this is where he farts too much... surprised, it's not called "smell"...

Great journalism on Chris Heath's part...nothing sensationalized, oversimplified, pretentious or sugarcoated - very appropriate for an analysis of Robbie Williams. Understandable why it's considered a landmark for celebrity biographies, it goes into many gory aspects of musical artistry, pop celebrity and humanity and carefully treads the line between enchanting & repellent, and is frequently both simultaneously, not unlike its subject.

Loved this book. a great read for any Robbie Williams Fan.

Robbie Williams has a song called Let Me Entertain You, and boy did he entertain us with this! A fantastic read from the time when Robbie Williams was at his scintillating best.

Poignant, funny, and throughly readable

5 stars!

I've been reading this book for a year and as silly as it sounds, I put it down so I didn't finish it so quickly! Then I forgot about it! :( I love this book because it is written unlike most biographies. Instead of writing about the subject's life from start to present, it's written as the author follows Williams through an important time in his life. Sure they scratch away at his past, but more as a conversation between friends than a subject and biographer.By the way..I'm not even a Robbie Williams fan, I just have a soft spot for British popstar biographies!

I’ve never been a massive fan of Williams, but that’s mainly because in the 90s I thought of Take That as a girls band, and so I have always felt slightly adjacent to his style of work. However I can say that at least four of his songs are my absolute favourites, without being on heavy rotation enough to bore me senseless. And I think if this had been your run of the mill celebrity laundry air, then I would have swerved it. But this is far from ordinary. In a break from the norm, Williams invites music journalist Chris Heath on the ride for this one. A journey that involves the aftermath of Williams’ much documented battle with addiction, the release of the career defining Escapology album and planning of the next, a falling out with his long time collaborator Guy Chambers and the hardships of embarking a world tour, which Williams hates on paper. And whilst this doesn’t follow the linear pattern that most biographies do - it’s all still in there: boyhood stories, relationships, muck raking, inspiration, downfall. And it is a very thorough, almost real time, laundry list of everything Williams says or does in that particular few months of his life. It is also truly fascinating. For the most part Williams acts like a precocious teenager, sleeps with fans rather recklessly, argues with popstars, changes his mind at will - just because he can, barrels through once-in-a-lifetime career moves with an apathetic complacency and dicks about almost relentlessly.
But while it’s all going on we also get glimpses of the crippling boredom and the loneliness that seeps into the cracks of a life that’s constantly under the media spotlight. And though I think I would find Williams maddening in person, I frequently looked forward to taking him to bed every night (metaphorically, of course) to read this intimate portrait, as if it had been written for me and only me. Heath is a brilliant writer, full of wisdom and objectivity as he dissects the concept of fame and celebrity with a rapier like scalpel. But it is Robbie who is the true star here, the chameleon who is, by now, so used to the sourness and fetid stench that notoriety leaves in its wake, that he has become hardened but not impenetrable, by its cunning. All in all is was a slightly overlong, but irresistibly voyeuristic view of what it was like to be untouchable in 2003, with a warts and all approach that was both unbearable and unputdownable. I think I’m now ready for its 2017 sequel.

Niet uitgelezen. Chris Heath hoort zichzelf veel te graag praten en schrijft meer over zijn eigen gedachten dan over Robbie Williams. Ik dacht dat dit een biografie zou zijn, maar het zijn meer beschrijvingen van bepaalde gesprekken, bepaalde momenten in de studio en veel te letterlijk gevuld met quotes.

biographie 1A! i like it ;)

Quite simply, if you're a Robbie Williams fan and want to stay a Robbie Williams fan steer clear of this book.

Fascinating Insight Into A Musical Genius!

Often meandering but still strangely engrossing. Could have been about 200 pages shorter.

Not so much the biography I had expected and more a series of anecdotes and repetitive, verbatim conversations that bounce around incoherently