name	Billy Joel
background	solo_singer
birth name	William Martin Joel
alias	Bill Joel,Bill Martin
birth date	May 09, 1949
birth place	The Bronx, New York City,
origin	Hicksville, New York,
instrument	Vocals, piano, guitar, harmonica, keyboard, accordion, organ, melodica, clavinet, percussion, harpsichord
genre	Rock, pop, jazz, classical
occupation	Singer-songwriter, pianist
years active	1964–present
label	Columbia,Family Productions,Famous Music,Sony Classical
associated acts	Echoes,The Hassles,Attila,Elton John,Bruce Springsteen
website
notable instruments	Piano }}

William Martin "Billy" Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man," in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to the RIAA.

Joel had Top 40 hits in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s; achieving 33 Top 40 hits in the United States, all of which he wrote himself. He is also a six-time Grammy Award winner, a 23-time Grammy nominee and has sold over 150 million records worldwide. He was inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame (1992), the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1999), the Long Island Music Hall of Fame (2006) and the Hit Parade Hall of Fame (2009). In 2008, ''Billboard'' magazine released a list of the Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists to celebrate the US singles chart's 50th anniversary, with Joel at No. 23. With the exception of the 2007 single "All My Life," Joel discontinued recording new material after 1993's ''River of Dreams'' but continues to tour.

Early life

Joel was born in The Bronx and raised in Hicksville, New York. His father, Howard (born Helmuth), was born in Germany, the son of German merchant and manufacturer Karl Amson Joel who, after the advent of the Nazi regime, emigrated to Switzerland and later to the United States. Billy Joel's mother, Rosalind Nyman, was born in England to Philip and Rebecca Nyman. Both Joel's parents were Jewish. They divorced in 1960, and his father moved to Vienna, Austria. Billy has a sister, Judith Joel, and a half-brother, Alexander Joel, who is an acclaimed classical conductor in Europe, currently chief musical director of the Staatstheater Braunschweig.

Joel's father was an accomplished classical pianist. Billy reluctantly began piano lessons at an early age, at his mother's insistence; his teachers included the noted American pianist Morton Estrin and musician/songwriter Timothy Ford. His interest in music, rather than sports, was a source of teasing and bullying in his early years. (He has said in interviews that his piano instructor also taught ballet. Her name was Frances Neiman, and she was a Juilliard trained musician. She gave both classic piano and ballet lessons in the studio attached to the rear of her house, leading neighborhood bullies to mistakenly think he was learning to dance.) As a teenager, Joel took up boxing so that he would be able to defend himself. He boxed successfully on the amateur Golden Gloves circuit for a short time, winning twenty-two bouts, but abandoned the sport shortly after having his nose broken in his twenty-fourth boxing match.

Joel attended Hicksville High School, class of 1967. However, he did not graduate from Hicksville. Due to playing at a piano bar, he was one English credit short of the graduation requirement; he overslept on the day of an important exam, owing to his late-night musician's lifestyle. He left high school without a diploma to begin a career in music. "I told them, 'to hell with it. If I'm not going to Columbia University, I'm going to Columbia Records and you don't need a high school diploma over there'." Columbia did, in fact, become the label that eventually signed him. In 1992, he submitted essays to the school board and was awarded his diploma at Hicksville High's annual graduation ceremony—25 years after he had left.

Music career

Early career

Upon seeing The Beatles on ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' in 1964, Joel decided to pursue a full-time musical career, and set about finding a local Long Island band to join. Eventually he found the Echoes, a group that specialized in British Invasion covers. The Echoes became a popular New York attraction, which convinced him to leave high school to become a professional musician. He began playing for the Echoes when he was 14 years old.

Joel began playing recording sessions with the Echoes in 1965, when he was 16 years old. Joel played piano on several recordings produced by Shadow Morton, including (as claimed by Joel, but denied by songwriter Ellie Greenwich) the Shangri-Las' ''Leader of the Pack'', as well as several records released through Kama Sutra Productions. During this time, the Echoes started to play numerous late-night shows.

Later, in 1965, the Echoes changed their name to the Emeralds and then to the Lost Souls. For two years, Joel played sessions and performed with the Lost Souls. In 1967, he left that band to join the Hassles, a Long Island band that had signed a contract with United Artists Records. Over the next year and a half, they released ''The Hassles'' in 1967, ''Hour of the Wolf'' in 1968, and four singles, all of which failed commercially. Following The Hassles' demise in 1969, he formed the duo Attila with Hassles drummer Jon Small. Attila released their eponymous debut album in July 1970, and disbanded the following October. The reason for the group's break-up has been attributed to Joel's affair with Small's wife, Elizabeth, whom Joel eventually married.

''Cold Spring Harbor''

Joel signed his first solo record contract with Artie Ripp's Family Productions, and subsequently recorded his first solo album. ''Cold Spring Harbor'' (a reference to the Long Island town of the same name), was released in 1971. However, Ripp mastered and released the album at the wrong speed, resulting in Joel's voice sounding a semitone too high. In addition, the onerous terms of Ripp's Family Productions contract also guaranteed Joel very little money from the sales of his albums.

Popular cuts such as "She's Got a Way" and "Everybody Loves You Now" were originally released on this album, although they did not gain much attention until released as live performances in 1981 on ''Songs in the Attic''. Since then, they have become favorite concert numbers. ''Cold Spring Harbor'' gained a second chance on the charts in 1984, when Columbia reissued the album after slowing it down to the correct speed. The album reached #158 in the US and #95 in the UK nearly a year later. ''Cold Spring Harbor'' caught the attention of Merrilee Rush ("Angel of the Morning") and she recorded a femme version of "She’s Got a Way (He’s Got a Way)" for Scepter Records in 1971.

Joel gigged locally in New York City in the fall of 1971 and moved out to Los Angeles early in 1972, adopting the stage name ''Bill Martin''. While in California he did a six month gig in The Executive Room piano bar on Wilshire Boulevard. It was there he composed his signature hit "Piano Man" about the various patrons of the lounge. Subsequently he toured with his band members (Rhys Clark on drums, Al Hertzberg on guitar, and Larry Russell on bass) until the end of June 1972 throughout the US and Puerto Rico, opening for headliners such as J. Geils Band, The Beach Boys and Taj Mahal. At the Mar y sol festival in Puerto Rico, he electrified the crowd and got a big boost for his career.

In addition Philadelphia radio station WMMR-FM started playing a tape of a new song of Joel's, "Captain Jack", taken from a live concert. It became an underground hit on the East Coast. Herb Gordon, an executive of Columbia Records, heard Joel's music and made his company aware of Joel's talent. Joel signed a recording contract with Columbia in 1972 and moved to Los Angeles. He lived there for three years (and has since declared that those three years were a big mistake), returning to New York City in 1975.

Early Columbia years: 1973–1976

Joel's experiences in Los Angeles connected him with record company executives, who bought out his contract with Ripp under the condition that the Family Productions logo be displayed alongside the Columbia logo for the next ten albums. There was a stipulation that Family Productions would receive a 25-cent royalty for every album Joel sold. The stand-out track for ''Piano Man'' was the title track, which, despite only making it to #25 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, stands as Joel's signature song (he ends nearly all of his concerts with it).

The touring band changed as well in 1973. Don Evans replaced Al Hertzberg on guitar, and Patrick McDonald took over the bass position previously held by Larry Russell, and was then replaced in late 1974 by Doug Stegmeyer, who remained with Billy until 1989. Rhys Clark returned as drummer, Tom Whitehorse on banjo and pedal steel and then Johnny Almond on sax and keyboards rounded out the band. Billy's infectious spirit and talent galvanized the band into a tight performing unit, touring the U.S. and Canada extensively and appearing on the popular music shows of the day. Joel's songwriting was now attracting more attention; Helen Reddy recorded "You're My Home" (from ''Piano Man'') in 1974.

Joel remained in Los Angeles to write ''Streetlife Serenade'', his second album on the Columbia label. It was around this time that Jon Troy, an old friend from the New York neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant, acted as Joel's manager although he would soon be replaced by Joel's wife Elizabeth. References to both suburbia and the inner city pepper the album.

The stand-out track on the album is "The Entertainer", a #34 hit in the U.S. which picks up thematically where "Piano Man" left off. Joel was upset that "Piano Man" had been significantly edited down to make it more radio-friendly, and in "The Entertainer," he refers to the edit with sarcastic lines such as "If you're gonna have a hit, you gotta make it fit, so they cut it down to 3:05", alluding to shortening of singles for radio play, as compared with the longer versions that appear on albums. Although ''Streetlife Serenade'' is often considered one of Joel's weaker albums (Joel has confirmed his distaste for the album), it nevertheless contains some notable tracks, including the title track, "Los Angelenos" and the instrumental "Root Beer Rag", which was a staple of his live set in the '70s and was resurrected frequently in 2007 and 2008. ''Streetlife Serenade'' also marks the beginning of a more confident vocal style on Joel's part.

In late 1975, he played piano and organ on several tracks on Bo Diddley's ''The 20th Anniversary of Rock 'n' Roll'' all-star album.

Disenchanted with the L.A. music scene, Joel returned to New York in 1976. There he recorded ''Turnstiles'', for which he used his own hand-picked musicians in the studio for the first time, and also adopted a more hands-on role. Songs were initially recorded at Caribou Ranch with members of Elton John's band, and produced by famed Chicago producer James William Guercio, but Joel was dissatisfied with the results. The songs were re-recorded in New York, and Joel took over, producing the album himself.

The minor hit "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" echoed the Phil Spector sound, and was covered by Ronnie Spector (in a 2008 radio interview, Joel said he does not perform "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" in his live shows anymore because it is in too high a key and "shreds" his vocal cords.) The album also featured the song "New York State of Mind", a bluesy, jazzy epic that has become one of Joel's signature songs, and which was later covered by fellow Columbia labelmates Barbra Streisand, on her 1977 ''Streisand Superman'' album, and as a duet with Tony Bennett, on his 2001 ''Playing with My Friends: Bennett Sings the Blues'' album. Other songs on the album include "Summer, Highland Falls", "Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)" and "Say Goodbye to Hollywood", which became a Top 40 hit in 1981 in a live version. Songs such as the powerful "Prelude/Angry Young Man" has become a mainstay of his concerts.

''The Stranger'' and ''52nd Street''

For ''The Stranger'', Columbia Records teamed Joel with producer Phil Ramone. The album yielded four Top-25 hits on the ''Billboard'' charts in the US: "Just the Way You Are" (#3), "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" (#17), "Only the Good Die Young" (#24), and "She's Always a Woman" (#17). Album sales exceeded Columbia's previous top-selling album, Simon & Garfunkel's ''Bridge Over Troubled Water'', and was certified multi-platinum. His first-ever Top Ten album, it reached #2 on the charts. Ramone subsequently produced every Billy Joel studio release up to ''Storm Front'', initially released in 1989. This album also featured "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant", an album-oriented rock classic, which has become one of his best-known songs.

''The Stranger'' netted Joel Grammy nominations for Record of the Year and Song of the Year, for "Just the Way You Are", which was written as a gift to his wife Elizabeth. He received a late night phone call to his hotel room in Paris (he was on tour) in February 1979, letting him know he had won in both categories.

