

When Williams' work with Take That ended in 1996, the British government went so far as to set up telephone hotlines to deal with teenagers who were distraught over the news. Robbie Williams always makes an impression Image: picture alliance/abaca Soon, he was the best-loved member of the band and an apparent teen idol.


At 15, Williams' mother pushed him to register for the casting that would later make him part of one of the most successful boy bands of the 90s: Take That. When it would rain in Stroke-on-Trent, Robbie Williams' birthplace, he couldn't find much to do except listen to those records. Peter left behind vinyl albums from big names like Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Nat King Cole, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. When Williams' father, Peter, left his family, the future performer was just three years old. But swing has remained a key influence for him up to the present, and it's even inspired two of his albums. Instead, Robert Peter Williams - better known today as Robbie Williams - became interested as an adolescent in a musical style that wasn't exactly popular with young audiences. The Brit's musical career got off to a hesitant start, and it certainly didn't involve learning an instrument.
