Amongst his plethora of awards, Robbie Williams boasts the title of BRIT Icon, an honour only bestowed upon artists who have made a real and lasting impact on British culture.
In 2016, Williams joined David Bowie and Elton John in this exclusive club. In 2024, bathed in the fading light of a beautiful July evening in Hyde Park, we were treated to a demonstration of this certified legend’s enduring ability to captivate an audience.
Before launching straight into “Let Me Entertain You,” Williams made an utterly superfluous introduction.
“Allow me to reintroduce myself; I’m Robbie fucking Williams,” he smirked with all the bravado of a man well aware of his continued cultural relevance.
The set played out as a narrated journey through Williams’ career, beginning in 1990 with a big screen showing the music video for Take That’s “Do What You Like,” during which Williams talked earnestly about his time in the boyband. He recalled his wonderings of when it might be his time to shine while watching Gary Barlow sing all the songs.
Launching into an Oasis cover of “Don’t Look Back In Anger,” Williams donned a red diamonte Adidas jacket and sauntered around the stage. Tonight, it seemed to be a celebration of Robbie—the performer—but also of British culture as a whole as Williams brought out Gaz Coombes to take the lead on the epic Supergrass hit “Alright,” and then, to the audience’s delight, Danny Dyer appeared to give a flawless rendition of Blur’s “Parklife,” complete with the Coldstream Guards providing a cheerful brass band backing to the track.
The Nostalgia-fest gave way to the newer but no less iconic stage of Williams’ career, dedicating “I Love My Life” to his wife and kids and starting a dance competition with free t-shirts for the winners during “Candy.”
Among many, Robbie’s most compelling attribute is his ability to hold court over an audience, even at the scale of a sold-out BST Hyde Park show. As his only UK show of the year, the lucky fans who secured a ticket began the evening with an excitement that increased as the set continued. As he stormed through numerous favorites, “Love Supreme,” “Millennium,” “Feel,” “Kids,” and “Rock DJ,” each intro was accompanied by a wave of glee with every lyric sung back towards the stage from all parts of the crowd.
Williams finally returned for the encore in a black and white suit; the set then came to a close with “No Regrets,” “She’s The One,” and as fireworks heralded the end of the evening—the ever-iconic “Angels,” a song on the same level of notoriety as the king of British pop himself.
Photo credit: Dave Hogan