Joel faced high expectations on his next album. ''52nd Street'' was conceived as a day in Manhattan, and was named after the famous street of same name which hosted many of the world's premier jazz venues and performers throughout the 1930s, 40s, and 50s. Fans purchased over seven million copies on the strength of the hits "My Life" (#3), "Big Shot" (#14), and "Honesty" (#24). This helped ''52nd Street'' become Joel's first #1 album. "My Life" eventually became the theme song for a new US television sitcom, ''Bosom Buddies'', which featured actor Tom Hanks in one of his earliest roles. The album won Grammys for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male and Album of the Year. ''52nd Street'' was the first album to be released on compact disc when it went on sale alongside Sony's CD player CDP-101 on October 1, 1982, in Japan.

Despite the publicity photos and album cover showing Joel holding a trumpet, he does not play the instrument on the album, though two tracks on the album do feature some well-known jazz trumpeters. Freddie Hubbard plays two solos on "Zanzibar" and Jon Faddis joins Michael Brecker and Randy Brecker in the horn section for "Half a Mile Away".

In 1979, Joel travelled to Havana, Cuba, to participate in the historic Havana Jam festival that took place between March 2–4, alongside Rita Coolidge, Kris Kristofferson; Stephen Stills, the CBS Jazz All-Stars, the Trio of Doom, Fania All-Stars, Billy Swan, Bonnie Bramlett, Mike Finnegan, Weather Report, plus an array of Cuban artists such as Irakere, Pacho Alonso, Tata Güines and Orquesta Aragón. His performance is captured on Ernesto Juan Castellanos's documentary ''Havana Jam '79''.

Early 1980s

The success of his piano-driven ballads like "Just the Way You Are," "She's Always a Woman" and "Honesty" never sat well with Joel, as many critics were quick to slap the "balladeer" tag on him. With ''Glass Houses'', he attacked the new wave popularity with aplomb and delivered several harder-edged songs custom made for the live shows in arenas and stadiums he was by then playing almost exclusively. The front cover consisted of Joel's real-life modern glass house. The album spent 6 weeks at #1 on the Billboard chart and yielded such hits as "You May Be Right" (used as the theme song, covered by Southside Johnny, for the CBS mid-90s sitcom ''Dave's World'') (#7, May 1980), "Close To The Borderline" (B-side of the "You May Be Right" single), "Don't Ask Me Why" (#19, September 1980), "Sometimes a Fantasy" (#36, November 1980) and "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me", which became Joel's first Billboard #1 song (for two weeks) in July 1980. "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me" spent 11 weeks in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 and was the 7th biggest hit of 1980 according to American Top 40. ''Glass Houses'' won the Grammy for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male. It would also win the American Music Award for Favorite Album, Pop/Rock category. The album's closing song, "Through The Long Night", (B-side of the "It's Still Rock & Roll to Me" single) was a lullaby that featured Joel harmonizing with himself in a song he says was inspired by The Beatles' "Yes It Is."

His next release, ''Songs in the Attic'', was composed of live performances of less well-known songs from the beginning of his career. It was recorded during larger US arenas and intimate night club shows in June and July 1980. This release introduced many fans, who discovered Joel when ''The Stranger'' became a smash in 1977, to many of his earlier compositions. The album reached #8 on the ''Billboard'' chart and produced two hit singles: "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" (#17), and "She's Got a Way" (#23). It sold over 3 million copies. Though not as successful as some of his previous albums, the album was still considered a success by Joel.

The next wave of Joel's career commenced with the recording of ''The Nylon Curtain''. Considered his most audacious and ambitious album by many critics, and cited by Joel himself to the present day as his favorite of his works, Joel took more than a page or two from the Lennon/McCartney songwriting style on this heavily Beatles-influenced album.

Work began on ''The Nylon Curtain'' in the fall of 1981. Joel was sidelined when he was involved in a serious motorcycle accident on Long Island on April 15, 1982, which delayed the completion of the album a few weeks. Joel embarked on a brief tour in support of the album, during which his first video special, ''Live from Long Island,'' was recorded at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York on December 30, 1982.

''The Nylon Curtain'' went to #7 on the charts, partially due to heavy airplay on MTV for the videos to the singles "Allentown" and "Pressure". "Allentown" spent six weeks at a peak position of #17 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, making it one of the most-played radio songs of 1982, pushing it into 1983's year-end Top 70, and making it the most successful song from ''The Nylon Curtain'' album, besting "Pressure". which peaked at #20 (where it resided for three weeks) and "Goodnight Saigon" which reached #56 on U.S. charts.

Christie Brinkley, ''An Innocent Man'', and ''The Bridge''

The song "Uptown Girl" was one of the first songs written when Joel returned from vacation. Many believe that "Uptown Girl" was about supermodel Christie Brinkley, whom he started dating during the song's creation (the music video also included Brinkley). However, Michael Heatley and Frank Hopkinson in their book, ''The Girl In The Song'', speculate that it was actually about model Elle Macpherson, his future missus Christie, and a then-unknown model/singer named Whitney Houston, who were staying at the same hotel as he. On November 16, 2010, during an interview on the Howard Stern Show on Sirius Radio, Billy Joel stated that the song was originally called "Uptown Girls" and that he had started to write the melody of the song around the same time he was dating Macpherson. Joel said when he started to write the lyrics, the song was only about Brinkley, "...rather than it be about all these different girls, she (Brinkley) became the "Uptown Girl" and I started writing about one person...so they (Heatley/Hopkinson) got the story wrong." The song became a worldwide hit upon its release, #3 in the U.S. and Joel's sole #1 in the United Kingdom.

The resulting album, ''An Innocent Man'', was compiled as a tribute to the rock and roll music of the 1950s and 1960s, and also resulted in Joel's second ''Billboard'' #1 hit, "Tell Her About It", which was the first single off the album in the summer of 1983. The album itself reached #4 on the charts and #2 in UK. It also boasted 6 top-30 singles, the most of any album in Joel's catalog. At the time the album came out that summer, WCBS-FM began playing "The Longest Time" both in regular rotation and on the ''Doo Wop Shop.'' Many fans wanted this to be the next single released in the fall, but that October, "Uptown Girl" would be released, peaking at #3 and ranking at #20 on Billboard's 1983 Hot 100 year-end chart. Also, the James Brown-inspired song "Easy Money" would be featured in the 1983 Rodney Dangerfield film of the same name.

In December the title song, "An Innocent Man", would be released as a single and would peak at #10 in the U.S. and #8 in the UK, early in 1984. That March, "The Longest Time" would finally be released as a single, peaking at #14 on the Hot 100 and #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart. That summer, "Leave a Tender Moment Alone" would be released and hit #27 while "Keeping the Faith" would peak at #18 in January 1985. In the video for "Keeping the Faith", Christie Brinkley also plays the "redhead girl in a Chevrolet". ''An Innocent Man'' was also nominated for the Album of the Year Grammy, but lost to Michael Jackson's ''Thriller''.

Joel would participate in the USA For Africa ''We Are The World'' project in 1985, capping off a series of successful singles for Joel.

Following the success of ''An Innocent Man'', Joel had been approached to release an album of his most successful singles. This was not the first time this topic had come up, but Joel had initially considered "Greatest Hits" albums as marking the end of one's career. This time, he agreed, and ''Greatest Hits Vol. 1 and 2'' was released as a 4-sided album and 2-CD set, with the songs in sequence of when they were released. The new songs "You're Only Human (Second Wind)" and "The Night Is Still Young" were recorded and released as singles to support the album; both reached the top 40, peaking at #9 and #34, respectively. ''Greatest Hits'' was highly successful and has since been certified double diamond by the RIAA for over 10.5 million copies (21 million units) sold. To date it is the sixth best selling album in American music history according to the RIAA.

Coinciding with the ''Greatest Hits'' album release, Joel released a 2-volume ''Video Album'' that was a compilation of the promotional videos he had recorded from 1977 to the present time. Along with videos for the new singles off the ''Greatest Hits'' album, Joel also recorded a video for his first hit, "Piano Man", for this project.

Though it broke into the Top Ten, ''The Bridge'' was not a success in relation to some of Joel's other albums, but it yielded the hits "A Matter of Trust" and "Modern Woman" from the film ''Ruthless People'', a dark comedy from the directors of ''Airplane!'' (both #10). In a departure from his "piano man" persona, Joel is shown in its video playing a Les Paul-autographed Gibson guitar. The ballad "This is the Time" also charted, peaking at #18, and has been a favorite on the prom circuit ever since. The reason "Modern Woman" has been left off many of Joel's compilation sets (the exception appears to be ''My Lives'') is that he has since said in interviews he does not care for the song.

On November 18, 1986, an extended version of the song "Big Man On Mulberry Street" was used on a Season 3 episode of ''Moonlighting''. The episode itself was also titled "Big Man on Mulberry Street." In a dream sequence, Maddie Hayes envisions David Addison with his ex-wife. An extra horn solo was added to the song. ''The Bridge'' was also Joel's last album to carry the Family Productions logo, finally severing his ties with Artie Ripp. Joel has also stated in many interviews, most recently in a 2008 interview in ''Performing Songwriter'' magazine, that he does not think ''The Bridge'' is a good album.

Shortly after The Bridge tour ended in late 1987, Joel completed voice work on Disney's ''Oliver & Company,'' released in 1988, a loose adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel ''Oliver Twist.'' Joel brought both his acting and musical talents to the film as Dodger. For the film, Joel recorded a song titled "Why Should I Worry?" Critics were generally positive toward the film, and pointed to Joel's acting contribution as one of its highlights, despite it being his first acting job. In interviews, Joel explained that he took the job due to his love of Disney cartoons as a child.

The Russia trip

In October 1986, Joel and his handlers started planning a trip to the Soviet Union. He would be one of the first American rock acts to play there since the Berlin Wall went up, a fact not lost on history buff Joel. There would be live performances at indoor arenas in Moscow, Leningrad and Tbilisi. Joel and his family (including young daughter Alexa) and his full touring band made the trip in August 1987. The entourage was filmed for television and video to eventually offset the cost of the trip, and the concerts were simulcast on radio around the world.

Most of that audience took a long while to warm up to Joel's energetic show, something that never had happened in other countries he had performed in. According to Joel, each time the fans were hit with the bright lights, anybody who seemed to be enjoying themselves froze. In addition, people who were "overreacting" were removed by security.

The album ''КОНЦЕРТ'' (Russian for "Concert") was released in October 1987. Singer Peter Hewlitt was brought in to hit the high notes on his most vocally challenging songs, like "An Innocent Man." Joel also did versions of The Beatles' classic "Back in the U.S.S.R." and Bob Dylan's "The Times They Are a-Changin'". It has been estimated that Joel lost more than $1 million of his own money on the trip and concerts, but he has said the goodwill he was shown there was well worth it.

