THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

406-Robbie Williams-Angels.

1997-Number 4 single.

Best Bit-At 2.50. Noel Gallagher once famously called Robbie Williams ‘That fat dancer from Take That,’ but I would imagine that even Noel Gallagher would have been proud to have written this song.

Robbie Williams was born Robert Peter Williams on February 13th, 1974, in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, with record sales in excess of 75 million worldwide, he is one of the best selling artists of all time. His big break occurred at the age of 16 in 1990 after successfully applying to be a member of a new boy band to be called ‘Take That,’ being put together by the English band manager Nigel Martin-Smith. In 1995 he mutually agreed to leave Take That, but due to legalities in his contract he couldn’t start a solo career until June 1996. With Take That he recorded three studio Albums between 1992-1995, and a fourth in 2010 when rejoining the group, he would remain an official member of Take That until 2014, with his solo career running concurrently. Robbie Williams has won numerous awards, including 18 ‘Brit Awards,’ winning ‘Best British Male Artist’ four times, ‘Outstanding Contribution to Music’ twice, and an ‘Icon Award’ for his lasting impact on British culture. In 2004, he was inducted into the ‘UK Music Hall of Fame,’ after being voted the ‘Greatest Artist of the 1990’s.’ His three concerts at Knebworth in 2003 drew over 375,000 people, which was the UK’s biggest music event to that point. In 2014, he was awarded the freedom of his hometown of Stoke-on-Trent, and had a tourist trail created and streets named in his honour.

The solo discography of Robbie Williams includes 12 studio Albums released between 1997-2019, of which 11 have reached the Number 1 position in the UK, and 62 singles released between 1996-2024, there is also one extended play, (EP) 10 official compilation Albums, and one live Album available. In the UK, 34 of his singles have reached the top 40, with seven of those tracks making the Number 1 spot, he has also appeared on 15 singles as a featured artist, including five charity singles, of which four have reached the Number 1 position. In America on the Billboard Hot 100, ‘Angels’ remains as his most successful single, peaking at Number 53. Despite touring America on several occasions, Robbie Williams has never managed to breakthrough there commercially. He eventually said that he gave up and ‘couldn’t be arsed.’

‘Angels’ was the fourth of five singles released from Robbie Williams’ debut solo studio Album ‘Life thru a Lens,’ from September 1997, the songs writing is credited to Robbie Williams and Guy Chambers, with the production being by Guy Chambers, and Steve Power. It has often been said that ‘Angels’ was the song which probably saved Robbie Williams solo career. The origins of who actually wrote ‘Angels’ is a little murky, and controversial to say the least. The Irish singer/songwriter Ray Heffernan insists he wrote the first version of ‘Angels’ in Paris in 1996, after his partner had a miscarriage. Heffernan has said that in Irish parlance a stillborn child is ‘born an angel,’ and that is what the song is about. Heffernan has also said that he met Williams in a pub by chance in Dublin. He showed him an incomplete version of the song, and later that week the two recorded a demo. Williams confirms he did record a demo, but said he rewrote the song significantly with Guy Chambers. When Heffernan learned that a version of ‘Angels’ was to appear on Robbie Williams debut Album ‘Life Thru A Lens’ he accepted an offer from William’s management to buy the songs rights for £7,500. To date it is estimated that ‘Angels’ has sold around 1.8 million copies, earning around £9 million in the UK alone. Heffernan’s name does not appear on the records song writing credits, which only names Williams, and Chambers. Hefernan has said that he was only 23 years old at the time, and naive, ‘For a long time I was angry about this, but as you get older you see things differently. The Angels connection has opened doors to publishing companies and earned me a few quid.’ In 2009 Williams told his biographer Chris Heath that ‘Angels’ is about his fascination with the paranormal, he said, ‘I believed that stuff when I wrote Angels, that’s why I wrote Angels. Angels isn’t about anybody, it’s about the thoughts that loved ones that have passed on, come back and take care of you.’ Angels is Robbie Williams’ best-selling single, with sales of just short of 2 million, and the 34th best selling UK single of the 1990’s. It was voted the best song of the previous 25 years at the 2005 Brit Awards, and in 2005, the British voted it the song they most wanted played at their funeral.

‘I sit and wait, does an angel contemplate my fate. And do they know the places where we go when we’re grey and old. ‘Cause I have been told that salvation let’s their wings unfold.’