Robbie Williams is on course to make UK chart history once again, with his surprise album BRITPOP set to become his 16th UK Number One — a feat that would see him overtake The Beatles’ long-standing record.
The singer released BRITPOP unexpectedly last Friday, marking his 13th solo studio album and catching fans off guard after the project had originally been scheduled for October 2025. Williams later confirmed that the release was pushed back to avoid clashing with Taylor Swift’s then-forthcoming album The Life Of A Showgirl, a decision he revealed during an intimate London performance last autumn.
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BRITPOP - THE NEW ALBUM - OUT NOW
♬ original sound - Robbie Williams
According to Official Charts midweek data, BRITPOP is currently leading the race for the top spot ahead of releases from Madison Beer, Sleaford Mods, and Nathan Evans & SAINT PHNX. If the album holds its position when the final chart is announced on Friday, January 23, Williams will secure his 16th UK Number One album, moving him ahead of The Beatles, who hold 15.
The achievement would further cement Williams’ status as one of the most commercially successful British artists of all time. He matched the Fab Four’s record just last year thanks to the chart-topping soundtrack to Better Man, the biographical film inspired by his life and career. Reacting to that milestone at the time, Williams said: “What a huge honour it is to get my 15th UK Number One album. A special thank you to all my fans, whose support I never take for granted.”
Williams’ chart dominance spans more than two decades, beginning with Life Thru a Lens in 1997 and continuing through albums such as Sing When You’re Winning, Escapology, Rudebox and The Heavy Entertainment Show. Few artists have managed to maintain such consistent chart power across changing musical eras.
BRITPOP itself has been positioned as a bold, celebratory record, nodding to British pop culture while reinforcing Williams’ reputation for theatrical, crowd-pleasing anthems. The surprise nature of the release appears to have fuelled fan enthusiasm, translating into strong early sales and streaming figures.
Should Williams officially claim the Number One later this week, the record will mark yet another defining chapter in a career already packed with chart history, sold-out tours and industry accolades — and will see him surpass arguably the most iconic band in British music history.
Robbie Williams has said that he will "ride again" with Take That, as well as revealing that he has another five solo albums on the horizon.
The singer is to release new album 'Britpop' in February, his first record since 2019, before adding that a further five albums are in the offing.
Williams made these comments while speaking to The Scott Mills Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2, where he was asked if he would return for Take That's revival of The Circus Live Tour, which originally took place in 2009.
Williams, who last toured with the band on their Progress Live Tour in 2011, said: "Would I return to Take That to do the Circus again? I did love it last time. Not right now. I’m sure we will ride again, but it’s not in my plans right now".
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The singer added that the tour's original line up of himself, Gary Barlow, Jason Orange, Howard Donald and Mark Owen had tempted him back to the band.
"Gaz (Barlow) came round to the house in Los Angeles and he had a copy of the show, and he played it me and I just stood, literally stood, didn’t sit, stood and watched it spellbound", he stated.
He continued: "Loved it, and I was like, 'I want back in’, and then the boys are redoing the Circus tour, and it’s a great idea and, you know, it’s caught everybody’s imaginations and the tickets are doing incredibly well. It got me thinking, I was like, ‘maybe I’ll do the Knebworth show".
Elsewhere, Williams chatted about his solo career, where he said he has embraced a new genre on the follow up record to Britpop, which he said would be released "soon".
"I’m doing an album for me, me. I don’t know if anybody would like it at all but I’m doing it for me, me, the next one…
"Listen, I’ve got five in the chambers, I’m ready…", he added. "I’m ready to go, I want to work, I want to go out there, I want to be at it. I’m still incredibly ambitious and I love my work and I love working".
Robbie Williams was an original member of Take That, before leaving in 1995 to pursue a solo career. He went on to achieve a huge run of number one records, following his debut number one, Life Thru A Lens in 1997.
