Documentary series about Robbie Williams: "Too much, too soon"
Robbie Williams once rose to fame as a member of the boy band Take That. After leaving the band, the British singer became one of Europe's most popular pop stars, whose success surpassed that of his former bandmates.
But behind the façade of the superstar with the mischievous grin, who thrilled tens of thousands of people in soccer stadiums, was a man plagued by self-doubt and mental problems. In a new Netflix documentary series "Robbie Williams", the 49-year-old gives a very intimate insight into his soul and private life.
"As an artist, or rather as a celebrity who gives interviews, I reveal a lot about myself all the time," says Williams in an interview with Deutsche Presse-Agentur in London, grinning. "That's because I'm not clever enough not to." The four-part series is "a continuation of what I do publicly anyway", he says, "which is to share far too much of myself."
Archive material from three decades
For the documentary, he had himself filmed while watching and commenting on several hours of archive footage from the last 33 years at home - usually in bed. From early dance exercises on the garage driveway to vacation videos, footage of photo shoots, from the studio or backstage area, old interviews and concert recordings, there is a lot to see.
The amount of footage is impressive. From the age of 16, when he became a member of Take That, a camera was constantly rolling. "I don't know why," says Williams himself, somewhat surprised. "I didn't question it. It was just normal. There were no instructions from me to the management that people had to film me every hour of the day." However, he sometimes filmed himself, apparently as an outlet in difficult moments.
Panic attack in front of 90,000 spectators
He experienced "too much, too soon", Williams sums up in the series and is often self-critical. In some recordings, he says, he found it difficult to relive the moments, such as when he suffered a panic attack during a gigantic concert in front of 90,000 people in Leeds. He managed to hide his condition from the audience. But in the close-up you can see that he was not well. Despite this, he was back on stage the next evening in front of 90,000 people.
It is well known that this - and the constant, aggressive criticism from the British tabloid press - had a negative impact on his mental health. Williams suffered from burnout and depression, drank too much alcohol and took too many pills.
He suffered a relapse just as he met his current wife Ayda. "I had a feeling that maybe it would be best if I left this world," admits Williams. Thanks in part to Ayda, with whom he now has four children, he got his act together.
Relationships, break-ups, reconciliations
The singer speaks openly about his failed relationships with his colleagues Nicole Appleton from All Saints and Geri Halliwell (now Horner) from the Spice Girls. He talks about the break-up with his long-time musical partner Guy Chambers, with whom he reconciled. "We spoke briefly about the break-up, but I don't remember how that went," he jokes. "We're friends."
Chambers is not the only one with whom the superstar had fallen out at times. Scenes in which he insults his former Take That colleagues - especially Gary Barlow - make Williams noticeably uncomfortable. "I wish I hadn't said that," he admits with a pained expression. But as we all know, Take That had a happy ending. "They're my brothers," he says. "I really love them."
The temporary return to the band was also "a vital step" in getting to where he is now. "I didn't realize at the time what impact it would have," Williams says in the dpa interview. "I was full of anger, bitterness, resentment and frustration. And I got rid of all that, it was buried." He was also grateful to be able to "hide" on stage next to the other four band members.
Entertaining and a little nostalgic
One small shortcoming of the series is that no one apart from Robbie Williams himself and his wife Ayda gets a chance to speak, apart from old interviews. It would have been interesting and exciting to hear the views of Gary Barlow, Guy Chambers, Geri Halliwell or others involved, which would have rounded off the overall picture. Nevertheless, the four episodes are very entertaining and a little nostalgic thanks to the countless archive recordings.
For Robbie Williams himself, the series, which is now being launched on Netflix, had a "cleansing" effect, as he says. However, when asked how he is feeling mentally today, he thinks for a moment. "The last four weeks have been really good. But I don't know why," says the singer. "I'll be 50 next year and I hope I can finally leave behind a lot of the things that aren't good for me."
Then Williams flashes his trademark grin again. "But for anything to change, you have to change yourself. And I'm a bit lazy when it comes to looking after my own mental health."
Source: www.dpa.com
