ for the first time that this is gonna be the biggest single since ‘Angels’. Then I had another thought about it, that it’s my second most important single because ‘Angels’ gave me the career and ‘Rudebox’ heralded the end of my imperial phase. So in a way I was right, but not in the way I wanted to be.”

The documentary series, simply titled Robbie Williams, explores the highs and the lows of Williams’ career since his debut with boy band Take That in 1990. Williams addresses many hot topics throughout, including his relationship with Geri Haliwell, also known as Ginger Spice of The Spice Girls, and his feud with bandmate Gary Barlow.

The show also touches on the raw topic of mental health struggles, with Williams candidly sharing his history of self-harm and depression. He opened up saying, “Thank God mental health is being talked about in a different way. I read something that triggered me, somebody talking about ‘celeb washing’ of mental illnesses. And celebs making mental health issues sexy.”

He continued, “[people] need to be careful about what we say and how we say it.”

“It felt like, every day, I would read in print what an abhorrent person I was.”

Robbie Williams opens up on his battles with the media. pic.twitter.com/ZQD2g9fE7J

— Netflix UK & Ireland (@NetflixUK) November 12, 2023

The series has already received rave reviews, with fans sharing their opinions on social media.  

The Robbie Williams doc was compelling. Two things stood out. 1. Robbie is a self aware, genuine and decent man. 2. The British press are fucking scum. They’ve driven many of Britain’s best and most talented people to despair, suicide and addiction. They need to be stopped. — Supertanskiii (@supertanskiii) November 12, 2023

Robbie Williams documentary on Netflix – hats off to him for being so open and honest, owning his own shit and somehow finding a way through the madness of superstardom. But what the tabloids tried to do to him was absolutely appalling. #RobbieWilliamspic.twitter.com/aHWTisepRu

— James Melville (@JamesMelville) November 11, 2023

Watch Robbie Williams on Netflix now.

The 12-inch vinyl was listed for sale on eBay, with bids reaching £7,100 before its removal from the website. The listing received over 80 bids, with tracks now having been shared online without permission.

Speaking to The Sun, an unnamed source commented, “It is unclear how someone got hold of this vinyl but they shouldn’t sell it. The contents should never have been made public and it is unfair to the group to have these unfinished songs shared, as it is against their wishes.”

Fans are guessing that the tracks may have been scrapped from the album titled Forever, released in 2000. The newly leaked tracks do not feature Geri Halliwell, also known as Ginger Spice, who controversially left the group in 1998.

The previously unheard songs include “Woman”, “Too Hot” and “Go Go Go”, with these not being the first tracks that The Spice Girls have seen released without their permission.

In December 2022, a track provokingly titled “C. U. Next Tuesday” was uploaded online following a security breach, with band member Mel C (also known as Sporty Spice) commenting, “C.U. Next Tuesday was never used because it’s a pile of shit. It would be a big rip-off if Virgin put it on a greatest hits album now.”

Another unnamed source spoke to The Sun regarding this track, saying, “The Spice Girls are all at a very different place in their lives now than they were when this song was first written as a tongue-in-cheek track in the Nineties. It is obviously a bit embarrassing given the cringeworthy title, as they wouldn’t use the c-word in their own lives.”

The source continued, “It is a bit of a mystery how on earth it has got out but they aren’t going to dwell on it. The group have other projects they are looking forward to in 2023 so are focusing on them and hoping this song — which they were never particularly fond of — is forgotten.”

The group (minus Victoria Beckham a.k.a Posh Spice) reunited for a sell-out stadium tour back in 2019, with fans eagerly awaiting their next moves.

It was rumoured that the band would reunite for Glastonbury Festival, however Mel C said in January that those plans “no longer fit the girls.”

Mel C has given fans hope for a full-blown reunion in the future though, with this one including Victoria Beckham, who hasn’t performed with The Spice Girls since the 2012 London Olympics.

Speaking to NME, Mel C shared, “Of course we had incredible stadium shows in 2019. And you know, there’s definitely a bit of fomo for [Beckham], so I’m a big optimist. We were all at Geri’s 50th a couple of months back and Victoria was the first one on the dance floor requesting Spice Girls songs,” ultimately giving the fans hope that they’ll be able to spice up their lives soon.