''Storm Front'' and ''River of Dreams''

The release of the album ''Storm Front'' coincided with major changes in Joel's career and inaugurated a period of serious upheaval in his business affairs. In August 1989, just before the album was released, Joel fired his manager (and former brother-in-law) Frank Weber after an audit revealed major discrepancies in Weber's accounting. Joel subsequently sued Weber for $90 million, claiming fraud and breach of fiduciary duty and in January 1990 he was awarded $2 million in a partial judgement against Weber; in April, the court dismissed a $30 million countersuit filed by Weber.

The first single for the album "We Didn't Start the Fire", was released in September 1989 and it became Joel's third and most recent US #1 hit, spending two weeks at the top; it was also Billboard's second-last #1 single of the 1980s. ''Storm Front'' was released in October, and it eventually became Joel's first #1 album since ''Glass Houses'', nine years earlier. ''Storm Front'' was Joel's first album since ''Turnstiles'' to be recorded without Phil Ramone as producer. For this album, he wanted a new sound, and worked with Mick Jones of Foreigner fame. Joel also revamped his backing band, firing everyone, save drummer Liberty DeVitto, guitarist David Brown, and saxophone player Mark Rivera, and bringing in new faces, including talented multi-instrumentalist Crystal Taliefero. ''Storm Front'''s second single, "I Go to Extremes" made it to #6 in early 1990. The album was also notable for its song "Leningrad", written after Joel met a clown in the Soviet city of that name during his tour in 1987, and "The Downeaster Alexa", written to underscore the plight of fishermen on Long Island who are barely able to make ends meet. Another well-known single from the album is the ballad "And So It Goes" (#37 in late 1990). The song was originally written in 1983, around the time Joel was writing songs for ''An Innocent Man''; but "And So It Goes" did not fit that album's retro theme, so it was held back until ''Storm Front''. Joel said in a 1996 Masterclass session in Pittsburgh that ''Storm Front'' was a turbulent album and that "And So It Goes," as the last song on the album, portrayed the calm and tranquility that often follows a violent thunderstorm.

In the summer of 1992, Joel filed another $90 million lawsuit against his former lawyer Allen Grubman, alleging a wide range of offenses including fraud, breach of fiduciary responsibility, malpractice and breach of contract but the case was eventually settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.

Joel started work on ''River of Dreams'' in 1992 and finished the album in early 1993. Its cover art was a colorful painting by Christie Brinkley that was a series of scenes from each of the songs on the album. The eponymous first single was the last top 10 hit Joel has penned to date, reaching #3 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 & ranking at #21 on ''Billboard'''s 1993 year-end Hot 100 chart. In addition to the title track, the album includes the hits "All About Soul" (with Color Me Badd on backing vocals) and "Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)", written for his daughter, Alexa. A radio remix version of "All About Soul" can be found on ''The Essential Billy Joel'' (2001), and a demo version appears on ''My Lives'' (2005). The song "The Great Wall of China" was written about his ex-manager Frank Weber and was a regular in the setlist for Joel's 2006 tour. "2000 Years" was prominent in the millennium concert at Madison Square Garden, December 31, 1999, and "Famous Last Words" closed the book on Joel's pop songwriting for more than a decade.

1994–2007

On August 25, 1994, Joel and second wife Christie Brinkley divorced. On December 31, 1999, Joel performed at New York's Madison Square Garden. At the time, Joel said that it would be his last concert. The concert (dubbed The Night of the 2000 Years) ran for close to four hours and was later released as ''2000 Years: The Millennium Concert''.

1997's "To Make You Feel My Love" and "Hey Girl" both charted from Joel's ''Greatest Hits Volume III'' album. Joel wrote and recorded the song "Shameless" that was later covered by Garth Brooks and reached number 1 on Billboard's country charts. Joel performed with Brooks during his Central Park concert in 1997 with an estimated 980,000 people in attendance, the largest audience to attend a U.S. concert.

In 2001, Joel released ''Fantasies & Delusions'', a collection of classical piano pieces. All were composed by Joel and performed by Richard Joo. Joel often uses bits of these songs as interludes in live performances, and some of them are part of the score for the hit show ''Movin' Out''. The album topped the classical charts at #1. Joel performed "New York State of Mind" live on September 21, 2001, as part of the America: A Tribute to Heroes benefit concert, and on October 20, 2001, along with "Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)", at the Concert for New York City in Madison Square Garden. That night, he also performed "Your Song" with Elton John.

In 2005, Columbia released a box set, ''My Lives'', which is largely a compilation of demos, b-sides, live/alternate versions and even a few Top 40 hits. The compilation also includes the Umixit software, in which people can remix "Zanzibar", "Only the Good Die Young", "Keepin' The Faith", and live versions of "I Go to Extremes" and "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" with their PC. Also, a DVD of a show from the ''River of Dreams'' tour is included.

On January 7, 2006, Joel began a tour across the United States. Having not written, or at least released, any new songs in 13 years, he featured a sampling of songs from throughout his career, including major hits as well as obscure tunes like "Zanzibar" and "All for Leyna". His tour included an unprecedented 12 sold-out concerts over several months at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The singer's stint of 12 shows at Madison Square Garden broke a previous record set by New Jersey native Bruce Springsteen, who played 10 sold-out shows at the same arena. The record earned Joel the first retired number (12) in the arena owned by a non-athlete. This honor has also been given to Joel at the Wells Fargo Center (Philadelphia) (formerly the Wachovia Center) in Philadelphia where a banner in the colors of the Philadelphia Flyers is hung honoring Joel's 46 Philadelphia sold-out shows. He also had a banner raised in his honor for being the highest grossing act in the history of the Times Union Center (formerly the Knickerbocker Arena and Pepsi Arena) in Albany, New York. This honor was given to him as part of the April 17, 2007, show he did there. On June 13, 2006, Columbia released ''12 Gardens Live'', a double album containing 32 live recordings from a collection of the 12 different shows at Madison Square Garden during Joel's 2006 tour.

Joel visited the United Kingdom and Ireland for the first time in many years as part of the European leg of his 2006 tour. On July 31, 2006, he performed a free concert in Rome, with the Colosseum as the backdrop. Organizers estimated 500,000 people turned out for the concert, which was opened by Bryan Adams.

Joel toured South Africa, Australia, Japan, and Hawaii in late 2006, and subsequently toured the Southeastern United States in February and March 2007 before hitting the Midwest in the spring of 2007. On January 3 of that year, news was leaked to the ''New York Post'' that Billy had recorded a new song with lyrics—this being the first new song with lyrics he'd written in almost 14 years. The song, titled "All My Life", was Joel's newest single (with second track "You're My Home", live from Madison Square Garden 2006 tour) and was released into stores on February 27, 2007. On February 4, Joel sang the national anthem for Super Bowl XLI, becoming the first to sing the national anthem twice at a Super Bowl. and on April 17, 2007, Joel was honored in Albany, New York, for his ninth concert at the Times Union Center. He is now holding the highest box office attendance of any artist to play at the arena. A banner was raised in his honor marking this achievement.

On December 1, 2007, Joel premiered his new song "Christmas in Fallujah." The song was performed by Cass Dillon, a new Long Island based musician, as Joel felt it should be sung by someone in a soldier's age range. The track was dedicated to servicemen based in Iraq. Joel wrote it in September 2007 after reading numerous letters sent to him from American soldiers in Iraq. "Christmas in Fallujah" is only the second pop/rock song released by Joel since 1993's ''River of Dreams''. Proceeds from the song benefitted the Homes For Our Troops foundation.

2008–present

On January 26, 2008, Joel performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra celebrating the 151st anniversary of the Academy of Music. Joel premiered his new classical piece titled, "Waltz No. 2 (Steinway Hall)". He also played many of his less well-known pieces with full orchestral backing, including the rarely performed ''Nylon Curtain'' songs "Scandinavian Skies" and "Where's the Orchestra?".

On March 10, 2008, Joel inducted his friend John Mellencamp into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in a ceremony at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City. During his induction speech, Joel said:

Joel's staying power as a touring act continues to the present day. He sold out 10 concerts at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut from May to July 2008. Mohegan Sun honored him with a banner displaying his name and the number 10 to hang in the arena. On June 19, 2008, he played a concert at the grand re-opening of Caesars Windsor (formerly Casino Windsor) in Windsor, Ontario, Canada to an invite-only crowd for Casino VIPs. His mood was light, and joke-filled, even introducing himself as "Billy Joel's dad" and stating "you guys overpaid to see a fat bald guy." He also admitted that Canadian folk-pop musician Gordon Lightfoot was the musical inspiration for "She's Always A Woman".

On July 16, 2008, and July 18, 2008, Joel played the final concerts at Shea Stadium before its demolition. His guests included Tony Bennett, Don Henley, John Mayer, John Mellencamp, Steven Tyler, Roger Daltrey, Garth Brooks, and Paul McCartney. McCartney ended the show with a reference to his own performance there with the Beatles in 1965, the first major stadium concert of the rock and roll industry. The concerts were featured in the 2010 documentary film ''Last Play at Shea''. The film was released on DVD on February 8, 2011. The CD from the show was released on March 8, 2011.

On December 11, 2008, Joel recorded his own rendition of "Christmas in Fallujah" during a concert at Acer Arena in Sydney and released it as a live single in Australia only. It is the only official release of Joel performing "Christmas in Fallujah", as Cass Dillon sang on the 2007 studio recording and the handful of times the song was played live in 2007. Joel sang the song throughout his December 2008 tour of Australia.

On May 19, 2009, Joel's former drummer, Liberty DeVitto, filed a lawsuit in NYC claiming Joel and Sony Music owed DeVitto over 10 years of royalty payments. DeVitto has never been given songwriting credit on any of Joel's songs, but he claims that he helped write some of them. In April 2010, it was announced that Joel and DeVitto amicably resolved the lawsuit.

2011 Re-Releases

2011 marks the 40th anniversary of the release of Joel's first album, ''Cold Spring Harbor.'' According to Billy Joel's website, in commemoration of this anniversary, "Columbia/Legacy Recordings will celebrate the occasion with a definitive reissue project of newly restored and expanded Legacy editions of the complete Billy Joel catalog, newly curated collections of rarities from the vaults, previously unavailable studio tracks and live performances, home video releases and more." The website's press release also mentions that the album ''Piano Man'' will be re-released in a Legacy edition in 2011. During these shows, the two have played their own songs, each other's songs and performed duets. They grossed over US $46 million in just 24 dates in their sold out 2003 tour. Joel and John resumed the Face to Face tour in March 2009 and it ended again, at least for the time being, in March 2010. In February 2010, Joel denied rumors in the trade press that he canceled a summer 2010 leg of the tour, claiming there were never any dates booked and that he intended to take the year off. Joel told ''Rolling Stone'' magazine: "We’ll probably pick it up again. It’s always fun playing with him."

Other ventures

In 1996, Joel merged his long-held love of boating with his desire for a second career. He formed, with Long Island boating businessman Peter Needham, the Long Island Boat Company.

In November 2010, Joel opened a shop on Oyster Bay, Long Island to manufacture custom-made, retro-styled motorcycles and accessories.

