Robbie Williams
Robert Peter Maximillian Williams was born on 13th February, 1974 in Stoke-on-Trent.
Robbie Williams was the first member of Take That to leave the band. In the summer of 1995 he set out to pursue a solo career.
Initially, Robbie Williams was not a massive success. But his single "Angels", released Christmas 1997, saw his popularity shoot up.
Since then he has released a range of successful albums featuring huge hit singles: "I've Been Expecting You" contained "Millennium", "Strong", "No Regrets" and "She's the one"; "Sing When Your Winning" included "Escapology"; and the live album "What We Did Last Summer". Robbie also released a cover album of classic songs, "Swing When Your Winning".
Escapology, the fifth Robbie Williams album was successful in Europe, but failed in America.
Williams followed up with Intensive Care and by November 2005, the BBC were reporting that Robbie Williams had sold the most albums of anyone in the UK in the 21st Century.
The trend continued in October 2006, when Robbie Williams's album Rudebox went straight to the top of the album charts.
The recent biography 'Feel' revealed regarding Robbie Willams's celebrity conquests:
"'I did look in the FHM Top 100 women list once,' he says, 'and there were 15 of them.'
"'Did that make you feel good or bad?'
"'At the time it actually made me feel bad. Now it's just funny. It was like Pokemon with me at one point. You've gotta catch 'em all.'"
This Guardian profile of Robbie Williams provides a good basic account of his life.
In February 2007, Robbie Williams was admitted into a rehab clinic to be treated for a dependency on prescription drugs. Williams has had a history of problems with drugs and alcohol, but in 2004 he claimed to have given then up as they made him too fat.
As at 2007, Robbie Williams shares the most number one albums in the UK with David Bowie.