Robbie Williams has admitted that he deliberately “chose to be Bruce Wayne in Los Angeles” while remaining “Batman everywhere else”, a metaphor he used to describe his career and fame — especially the very different levels of recognition he enjoys in the United States compared with the UK and Europe.
The former Take That singer is now gearing up for the release of his 13th studio album, BRITPOP, on February 6, after postponing the launch to avoid a chart clash with Taylor Swift’s The Life Of A Showgirl last October. In a candid chat on BBC Radio 2’s Scott Mills Breakfast Show, Williams reflected on his years in the spotlight and why he ultimately stepped back from trying to “crack America”.
@bbcradio2 “I’m realising exactly how 16 I am” 😅 @scottmills in conversation with Robbie Williams | Watch now on our YouTube channel ✨ #robbiewilliams #scottmillsbreakfastshow ♬ original sound - BBC Radio 2
Williams told the presenter that his early attempts to break the US market coincided with a period of personal struggle: “I gave up on it very quickly. I got to America and I was promoting an album, and I was ill, I was mentally ill, and I was an addict and an alcoholic…” He said that before long he reconsidered whether fame in the States was something he truly wanted, and ultimately chose a life where he could enjoy anonymity in Los Angeles, while still being a huge cultural figure elsewhere.
That distinction has deep roots in his career. Robbie Williams’s solo singles have never broken into the top 50 of the US Billboard Hot 100, with Angels peaking at No. 53, a modest showing by American charts standards. But in the UK, his success is immense: he has scored seven Number One singles, and all but one of his 14 studio albums has reached No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart.
Williams also made headlines last year when the soundtrack to his biopic Better Man became his 15th UK No.1 album, tying him with The Beatles for the most UK chart-topping albums ever by an artist — a staggering achievement that places him firmly among the nation’s greatest musical exports.
Worldwide, Robbie Williams has sold more than 75 million records, with his albums performing incredibly well in markets like the UK, Europe and Australia. Some of his most successful records include Greatest Hits (2004), which debuted at No.1 in 18 countries and remains one of his best-selling releases, and Escapology (2002), which also topped charts across Europe and sold millions of copies.
Apart from chart success, Williams has also enjoyed enormous accolades. He’s won a record 18 Brit Awards, including multiple Best British Male Artist titles, and was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame after being voted the Greatest Artist of the 1990s — a testament to both his commercial dominance and cultural impact.
In addition to music, Williams has ventured into film with the biopic Better Man, though that project has struggled in the US box office — underscoring just how elusive mainstream American popularity has been for him.
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".
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.
Currently, Robbie Williams holds the joint record with The Beatles for most UK number one albums with 15 each. He is known for hit singles, Angels, Rock DJ, Millennium and She's The One.
Robbie Williams has admitted that the release date for his new album, 'BRITPOP' was delayed in order to avoid clashing with Taylor Swift's 'The Life Of A Showgirl'.
Last month, the former Take That singer confirmed that his album, which was originally fixed for release on October 10 2025, a week after Swift's album, had been pushed back to February 2026.
Confirming this news in a statement, fans received this email: “Due to scheduling changes ‘BRITPOP’ will now be released on February 6 2026. Your order will be dispatched in line with the new release date. Apologies for any inconvenience caused, we promise it will be worth the wait". More on this here.
Performing at a live show in London recently, Robbie Williams played his new album in full, before admitting that the album release date was delayed to accommodate Taylor Swift's 'The Life Of A Showgirl'.
“We’re all pretending it’s not about Taylor Swift, but it f****** is. You can’t compete with that” Williams told the audience. “Here’s the truth: I want 16 Number One albums. Taylor then decided to put her album out the same weekend as me".
“I was like, ‘For f***** sake! I’ll put it out the next week’, and they were like, ‘She does these other deluxe versions’. I was like, ‘F****** hell! Can I put it out the week after that then?’ They were like, ‘Oasis might be around then’… ‘For fuck’s sake! Let’s do it in fucking February when no one’s got an album out’".
He continued: “I was worried about making you all fucking wait, and then I was like, ‘F*** it! I want a 16th Number One album!’ I’m sorry, but I’m fucking being selfish. How many times in your life do you get to have the most Number One albums the UK’s ever f***** had?”.