In 2011, Joel announced that he was releasing an autobiography that he had written with Fred Schruers, titled ''The Book of Joel: A Memoir''. The book was originally going to be released in June 2011, but in March 2011 Joel decided against publishing the book and officially cancelled his deal with HarperCollins. ''Rolling Stone'' noted, "HarperCollins acquired the book project for $3 million in 2008. [However,] Joel is expected to return his advance on that sum to the publisher." According to ''Billboard'', "the HarperCollins book was billed as an 'emotional ride' that would detail the music legend's failed marriage to Christie Brinkley, as well as his battles with substance abuse." In explaining his decision to cancel the book's release, Joel stated, "It took working on writing a book to make me realize that I'm not all that interested in talking about the past, and that the best expression of my life and its ups and downs has been and remains my music."

Personal life

Marriages, relationships, and family

Joel married his business manager, Elizabeth Weber Small, on September 5, 1973. She was the former wife of his music partner, Jon Small, in the short-lived duo Attila. They divorced on July 20, 1982.

Joel mentioned in a television interview on the UK's Channel Five that he had dated Elle Macpherson in the 1980s prior to his marriage to Christie Brinkley. Joel has also said that the songs "This Night" and "And So It Goes" were written about his relationship with Macpherson.

Joel married Christie Brinkley on March 23, 1985. Their daughter, Alexa Ray Joel, was born December 29, 1985. Alexa was given the middle name of Ray after Ray Charles, one of Joel's musical idols. Joel and Brinkley divorced on August 25, 1994, although the couple remain friendly.

On October 2, 2004, Joel married 23-year-old Katie Lee. At the time of the wedding, Joel was 55. Joel's daughter, Alexa Ray, then 18, served as maid-of-honor. Joel's second wife, Christie Brinkley, attended the union and gave the couple her blessing. Lee works as a restaurant correspondent for the PBS show, ''George Hirsch: Living it Up!''. In 2006, Katie Lee hosted Bravo's ''Top Chef''. She did not return for a second season, instead going on tour with her husband. She then began writing a weekly column in ''Hamptons'' magazine, and became a field correspondent for the entertainment television show ''Extra''. On June 17, 2009, both confirmed that they have split after five years of marriage.

Depression

Joel battled depression for many years. In 1970, a career downturn and personal problems aggravated his condition. He left a suicide note (which inspired the lyrics to "Tomorrow Is Today") and attempted to commit suicide by drinking furniture polish, saying later, "I drank furniture polish. It looked tastier than bleach." His drummer, Jon Small, rushed him to the hospital. Joel checked into Meadowbrook Hospital, where he was put on suicide watch and received treatment for depression. Joel later recorded "You're Only Human (Second Wind)" as a message to help prevent teen suicide.

Substance abuse treatment

In 2002, Joel entered Silver Hill Hospital, a substance abuse and psychiatric center in New Canaan, Connecticut. In March 2005, he checked into the Betty Ford Center, where he spent 30 days for the treatment of alcohol-related problems.

Politics

Although Joel has donated money to Democratic candidates running for office, he has never publicly endorsed any candidate or made clear his political affiliation—although he did play a benefit with Bruce Springsteen to raise money for Barack Obama's presidential campaign in 2008. He has also played at benefit concerts (like the first Live Aid concert in 1985) that have helped raise funds for political causes. However, Joel has said about musicians endorsing political candidates, "People who pay for your tickets, I don't think they want to hear who you're going to vote for and how you think they should vote."

Religion

Joel was born to non-observant Jewish parents and considers himself a cultural Jew.

Discography

Band

:''Further information: Billy Joel Band''

Awards and achievements

Despite having never graduated from high school because of a missed exam, Joel has been presented with multiple honorary doctorates:

Doctor of Humane Letters from Fairfield University (1991)

Doctor of Music from Berklee College of Music (1993)

Doctor of Humane Letters from Hofstra University (1997)

Doctor of Music from Southampton College (2000)

Doctor of Fine Arts from Syracuse University (2006)

Doctor of Musical Arts from the Manhattan School of Music (2008)

His High School Diploma was finally awarded 25 years after he left High School by the School Board.

Joel was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio in 1999. Joel was on the site selection committee for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame board. Seven members of the committee voted for San Francisco and seven voted for Cleveland, Ohio, this was a tied vote so Billy Joel was the tie breaking vote, which gave Cleveland the hall in 1986.

Joel was also named MusiCares Person of the Year for 2002, an award given each year at the same time as the Grammy Awards. At the dinner honoring Joel, various artists performed versions of his songs including Nelly Furtado, Stevie Wonder, Jon Bon Jovi, Diana Krall, Rob Thomas and Natalie Cole. He was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame on October 15, 2006. In 2005, Joel received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Joel has banners in the rafters of the Times Union Center, Nassau Coliseum, Madison Square Garden, Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT, Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, and Hartford Civic Center in Hartford. (Joel is erroneously cited as the first artist to perform a concert at Yankee Stadium in New York City; The Isley Brothers first performed there in 1969, and the Latin supergroup, The Fania All-Stars played and recorded live albums at the stadium during the 1970s.)

He has also sponsored the Billy Joel Visiting Composer Series at Syracuse University.

Joel is the only performing artist to have played both Yankee and Shea Stadiums, as well as Giants Stadium, Madison Square Garden, and Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

Other media contributions

''Don Kirshner's Rock Concert'' (1974) (Television) (Performed "Piano Man", "Somewhere Along the Line", and "Captain Jack")

''The Midnight Special'' (1975) (Television) (Sang "Travelin' Prayer" and "The Ballad of Billy the Kid")

''The Mike Douglas Show'' (1976) (Television)

''Billy Joel Tonight'' (1976) (Time Life Video) (VHS) (Palmer Auditorium, Connecticut College, New London, CT)

''Saturday Night Live'' (February 18, 1978) (NBC) (hosted by Chevy Chase) (Sang "Just The Way You Are" and "Only The Good Die Young") (Billy passed up going to his 10 year high school reunion to appear on the show)

''The Old Grey Whistle Test'' (1978) (London, England) (Television)

''Musikladen'' (1978) (German television concert)

''20/20'' (1980) (Television)

''Saturday Night Live'' (November 14, 1981) (NBC) (hosted by Bernadette Peters) (Sang "Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)" and "She's Got A Way" live via satellite hook-up from his Mid-town Manhattan recording studio)

''Live from Long Island'' (1982) (CBS/Fox) (VHS) (Originally aired on HBO as ''Billy Joel: A Television First''. Recorded live at Nassau Coliseum)

''MTV Night School with Billy Joel'' (1983) (Television) (Billy takes questions from music students and plays some songs, much like his later "master classes.")

''MTV Special: Innocent Man Tour'' (1983) (Television) ("Behind-the-scenes" look at Joel's ''Innocent Man'' tour)

''From a Piano Man to an Innocent Man'' (1984) (BBC Television Broadcast)

''Today'' (June 1984) Introduces music video for "The Longest Time."

''Farm Aid'' (September 1985) (Television)

Contributed piano on Twisted Sister's song "Be Chrool to Your Scuel" on their 1985 album ''Come Out and Play''

''Video Album, Vol. 1'' (1986) (CBS/Fox) (VHS)

''Video Album, Vol. 2'' (1986) (CBS/Fox) (VHS)

''Late Night with David Letterman'' (September 1986)

''MLB World Series Game 2'' (October 19, 1986) (Television) (Performed the National Anthem)

''Live From Leningrad USSR'' (1987) (CBS) (VHS) (Originally aired on HBO)

''Oliver & Company'' (1988) (Provided both the voice and singing voice for the character Dodger in the Disney full-length animated feature.)

''Sesame Street'' (1988) (Sang "Just the Way You Are" to Oscar the Grouch, and "The Alphabet Song" with the kids)

''1989 NFL Super Bowl XXIII'' (Sang National Anthem, Joe Robbie Stadium, Miami, Florida)

''Late Night with David Letterman'' (August 17, 1989) (NBC) Performs with musical guest Mick Jones

''Saturday Night Live'' (October 21, 1989) (NBC) (hosted by Kathleen Turner) (Sang "We Didn't Start The Fire" and "The Downeaster Alexa") (acts in a sketch called "Die Squaren Ost Berliner" which was a German take-off of "Hollywood Squares" as a character named Josef Besselmeier)

''Eye of the Storm'' (1990) (VHS) (Sony) (Compilation of five music videos from the ''Storm Front'' album)

''Live at Yankee Stadium'' (1990) (Sony) (DVD/VHS)

''A Matter of Trust'' (1991) (CBS) (VHS) (Documentary of the 1986 Russian tour)

''Late Show with David Letterman'' (August 30, 1993) First musical guest on the show, performing "No Man's Land"

''Saturday Night Live'' (October 23, 1993) (NBC) (hosted by John Malkovich) (Sang "The River Of Dreams" and "All About Soul")

''Shades of Grey'' (1993) (Sony) (PBS documentary on the making of ''River of Dreams''. Released on VHS)

''Live from the River of Dreams'' (Sony) (1994) (Originally aired on 3Sat (German television); released on DVD in the ''My Lives'' box set in 2005) Live from Frankfurt, Germany.

During the 1994 Grammy Award Show, the director cut short Frank Sinatra's acceptance speech for receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award. Joel extended his performance of "The River of Dreams" by stopping the song partway through, looking at the celebrity audience with a grin while pretending to check his watch and saying, "valuable advertising time going by...dollars...dollars...dollars..." which was met with laughter from the audience. He then resumed playing the song.

''Greatest Hits, Vol. III'' (Sony) (1997) (DVD/VHS)

''The Rosie O'Donnell Show'' (1997) (Television)

''Behind the Music'' (1997) (Television)

''VH1 Storytellers'' (1997) (Television)

''VH1 Video Time Line'' (1998) (Television)

''60 Minutes'' (April 26, 1998) Interviewed by Steve Kroft.

''Inside the Actor's Studio'' (1999) (Bravo Network)

''Mad About You'': "Murray at the Dog Show" (1999) (NBC Television) (Appeared as himself; wrote the music for the song "Lullabye For You" which was featured in the episode. Paul Reiser wrote the lyrics.)

''ABC 2000'' (1999/2000) (Television, VHS) (International broadcast; portions of Joel's New Year's Eve concert were aired live)

''Piano Grand! A Smithsonian Celebration'' (2000) (Joel served as host and performer; aired on PBS; released on DVD)

''MLB World Series- Subway Series Game 1'' (2000) (Television) (Performed the National Anthem)

''America: A Tribute To Heroes'' (2001) (Television, Radio, DVD)

''Charlie Rose'' (2001) (PBS television/DVD)

''The Concert for New York City'' (2001) (Television, VHS/DVD)

''A&E; Special: In His Own Words'' (2001) (A&E; Network) (Master class recorded at the University of Pennsylvania)

''The Essential Video Collection'' (2001) (Sony) (DVD/VHS) (Music Video compilation)

''Movin' Out'' (2002), is a musical based on twenty-four Billy Joel songs which was a smash hit on Broadway from 2002 to 2005 (last Broadway show was on December 11, 2005). Joel was composer, lyricist, and orchestrator and won a Tony Award for Best Orchestrations. The musical is really a dance performance choreographed by famed choreographer Twyla Tharp, with Joel's songs sung by Michael Cavanaugh.

