"All of my memorable moments from touring New Zealand revolved around my extracurricular activity." Robbie Williams says. Photo / Supplied
Sitting in a dimly lit room with a publicist within earshot, Williams, 48, made it clear that although it's been almost three decades since his first solo debut, he is still the cheeky British singer we know and love. He is relaxed, chatty, and comfortable in his own skin after years of life-saving sobriety.
"I'm comfortable in talking about my discomfort in the world," he says of his ability to be vulnerable with his fans, "Nothing's changed, and nothing will."
Williams shot to fame in 1990 with the hit pop group, Take That, leaving after five years to pursue a solo career. The headline-making move paid off for the pop icon who landed his first number one single in September 1998 with the hit Millennium.
No Regrets quickly followed and by the year 2000, the star had had three number one hits, and three top five singles. He had become a pop sensation and 32 years later, he still is.
It's his music that has transcended time, maybe even more so than his persona but Williams admits that writing songs still comes with its challenges.
"My most successful songs are about sadness and depression so sometimes I just have to revisit those places to get another hit." Having been sober for 20 years now, the singer admits his music is a constant reminder of both his addiction and his recovery.
Although it's taxing to revisit those dark times he admits he does so with the belief that his greatest hits come with vulnerability.
"Nothing that I've ever done is subtle." Robbie Williams jokes. Photo / Supplied
He says his eldest daughter, Teddy, 9, adores him. She thinks he is the best thing since Elvis Presley and while he shrugged it off as a passing comment the parallels are actually surprising. Like Presley, Williams is genuine in his deep love for his fans, his obsession with performing and an insatiable quest for gratification.
He's a self-proclaimed narcissist and says every lyric he has written is about him in one way or another, "It's all autobiographical, it's all narcissistically about me," he laughs, confessing his latest album is no different.
XXV, the tile which is a play on his 13th studio album is a collection of his greatest hits over the past 27 years. It was meant to be 25, but Williams cites Covid as disrupting those plans.
"I had to rerecord 25 vocals. I don't know if you've ever listened to your own voice but it's enough to drive you mad. So if you're in a vocal booth for five hours a day for two and a half weeks listening to yourself sing songs with lyrics that are literally a diary from 1997 it's taxing but the end result is worth it," Williams says.
The infamous star chuckles when he reveals this album is different from his others, "Yeah it's not subtle in any way, but nothing that I've ever done is subtle."
He has recorded his greatest hits including Rock DJ, Angels and Let Me Entertain You with the 50-piece Metropole Orkest orchestra and is wants everyone to hear it live, including his Kiwi fans.
"I know that I'm going on tour next year and if New Zealand isn't on our tour schedule I'll be demanding to know why."
Williams says his inspiration for the album came from his wife Ayda Field who he married in 2010 and their four children Teddy, Charlie, 7, Coco, 3, and Beau, 2.
"When the kids arrived and when the wife arrived, they gave me purpose. They're a muse to everything that I do, from here on in and time in memorial, my life has a purpose because of them."
The party days are a distant memory for the 18-time Brit Award winner and according to Williams he can't think of anything worse than reliving those days. "I've been out, I've had enough of it, and now I want to stay in with my family."
However, time doesn't slow down and a new generation is emerging. Williams reveals that while he would like to stay in and away from the spotlight, his eldest daughter, Teddy, is ready to take his crown.
"Teddy is running towards it with reckless abandonment. She doesn't completely get the nuance of why she shouldn't be famous as a 9-year-old. She just thinks I'm being mean but like I can then show her later on - I can say, show me any child star that isn't a complete nut bag, and now you can thank me."
Robbie Williams performs at Western Springs in Auckland in 2003. Photo / Derek Flynn
For with age comes wisdom and Williams knows all too well the price some pay for fame and relevance. With a Netflix doco on the way for fans in the coming year, the popstar is revisiting those moments.
"There's a four-part documentary happening about me on Netflix which I'm very grateful to have,"
"I've also got a biopic coming out and TV shows and all sorts." As for what fans can expect from the vulnerable projects, Williams stays true to his comfortable being uncomfortable mantra.
"If you like people oversharing about their demons and oversharing about absolutely everything else, then I'm your man."
Robbie Williams' 13th studio album XXV is available now.