''The 2003 Tony Awards'' (Television) (Performed "New York State of Mind")

''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' (2005) (Television) (Performed "Miami 2017" and "Only the Good Die Young")

''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' (2005) (NBC) (Performed "Everybody Loves You Now" and "Vienna")

''The Today Show'' (2005) (NBC) (Performed "Keepin' the Faith" and "She's Right on Time")

''The Today Show'' (2006) (NBC) (Performed "The Good Life" with Tony Bennett live)

''The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch'' (2006) (CNBC)

''American Chopper'' (2006) ("The Billy Joel Bike") (Television, DVD)

''Tokyo, Japan'' (2006) (Television, DVD) (Concert was taped and produced by The Fuji Television Network)

''NFL Super Bowl XLI'' (2007) (Joel is the first to sing the National Anthem in two Super Bowls.)

''The Oprah Winfrey Show'' (March 24, 2008) (Appeared with wife, Katie, and performed "Only the Good Die Young")

''The South Bank Show'' (July 13, 2008) (Joel discussed his career)

''The Howard Stern Show'' (November 16, 2010) (Sirius XM) (Interview and musical performance)

See also

List of best-selling music artists

References

External links

Billy Joel – Official Website

Billy Joel at Rolling Stone.com

History of Live Performances by Billy Joel

Interview at TonyAwards.com

Category:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Category:Grammy Award winners Category:MusiCares Person of the Year Honorees Category:English-language singers Category:American Ashkenazi Jews Category:American pop rock singers Category:American crooners Category:American rock singer-songwriters Category:American pop pianists Category:American rock pianists Category:American people of German-Jewish descent Category:American people of British-Jewish descent Category:American atheists Category:Jewish atheists Category:New York Democrats Category:Musicians from New York Category:People from Long Island Category:People from the Bronx Category:1949 births Category:Living people

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Name	Robbie Williams
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Robert Peter Williams
Born	February 13, 1974Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England
Instrument	Vocals, guitar, bass guitar, synthesiser, drums, piano, violin, harmonica, marimba
Genre	Pop rock, soft rock, dance, britpop
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, musician, vocal coach, record producer, actor
Years active	1990–present
Label	Chrysalis/EMI (1990-2011)Universal/RCA (USA) (2011 – present)
Associated acts	Take That
Website	}}

Robert Peter "Robbie" Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer-songwriter, vocal coach and occasional actor. He is a member of the pop group Take That. Williams rose to fame in the band's first run in the early- to mid-1990s. After many disagreements with the management and certain group members, Williams left the group in 1995 to launch his solo career. On 15 July 2010, it was announced he had rejoined Take That and that the group intended to release a new album in November 2010.

Williams has sold more than 57 million albums worldwide. He is the best-selling British solo artist in the United Kingdom and the best selling non-Latino artist in Latin America. Six of his albums are among the top 100 biggest-selling albums in the United Kingdom. He has also been honoured with seventeen BRIT Awards—more than any other artist—and seven ECHO Awards. In 2004, he was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame after being voted as the "Greatest Artist of the 1990s."

Life and career

1974–89: early life

Williams was born to Peter and Janet Williams in Stoke-on-Trent on 13 February 1974. His parents ran a pub called the Red Lion in the town of Burslem, before his father become the licensee at the Port Vale F.C. Social Club - this led to Williams' lifelong affinity for the team. Williams attended Mill Hill Primary School at Stoke-on-Trent then St Margaret Ward Roman Catholic School in Tunstall, and also attended dance school UKDDF in Tunstall. He participated in several school plays, and his biggest role was that of the Artful Dodger in a production of ''Oliver!''.

1990–95: Take That

In 1990, the sixteen year old Williams was the youngest member to join Take That. According to the documentary ''Take That: For the Record'', his mother read an advertisement seeking members for a new boy band and suggested that he try out for the group. He met fellow member Mark Owen on the day of his audition/interview with Nigel Martin-Smith. During the heights of the band's popularity, Williams was known as the extrovert and practical joker of the band. Although the majority of the band's material was written and performed by Gary Barlow, Williams did perform lead vocals on their first Top Ten hit "Could It Be Magic", "I Found Heaven", and "Everything Changes". However, he had conflicts with Martin-Smith over the restrictive rules for Take That members, and he began drinking more alcohol and dabbling in cocaine.

In July 1995, Williams's drug abuse had escalated to the point of his having a near drug overdose the night before the group was scheduled to perform at the MTV Europe Music Awards. According to the documentary ''For the Record'', he stated that he was unhappy with his musical ideas not being taken seriously by lead singer Barlow and Nigel Martin-Smith, because his desire to explore hip hop and rap conflicted with the band's usual ballads. Barlow explained in interviews that Williams had given up trying to offer creative input and merely did as he was told. As well as Williams's friction with the management of the band, Jason Orange had problems with his increasingly belligerent behaviour, his lack of interest in performing, and his frequent habit of missing the band's rehearsals.

Both Orange and Barlow confronted Martin-Smith about the internal conflict, because they did not want him dropping out while touring and before any possible future touring of America, which never took place. During one of the last rehearsals before the tour commenced, the group confronted Williams about his attitude and stated they wanted to do the tour without him. He agreed to quit the band and left; it would be the last time for twelve years that they were all together. Despite the departure of Williams, Take That completed their Nobody Else Tour as a four-piece band. They later disbanded on 13 February 1996, Williams's twenty-second birthday.

Shortly afterwards, Williams was photographed by the press partying with the members of Oasis at Glastonbury Festival. Following his departure, he became the subject of talk shows and newspapers as he acknowledged his plans to become a solo singer, and he was spotted partying with George Michael in France. However, a clause in his Take That contract prohibited him from releasing any material until after the group was officially dissolved, and he was later sued by Martin-Smith and forced to pay $200,000 in commission. After various legal battles over his right to a solo career, Williams was victorious in getting released from his contract with BMG. On 27 June 1996, Williams formally announced that he had signed with Chrysalis Records.

1996–98: ''Life Thru a Lens'' and ''I've Been Expecting You''

After leaving Take That, Williams launched his solo career starting things off in 1996 by covering George Michael's "Freedom", the single reached number two in the UK Singles Chart, twenty-six places higher than George Michael's original.

Recordings for Williams's first album began at London's Maison Rouge studios in March of that year. Shortly after his introduction to Guy Chambers, Williams released "Old Before I Die" which would be the first single taken from his début album. Co-written by Williams with Eric Bazilian and Desmond Child, the single was released in April 1997, hitting number two on the UK Charts; however, it was largely ignored on international charts. The second single, "Lazy Days", was released in mid-1997. Although Williams was going through drug rehabilitation on the advice of his friend Elton John, he was allowed to check out to shoot the video for the song, but promotion for the single was virtually non-existent, so whilst the single charted at number eight in the United Kingdom, it struggled to reach the top forty of any European chart.

His debut album, ''Life Thru a Lens'', was released in September 1997. The album launched with his first live solo gig at the Élysée Montmartre theatre in Paris, France. At first, the album was slow to take off, debuting at number eleven of the UK Album Charts. The third single of the album, "South of the Border", failed to make a significant impact on the UK Charts. When it was released in September 1997, it reached number fourteen.

After Williams met the record company's concerns about his future, he released what would be the fourth single taken from his album, not knowing it would become his biggest single in the United Kingdom so far, and one of his best-known and most successful songs to date. "Angels" became Williams' best-seller in the United Kingdom, being certified 2x Platinum by the BPI. The song, apart from becoming a hit around Europe and Latin America, caused sales of his album to skyrocket. The album remained inside the British top ten for forty weeks and spent 218 weeks there altogether, making it the 58th best selling album in UK History with sales of over 2.4 million. The album eventually managed to sell over three million copies in Europe alone.

Williams and Chambers started writing the second album in Jamaica in early 1998. The first single, "Millennium", was inspired by John Barry's, theme song for ''You Only Live Twice'', the James Bond movie. The song became Williams' first solo number one single in the United Kingdom when it was released in September of that year. The song went on to ship over 400,000 copies in the UK alone being certified Gold by the BPI in November 1998. It also became a top twenty hit in many European countries, as well becoming a hit in Latin America and Australia.

When the album ''I've Been Expecting You'' was released in late October 1998, it débuted at number one in the UK Albums Chart. The album received more attention outside the United Kingdom, leaving its mark in the European and Latin American markets with hits such as "No Regrets", a collaboration with The Pet Shop Boys' singer Neil Tennant and The Divine Comedy's Neil Hannon. The single "No Regrets" was released in November 1998, reaching number four in the UK Singles Chart, backed with the cover of Adam and the Ants, "Antmusic". The single eventually sold over 200,000 copies in the United Kingdom being certified Silver in October 2004, almost six years after its original release.

The third single "Strong" from the album debuted at number four in the United Kingdom and number nine in New Zealand, however peaked moderately at only number 68 in Germany, number 99 in France and number 55 in the Netherlands. The fourth single, "She's the One", a cover of a track from World Party's album, ''Egyptology'', became his second number one hit in the United Kingdom. The single was released as a double a-side with "It's Only Us", the official theme for FIFA 2000. The single became a massive success shipping over 400,000 copies in the UK alone being certified Gold by the BPI in early 2000. Williams finished the year with an extensive European Tour late in 1999.

The album ''I've Been Expecting You'' was a smash hit, selling almost 3 million copies in the United Kingdom alone: certified 10x Platinum by the BPI. In Europe alone, the album sold over 4 million copies.

1999–2001: ''Sing When You're Winning'' and ''Swing When You're Winning''

In 1999, Williams was signed to Capitol Records in the United States, which is a part of EMI. Williams embarked on a US promotional tour and when his first U.S. and Canadian single, "Millennium" was released, it hit number 72 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, the album ''The Ego Has Landed'' was released in July 1999 in the United States and Canada, not having the success that he enjoyed in Europe - the album peaked at number 63 in the U.S. ''Billboard'' Albums Chart and number 17 on the Canadian SoundScan album chart. Despite this, Williams enjoyed good video airplay and received a nomination for the MTV Video Music Awards for "Best Male Video" he did not win, but the exposure helped sales of the album.

Capitol Records, trying to make Williams a bigger star, released a second single from the album, the ballad "Angels". Williams shot a new video for it, and when it was released in fall of that year, the song became a somewhat bigger hit than "Millennium", peaking at number 53, but this was not enough for Williams, so he concentrated on the rest of the world where he was already an established act. The album went on to ship 500,000 copies in the United States, certified Gold by the RIAA in November of that year. The compilation was released worldwide (as a limited edition in Europe); the album was a success in New Zealand reaching number one on the official album charts.

In the middle of promotion and the tours in 1999, becoming an established worldwide pop star, Williams found time to start work on what would be his third studio album. This time he had finally found his inner confidence.

The first single taken from the album was "Rock DJ", a song inspired by Williams's UNICEF mentor, the late Ian Dury. The video showed Williams in an attempt to get noticed by a group of females, first stripping and then tearing chunks of skin and muscle from his body, and caused controversy in the United Kingdom and many other countries. The video was edited by Top of the Pops for its graphic content and many other channels followed suit. The song became an instant hit, making number one in the United Kingdom and becoming his third number one single as a solo artist exactly a year after his sell-out concert at the Slane Castle. The song also reached number one in New Zealand and hit the Top 10 placings in many countries including Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Norway, Italy and Australia. Despite this success, the song failed to break into the United States charts, but it did get some TV Airplay on channels such as MTV and VH1. The song went on to win several awards; among them, "Best Song of 2000" at the MTV Europe Music Awards, "Best Single of the Year" at the BRIT Awards and an MTV Video Music Award for Best Special Effects. It sold over 600,000 copies in the UK alone, being certified Platinum by the BPI.

When the album, ''Sing When You're Winning'' was released in August 2000, it topped the charts in many different countries all over the world including Germany, New Zealand and The Netherlands and secured top ten placings in Italy, Austria, Australia, Finland and Sweden, among many others. As for the UK, the album débuted at number one being certified 2x Platinum on its first week of release.

The album's second single, a collaboration with Australian singer Kylie Minogue, titled "Kids", was written when Minogue approached Williams to write material for what would be her first album under Parlophone – ''Light Years''. Williams decided to include the track on his album and release it as a single. It was an instant hit when it was released in October of that year, hitting number two in the United Kingdom and reaching top twenty placings in countries like Australia and New Zealand. Kids became one of the biggest hits of that year selling over 200,000 copies in the UK alone and was certified Silver.

Further singles, such as "Supreme" (which Williams also recorded in French), and "Better Man" became big hits reaching the top 10 in numerous countries around the world.

"Eternity", a track that was not featured on the album, was released in mid 2001 backed with "The Road to Mandalay" - the former was written by Williams. It became his fourth number one single in the United Kingdom, selling over 70,000 copies in its first week in the UK alone, and also hit the top 10 in many countries including Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Italy among others.

The album spent 91 weeks inside the UK Charts, going on to sell 2.4 million copies in the UK alone and was certified 8x Platinum by the BPI. It became the 51st Best Selling album in UK Music History and went on to sell over 4 million copies in Europe alone.

After the success of his third album, Williams wanted to take another musical direction. He took two weeks off from his tour to record what would be his fourth studio album, the big band album he had always dreamed of making. Born from his life-long love for Frank Sinatra combined with the success of the track "Have You Met Miss Jones?" that he recorded for the film ''Bridget Jones' Diary'' in early 2001 the album was recorded at the Capitol Studios in Los Angeles, California.

Williams took the chance to duet with his long-time friend Jonathan Wilkes, ''Little Voice'' star Jane Horrocks, ''Saturday Night Live'' star Jon Lovitz, Rupert Everett and the Academy Award winning actress Nicole Kidman. The first single released from the album was a duet with Kidman, on "Somethin' Stupid". Originally a hit for Frank and Nancy Sinatra, the song became Williams' fifth number one hit in the United Kingdom, selling almost 100,000 copies in its first week of release, as well as hitting the top 5 in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, The Netherlands, Belgium and New Zealand. It eventually went on to become one of the biggest hits of 2001, selling over 200,000 copies in the UK alone. After spending three weeks at the top of the charts in 2001, it was certified Silver in January 2002.

When the album ''Swing When You're Winning'' (in reference to his 2000 studio album ''Sing When You're Winning'') was released in late 2001, it became an instant hit in the United Kingdom (spending six consecutive weeks at number one), Ireland, New Zealand, Austria, Germany and Switzerland and it reached the top ten in the rest of the world, going on to sell over 2 million copies by the end of 2001 and over 7 million altogether. A second single was released from the album, a double a-side "Mr. Bojangles/I Will Talk and Hollywood Will Listen". It was, however, released only in Central and Eastern Europe. "Mack the Knife" was released as a radio single in Mexico.

The album spent 85 weeks inside the UK Charts, selling more than 2.1 million copies. It was certified 7x Platinum in the United Kingdom and ultimately became the 49th Best Selling Album in UK Music History. "Beyond the Sea" was put in the credits of the film ''Finding Nemo'' in 2003 and was also released on the film's soundtrack CD.

A DVD called ''Robbie Williams Live at the Albert Hall'' was released in December of that year. So far, it has become one of the best selling music DVDs in Europe, being certified 6x Platinum in the United Kingdom and 2x Platinum in Germany.

2002–05: ''Escapology'' and ''Intensive Care''

In 2002, Williams signed a record-breaking £80 million contract with EMI. The contract included a number of provisos, including the label ceding greater creative control to the artist and a commitment to breaking Williams into the US market. So far it is the biggest music deal in British history. The deal was brokered by Ingenious Media, a leading UK corporate finance advisory business.

Williams began working on what would be his fifth studio album, spending a year in the recording studio. The album heralded a new era for Williams. He had taken a more active role in the making of this album, giving an indication of his growing confidence in the studio. "One Fine Day", "Nan's Song", and "Come Undone" were the first songs that Williams wrote without the input of Guy Chambers. Most of the songs were recorded in Los Angeles.

The album's first single, "Feel", written by Williams and Chambers, was recorded as a demo. When they started working on the album and were trying to re-record the vocals, Williams felt unsatisfied with it, so he decided to include the demo version and then release it as the first single. When the single was released in late 2002, it became Williams' biggest international hit, going number one in countries like The Netherlands and Italy, as well as reaching the top ten in almost every single European country.

When Williams' fifth studio album, ''Escapology'', was released in late 2002, it hit number one in at least 10 countries around the world including the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark. Elsewhere, it made the top ten. In the United States, however, it failed to make such an impact, reaching only number forty-three on the Billboard Albums Chart.

The album's second single, "Come Undone" became a top ten hit around the world. Due to its controversial video, it was heavily censored by MTV Networks Europe for depicting a debauched (but fully-clothed) Williams having three-way sex with two women. The video was about some young people having a party and it showed footage of fights, drug taking and alcohol abuse. It also showed unsettling images of insects and reptiles. The uncensored version of the video was released on DVD single in Europe and was also included on the Enhanced CD Single. BBC Radio 2 also banned the song for its explicit content. At that time, it was confirmed that Williams and Guy Chambers were to officially split up. The single version of "Come Undone" is not the same version as the one on the album, but instead is listed by producer Steve Power as being "from an original production by Guy Chambers/Steve Power".

The third single taken from the album was "Something Beautiful". The song was written in Barbados. It was first offered to Tom Jones, who declined, after which it was reworked for its inclusion on Williams' album. The single was released in mid-2003. While it had minor success compared to Williams' previous songs, it did manage to enter the top ten in the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Denmark. However it failed to make much of an impact in the music charts in other countries. The video featured a number of people from all over Europe vying to win the chance to perform as Robbie Williams at the end of the same video. The three winners had the chance to meet Williams. Three different versions of the video were released in different parts of the world, featuring the different winners. Williams started his world tour in the mid-2003, and he was about to do three live concerts in Knebworth. The Knebworth shows attracted a total of 375,000 fans.

''Escapology'' ended up selling almost 2 million copies by the end of 2003 in the United Kingdom. It was certified 6x Platinum by the BPI, becoming the 60th best selling album in UK music history. The album went on to sell over 5 million copies in Europe alone.

In October 2003, Williams released his first live album, ''Live at Knebworth'' which peaked at number two in the UK. The album reached the top position in Germany and Austria and became a top ten album throughout the rest of Europe, Australasia and Latin America. The live record ended up selling a little over 600,000 copies in the United Kingdom and was certified 2x Platinum by the BPI. It sold a total of 2 million units in Europe alone.

In October 2004, Williams released a retrospective of his career, and also, to reveal the new tracks he had been working on with the then-new collaborator, Stephen Duffy. "Radio", the compilation's first single was released in October 2004, which debuted at number one of the UK Singles Chart (becoming Williams' sixth number-one hit) selling 41,732 copies. The song was also a number one hit in Denmark, and it hit the top ten in The Netherlands, Italy, Austria and Norway.

When the compilation ''Greatest Hits'' was released two weeks later, it went on to sell 320,000 copies in its first week in the United Kingdom debuting at number one. The album also hit the top spot in other countries like Switzerland, Italy, Portugal, Austria, The Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand.

The album's second single, the ballad "Misunderstood", which was also the soundtrack of the film ''Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason'' hit the top ten in Italy and Denmark in December of that year, making the album the best selling album of the year in the United Kingdom and becoming the 61st Best Selling Album in UK Music History, with sales over 2 million copies, becoming certified 6x Platinum by the BPI. It also became the best selling album of the year in Europe, being certified 5x Platinum, with over 5 million copies sold.

Eight years after the release of "Angels", in February 2005 the British public voted it as the "Best Single of the Past Twenty-Five Years" at the 2005 BRIT Awards.

After touring Latin America in late 2004 for the promotion of his ''Greatest Hits'' album, Williams started working on his sixth studio album. Recorded in his bedroom in the Hollywood Hills, the album was co-written by Stephen Duffy over the course of 24 months.

The track "Ghosts" was inspired by the Human League's "Louise", about a man who breaks off a relationship with his partner and realises he still has strong feelings for her.

The album's first single "Tripping", was released on 3 October 2005, it became an international success topping the charts in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Italy, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway and Spain.

The album ''Intensive Care'' was launched in Berlin, Germany on 9 October. It became a smash hit around the world, hitting number one in the United Kingdom, as well as topping the charts in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Australia, Sweden, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Finland and many other countries.

In November 2005, Williams took home the MTV Europe Music Award for 'Best Male', but also, entered in ''The Guinness Book of World Records'' when he announced his World Tour for 2006, selling 1.6 million tickets in one single day. But after the success, Gary Barlow, Mark Owen, Jason Orange, and Howard Donald had agreed to reunite in Notting Hill, west London, for a preview screening of a documentary about Take That. The documentary screened on ITV1 on 16 November 2005. Unfortunately, according to a source quoted by The Sunday Mirror, "Robbie announced he wasn't coming. The rest of the band were gutted but felt the show had to go on."

By December, the second single from the album was released. The ballad "Advertising Space" reached the top ten in some European countries including the UK, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Italy.

Williams kicked off his ''Close Encounters World Tour'' in South Africa in April 2006, when he finished his European leg of the tour. 2.5 million had seen the show, and after touring Latin America and Australia the numbers went up to 3 million.

After a long gap between singles, the third cut from the album was released in the mid-2006. "Sin Sin Sin" was the first song Williams and Duffy wrote together, the video of which was shot in Cape Town, South Africa right before the start of his tour. The track became Williams' first single not to make the UK Top 20, charting at only number 22, but managed to enter the top 20 in some countries including Germany, Switzerland, Austria, The Netherlands, Denmark and Italy.

By the end of the promotion of the album, it was announced that it had sold over five million copies in Europe alone, and was certified 5x Platinum by the IFPI. It was also certified 5x Platinum in the United Kingdom becoming, at the time, his lowest selling studio album in the country.

2006–09: ''Rudebox'' and ''Reality Killed the Video Star''

Williams's seventh studio album was announced in early 2006. It was to be a dance/electro album with collaborations with the Pet Shop Boys, William Orbit, Soul Mekanik, Joey Negro, Mark Ronson, Chris Grierson, The Orr Boys and more.

The first single, "Rudebox", was premièred on radio by Scott Mills on his show on BBC Radio 1. The event caused some controversy, as the record label's embargo date was broken, although the artist himself later backed the presenter for doing so. More controversy followed due to the first single's radical change of direction when compared to his older releases. British newspaper ''The Sun'' named the song "The Worst Song Ever". However, Victoria Newton stated that there were sure-fire hits on the album. The song was released in September that year reaching number four in the UK Singles Chart. It hit the number one spot in Germany, Switzerland and Italy.

Williams released his much anticipated dance/electro album, ''Rudebox'', on 23 October 2006. It received mixed reviews: Allmusic gave it a four star rating, the ''NME'' 8 out of 10, and Music Week and MOJO were equally positive, but it received much weaker reviews from some of the British press. Despite reaching the number one spot, sales were far below what was expected by his label, and overall sales in the UK were overtaken by his former band, Take That's ''Beautiful World''. The album has sold a little under 500,000 copies in the United Kingdom, becoming his lowest-selling album in the country, being certified 2x Platinum by the BPI. The album was received with a warmer reception by the public in other parts of the world where it hit number one including Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Finland and Italy.

The album sold 2x Platinum in Europe with sales of over 2 million making it the fastest platinum-selling album of 2006. The album finished at number eighteen in the list of 2006's best selling albums worldwide. Neil Tennant claimed the album had sold 4.5 million copies by early 2007.

The second single, "Lovelight", came out right before the release of the album, and was commercially released on 13 November. The single reached the top ten in the United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Finland, Denmark and Italy, but failed to reach the success of Williams' previous releases when the track showed no longevity in the charts.

The third single, "She's Madonna" included remixes from Kris Menace and Chris Lake and was released on European radio in late January to precede the commercial release which was scheduled for 5 March 2007. The track reached only number sixteen on the Singles Chart in the United Kingdom, but fared better in Continental Europe hitting the top ten in most countries. It rose to number one on the European Airplay Chart after spending four weeks at number two, a feat his former band, Take That, failed to achieve. It was confirmed that this single was not going to be released in Latin America or Australia, but did receive heavy airplay in the latter country. Despite this, the single was released as Digital Download in Mexico in four different formats. In August 2007, the single reached number 12 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Chart.

"Bongo Bong and Je Ne T'Aime Plus", a collaboration with British singer Lily Allen, was released as the third single in Latin America and other European countries, hitting radio in January 2007, and as a Digital Download in February. To promote his album, Williams commissioned a series of short films. ''Goodbye to the Normals'' was directed by Jim Field Smith and features "Burslem Normals" by Robbie Williams.

On 4 October 2007, Williams made a return to the live stage after almost ten months, when he made a guest appearance at Mark Ronson's concert in Los Angeles. He performed The Charlatans' song "The Only One I Know", which features on Ronson's album ''Version''.

Rumours of a new studio album co-written with Guy Chambers had surfaced in early 2007, along with known commitments required by Williams to his EMI contract. British singer-songwriter Laura Critchley commented that she had sung vocals for three songs, and said that it would not be released until 2009.

On 16 January 2008 UK tabloid ''The Sun'' announced that Williams had been working on some songs with The Blockheads member Chaz Jankel. The article went on to state that the reunion with Chambers hadn't worked out and that the material that Williams is working on with Jankel will form the basis of his next studio album. However, although it had been confirmed on the Blockheads' official site that Jankel was writing with Williams, the rumour that Chambers was no longer working with him was not official. In late August 2008, Williams' friend Callum Blue commented that he was still working on the album. In February 2009, it was confirmed that Williams had written material with Guy Chambers and Mark Ronson. A spokesman said that Williams was planning to begin the recording sessions in March and that the new album would be released in late 2009. This will probably be the last Williams album released by EMI. On his official website, Williams confirmed that he is working with producer Trevor Horn on his new album; he described himself as "buzzing" and that the new album sounds "big. Very, very big". The new album will be titled ''Reality Killed the Video Star'', a reference to the song "Video Killed the Radio Star" by Horn's former band The Buggles. The album was released on 9 November 2009 in the United Kingdom. The new song "Bodies" saw its first play on 4 September 2009 during the Chris Moyles Show on BBC Radio 1, where Moyles described it as "a grower", with Williams later agreeing that it may take a few listens for people to like it.

On 11 October 2009 Williams published a 12-track compilation album, titled ''Songbook'', as a free CD for the newspaper ''The Mail on Sunday''. The CD is a one-off album of some of his biggest hits - including several rare live performances and images from his new album. The CD also included the 'completemyartist' software which gave access to more exclusive content and playlists online. That same evening, Williams made his "comeback" on ''The X Factor'' results show, performing his new single "Bodies" for the first time live. The appearance proved to be somewhat controversial as press and viewers alike questioned Williams' well-being following a bizarre and erratic performance. A spokesperson for Williams later issued a public statement declaring that Williams had not been taking drugs. On 12 December 2009 Williams appeared again on the show to duet with finalist Olly Murs. There were claims that Robbie missed his cue, and he was unaware of the long instrumental and therefore began too early. However, after laughing it off and picking up his place again from Olly Murs, he managed to complete the performance without any other negative incidents.

On 20 October 2009 Williams opened the BBC Electric Proms at the London RoundHouse. It was his first live concert for 3 years and was beamed across 200 cinemas around the world. Accompanied by a string section, horn section, full band and producer Trevor Horn, Williams performed several new tracks from ''Reality Killed the Video Star'' and several of his greatest hits. Among the musicians, the harpist in the band Lucinda Belle was spotted in this live show by BBC DJ Fearne Cotton, which directly led to her being signed by Universal Records with a five-record deal worth 1.25 million pounds.

''Reality Killed the Video Star'' was exclusively previewed in the UK on the Spotify music streaming service on 6 November 2009, three days before its official release on 9 November. In a high profile chart battle, Williams' album was pitted against X Factor 2008 runners-up JLS who released their debut album the same day. JLS beat Williams to the number one spot by 1500 sales - both were the two biggest-selling albums of the year so far in the UK - making ''Reality...'' Williams' first studio album not to reach no.1 in the UK. However it reached number 1 globally that week.

The album was also released in the United States (Williams' first album to be released there since 2002's ''Escapology''). However, the album peaked at #160 on the Billboard 200 album chart, and dropped out of the chart after only one week.

In late November 2009, Williams traveled to Australia to perform at the ARIA Music Awards of 2009.

2010–2011: ''In and Out of Consciousness'' and reunion with Take That

In June 2010, it was officially announced that Williams was ready to release his second greatest hits album, ''In and Out of Consciousness: The Greatest Hits 1990–2010'', to celebrate his 20 years as a performing artist. Williams new single, also included on the album, will be "Shame", which is written and sung by Williams and Gary Barlow, his Take That bandmate. The single was set to released on 4 October 2010, while the album was set for release on 11 October 2010 in both CD and DVD formats.

On 15 July 2010, Robbie Williams announced he was returning to Take That. A joint statement between Williams and the group said "The rumours are true... Take That: the original lineup, have written and recorded a new album, to be called, ''Progress'' for release later this year," read the band's statement. "Following months of speculation Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Jason Orange, Mark Owen and Robbie Williams confirmed they have been recording a new studio album as a five-piece, which they will release in November."

On 26 August 2010, it was announced Williams would become a guest vocal coach on the ninth series of German reality television show ''Popstars: Girls forever'' to teach candidates for a girl group. On 20 September 2010, Williams released his second book called "You Know Me" in collaboration with Chris Heath. The book features a collection of photographs of Williams from the past 20 years of his career and discussion of them by Williams as transcribed by Heath.

In October, Media Control named Robbie Williams the most successful album-artist of the millennium due to the fact that he had spent No. 1 on the German Albums Chart for 38 weeks since 2000. He also reached that chart's Top Ten 135 times.

On 15 and 16 July 2011, Take That were scheduled to perform two sold-out concerts in Copenhagen, Denmark as part of their Progress Tour. Unfortunately, the day after the first concert, Robbie announced that he had acquired a stomach infection and (despite treatment attempts) was unable to take part in the concert. Due to this, the entire event was cancelled, leaving thousands of fans in frustration. This was the first time Take That ever cancelled a concert. It was not rescheduled.

2011-present New album

Robbie Williams has announced that he has been working with Gary Barlow on a new solo album which will be released late 2011. It was also announced that the album will be produced by Barlow. Robbie confirmed on his official site that he will be doing a new duet. Rumors so far have included artists such as Adele and Adam Lambert

Other projects

Reunion of Take That

Williams announced in December 2008 that he was planning to relocate to the UK prior to releasing his eighth studio album in late-2009, and a possible reunion with Take That. Photos also showed Williams with his new tattoo of the Take That logo on his right arm, in tribute to his former bandmates. Williams bought a £7 million home in the village of Compton Bassett, Wiltshire.

On 27 March 2009, Williams stated he felt ready to re-join Take That. He said: "I'm in regular contact with them, even Gaz, and it's looking more likely by the week. The lads all seem up for it and some people think it's a done deal. I think it would be fun." Williams was eager to re-join the band on their The Circus Live tour, but these plans never materialised. In September 2009, Williams was reported to be working in New York with Take That, however these rumours were never confirmed.

While it was rumoured that Williams would reunite with Take That on 12 November 2009 for a Children In Need charity concert at The Royal Albert Hall, they merely greeted each other warmly on stage between performances. However, both did join with the other acts in the final song of the evening, with Robbie putting his arm around Gary Barlow and singing Hey Jude happily together. Williams subsequently implied in an interview that a proper reunion was still a distinct possibility. On 15 February 2010, tabloid newspaper ''The Sun'' printed an interview with Robbie, stating that he and Take That had been sighted going to an Los Angeles studio together.

It was announced on 15 July that Robbie Williams had rejoined Take That. In November 2010 the Take That album Progress was released, becoming the fastest selling album since 2000 and second fastest selling album in UK history. Williams explained that the long-standing friction between himself and Gary has been resolved, and how close they are now.

The band also announced the Progress Live 2011 tour which will travel across the UK in the Summer and finish with a record breaking 8 nights at Wembley Stadium in London. The tour will also visit some of the biggest venues across Europe after the tour of the UK. The tour was the fastest selling tour in UK history with ticket hotlines and websites crashing under the demand.

Reception in North America

Williams's first United States single, "Millennium", made it to #72 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. Its highest position on American charts was #20 in Top 40 Mainstream. His second single, "Angels", was a success on the Hot Adult Contemporary Chart where it peaked at #10. It also hit #41 in the Hot 100, becoming his highest peaking track on the main American chart and the most commonly known Robbie Williams song in the United States (later covers by Jessica Simpson and David Archuleta would be released as singles). In 1999, Williams released a special, US only, compilation of his first two albums, titled ''The Ego Has Landed''. The album peaked at #63 and went Gold shipping over 500,000 copies in the US.

Later in 2000, "Rock DJ", a single taken from Williams's second US album ''Sing When You're Winning'', was released; it reached #24 in the Hot Dance Club Play Chart, but failed to chart on the Hot 100. The album peaked at #110 on the Billboard 200 and only stayed on the charts for four weeks.

Together with a promotional tour, EMI hoped that the release of ''Escapology'' would be the album to successfully break the American market. Williams performed the lead song "Feel" on such shows as ''Good Morning America'' and ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno''. However, this single did not reach Hot 100 but peaked at #28 on the Adult Top 40. The album ''Escapology'' also failed to catch fire in America and peaked at #43 on the US Album Billboard Charts. ''Intensive Care'' and ''Rudebox'' were not released on an American label, but they were made available on iTunes. Williams's 2009 album, ''Reality Killed The Video Star'', was released in the US, but was also a commercial failure, peaking at #160 and remained on the chart for only one week.

Williams's single "Lovelight" was released in the United States by Virgin Records, debuting at #23 in the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Chart on March 2008 and eventually peaking at #8 by May 2008. It was the third single from the British singer to hit the American dance chart. It was also his sixth single to reach American charts and his second highest-charting single in an American chart to date. Other singles from Rudebox were released in the United States: ''She's Madonna'', ''We're the Pet Shop Boys'' and ''We're the Pet Shop Boys (Close My Eyes)''. These songs peaked at #12, #5 and #7 respectively in the Hot Dance Club Play chart.

In Canada, Williams has enjoyed more success, with "Feel" reaching the top ten there. A few of his other songs have gained popularity there, notably "Angels", "Millennium", "Rock DJ", "Tripping" and "She's Madonna". Williams has received a Platinum certification for his ''The Ego Has Landed'' for sales of over 100,000 and Gold for ''Swing When You're Winning'' as well as for Escapology selling over 50,000 units of each.

Collaborations

One of his most famous collaborations was on the song "Kids", a duet with Australian pop star Kylie Minogue. The single peaked at number 2 on the UK singles charts in 2000. Williams also collaborated with Australian film star Nicole Kidman on a cover of Frank and Nancy Sinatra's "Somethin' Stupid". The single reached number 1 on the UK singles chart in 2001. His single "No Regrets" featured Neil Tennant, and Neil Hannon on backing vocals.

In 2002, Williams appeared on the track "My Culture" on the ''1 Giant Leap'' album, alongside rapper Maxi Jazz (which features lyrics from the hidden track "Hello Sir" from ''Life Thru a Lens''). Williams also features on a double CD titled ''Concrete'' which was released on the same day as ''Rudebox''. The CD features a concert recorded for the BBC featuring the Pet Shop Boys and Williams singing their classic hit "Jealousy". Their joint effort, "She's Madonna", was released as a single in March 2007. On 13 August 2007, a Dean Martin duets album was released, on which Williams sings "Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone". Most recently it was announced that Williams has recorded what is going to be Mexican singer Thalía's first single from her upcoming English-language album. In 2010 he announced that he was to release "Shame", a duet with Take That lead singer songwriter Gary Barlow as the first single from his greatest hits collection ''In and Out of Consciousness: The Greatest Hits 1990–2010''.

Video game

Williams features in his own karaoke video game, "We Sing Robbie Williams." It will feature 25 tracks accompanied by all the original videos. The game is to be released by publisher Nordic Games, which struck a licensing deal with EMI. The game also features the single Shame featuring both Robbie Williams and Gary Barlow as an extra 26th playable track.

Achievements

It has been claimed that Williams has sold more albums in the UK than any other British solo artist in history and has won more BRIT Awards than any other artist to date. His album sales stands at over 57 million worldwide. Williams was entered in ''The Guinness Book of World Records'' when, after he announced his World Tour for 2006, 1.6 million tickets were sold in one single day.

He has been presented many awards, including seventeen BRIT and seven ECHO awards. In 2004, he was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame, after being voted as the Greatest artist of the 1990s.

He appears in the list of the all-time Top 100 biggest selling albums in the United Kingdom six times.

On 23 October 2009 it was announced that he would receive the Outstanding Contribution To British Music award at the 2010 BRIT Awards. Williams received his award on 16 February 2010 at the end of the ceremony and performed a live medley of his greatest hits including ''Let Me Entertain You'', ''No Regrets'', and ''Angels''.

On Friday 3 September 2010, on a show that included "The Wanted" and Alesha Dixon, he switched on the world famous Blackpool illuminations, stating that it was one of the greatest honours he'd ever achieved.

Personal life

Since 2006, Williams has spent most of his time in Los Angeles, California. Williams moved back to the UK in 2009 when he bought an £8.5 million mansion in Compton Bassett, Wiltshire, nearby to close friend Jonathan Wilkes who lives in Swindon. Williams sold the mansion a year later to move back to Los Angeles.

Williams has reportedly battled mental illness, obesity, self-esteem issues, alcoholism, and substance abuse throughout his life. He once discussed how his friend Elton John booked him into a clinic to cope with his drug use that emerged from the depression he was experiencing while still in Take That. He entered a rehabilitation centre in Tucson for his addiction to the prescription pills Xanax, Seroxat, Vicodin, and the energy drink Lucozade in February 2007 Williams used to smoke up to 60 cigarettes a day; he gave up in 2009 for his girlfriend Ayda Field.

Williams has a strong interest in UFOs and related paranormal phenomena, and has pursued this interest during his 2007–08 sabbatical. His interest in the subject led to him taking part in a documentary for BBC Radio 4 with Jon Ronson. The documentary followed them to a UFO convention in Nevada. During an interview with Joss Stone on ''The Jeremy Kyle Show'' in 2008, Williams revealed that while out of his head on dispirin he has seen UFOs three times. Williams said his first UFO sighting was when he was a child in Britain while he spotted his second in Beverly Hills, and added that the third sighting was just after he had written a song about alien contact.

Relationships

Since May 2006, Williams has been in a relationship with the Turkish American actress Ayda Field. They have reportedly been together for almost five years. Despite several break up stories in the press Williams and Field have been spotted together many times this year. On 29 January 2008 they were pictured on vacation together at Mammoth Ski Resort in California, accompanied by Max Beesley. She was featured in a UFO documentary that Williams did for BBC Radio 4 in April and took part in a field investigation he did in Trout Lake, Washington in August 2008.

On 8 November 2008, Williams was spotted with Field at football match at the Emirates Stadium home of Arsenal, where he was also seen with Gary Barlow accompanied by his two oldest children, and Williams's longtime friend Jonathan Wilkes. The couple has been living together in a mansion in Wiltshire since the beginning of 2009 according to ''The Sun''. In October 2009, Field appeared in the video of Williams comeback single Bodies. Williams has been referring to Field as his "wife" in recent interviews.

In November 2009, Williams announced to Jonathan Ross that he was 'in love' with Field. On 26 November 2009, Williams proposed to Ayda Field live on the Australian radio channel 2dayfm in an interview on the Kyle and Jackie O Show. However, it was later revealed by Williams' manager that it was "done as a joke following suggestions it was a stunt which was set up prior to the radio show." His spokesman confirmed: 'He did say it, but he did it in a jocular manner. They are not engaged.' A few days later Williams himself denied the engagement, using his official blog to say "Hey all. We are not engaged. Rob.". On 7 August 2010, Williams and Field married at his home in Los Angeles.

Sexuality

Williams won a libel case against MGN and Northern & Shell in December 2005 relating to articles which had reported he was a closet homosexual. In the libel action that resulted from this, Williams accepted substantial damages, and the publishers accepted that the stories were untrue. His counsel, Tom Shields QC, told the court, ''"Mr Williams is not, and has never been, homosexual."'' Gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell called for any damages paid out from the libel case to be donated to gay charities, claiming Williams' legal actions had created the impression that it is "bad to be gay." Williams responded that he was not bothered about being labelled as a gay man, and he would have taken the same action had it been regarding a heterosexual relationship. In 2008, Williams's friend, actor Max Beesley, rejected claims that Williams was gay. Beesley said, ''"Some of the stuff written about him is enough to make me mad, the rumours about him being gay, for example. Not true. I've never met anybody less gay in my life!"''

Wealth

In 2009, the Sunday Times Rich List claimed he was worth over £130 million. In 2011 his wealth was estimated at £90 million.

Williams is a lifelong supporter of Port Vale, based in his home town of Stoke-on-Trent. In February 2006 he bought £240,000 worth of shares in the club, making him the majority shareholder. He also has a restaurant at Vale Park named in his honour.

Health

He revealed in 2011 he had been battling a lethargy caused by a type of Hormone imbalance called a Andropause for a number of years and thought at first it was a return of his depression.

Charity

Williams has set up a charity in his home town entitled ''Give It Sum'', with its goal being to "improve local conditions and strengthen community life by giving money to those who are disadvantaged." Williams, with the help of friend Jonathan Wilkes, organised a charity football match Soccer Aid to raise money for UNICEF UK. This match was played in May 2006 at Old Trafford, Manchester. The participants were a mixture of celebrities and professional football players. It was continued in September 2008 and again in June 2010. Williams has been the Patron of the children's charity the Donna Louise Trust based in his home town of Stoke-on-Trent, for the last 8 years. The charity offers respite and palliative care to terminally ill and life-limited children who are not expected to live past the age of 16.

Awards

Williams has won a large number of awards over the years, including more BRIT Awards than any other artist in music history (17), as well as seven Echo Awards in six consecutive years from 2001 until 2007 and 1 other Echo Award in 2010.

Discography

; Studio albums

''Life thru a Lens'' (1997)

''I've Been Expecting You'' (1998)

''Sing When You're Winning'' (2000)

''Swing When You're Winning'' (2001)

''Escapology'' (2002)

''Intensive Care'' (2005)

''Rudebox'' (2006)

''Reality Killed the Video Star'' (2009)

''TBA'' (2011/2012)

; Compilation albums

''The Ego Has Landed'' (1999)

''Greatest Hits'' (2004)

''The Best So Far'' (2006) (released only in Brazil)

''Songbook'' (2009) (released only in the UK with ''The Mail on Sunday'')

''In and Out of Consciousness: Greatest Hits 1990–2010'' (2010)

; Live albums

''Live at Knebworth'' (2003)

Tours

The Show Off Must Go On (October–November 1997)

The Ego Has Landed (May–June 1998)

One More for the Rogue Tour / For a Few Dollars More... Tour (1998–99)

Robbie Williams North American Tours (1999)

The Sermon on the Mount Tour (2000–01)

Weddings, Barmitzvahs & Stadiums Tour / Sing When You're Pacific Rimming Tour (2001)

Weekends of Mass Distraction Tour / Cock of Justice/Aussie Typo Tour (2003)

Close Encounters Tour (2006)

References

External links

180 years of Robbie's Farrell Family Tree

Category:1974 births Category:Living people Category:BRIT Award winners Category:Capitol Records artists Category:English dance musicians Category:English expatriates in the United States Category:English football chairmen and investors Category:English-language singers Category:English male singers Category:English pop singers Category:English singer-songwriters Category:Hollywood United players Category:Ivor Novello Award winners Category:Music from Stoke-on-Trent Category:People from Stoke-on-Trent Category:People self-identifying as substance abusers Category:Port Vale F.C. Category:Take That members Category:World Music Awards winners

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