Robbie Williams, Emirates Stadium, London: Pop legend ushers in ‘Britpop’ summer while embracing his old self 

“Guitars are back, baby… it’s a Britpop summer!” Robbie Williams’ tongue is placed at least partially in cheek as the opening riffs of ‘Old Before I Die’ hit, his delivery of overworked cliché and ham-fisted pun skilfully skating the paper-thin line between witty self-awareness and a clamour for relevance. Tonight, it appears as if his place in pop has been at the forefront of his mind, too; on one hand boastfully declaring himself the ‘King of Entertainment’, on the other, donning an oversized bright pink tulle boa to encourage the tens of thousands inside the Emirates Stadium to “embrace their cringe”. 

For anyone who watched his much-dissected biopic Better Man, caught his Netflix documentary series, or have even seen interview footage beyond the thirty-second soundbite clips, this push-and-pull between the boastful and anxiety-ridden is nothing new; and, even as he jests (“I’m shitting hits…”), it’s followed by an almost-caveat (“….aren’t I?”). 

For what it’s worth, he’s not wrong, his enviable and practically peerless back catalogue tonight split roughly into thirds. First, driven by the recent announcement of thirteenth solo album ‘Britpop’, opener and punky new single ‘Rocket’ (after which his stage setup took the song’s title literally to eventually manifest in a nod to his ‘Escapology’ cover and subsequent 2003 tour intro, as immortalised at Knebworth) is joined by a selection of fellow guitar-led numbers. ‘Let Me Entertain You’, ‘Monsoon’, ‘Old Before I Die’, ‘Rock DJ’ and ‘Strong’ all come punctuated by a rock medley taking in snippets of anthems including The White Stripes’ ‘Seven Nation Army’, Blur’s ‘Song 2’ and Bon Jovi’s ‘Livin’ On A Prayer’.

His outfit – a sequinned red sports jacket with complementing wide joggers – also nods to his ‘90s era and the iconic image of him at Glastonbury (30 years ago this month) that forms that new album’s artwork. There, too, are requisite special guests for a show this size: this evening, a reformed Five appear for a euphoric and no doubt cathartic ‘Keep On Movin’’ - the outfit’s first public performance together in 25 years - as well as Lulu, for a throwback to her feature on Take That’s 1993 release of ‘Relight My Fire’. 

An acoustic run on the B-stage then references snippets of songs not fully showcased, with ‘Sexed Up’ a popular but brief crowd favourite, before a return to the main stage for a tick-list of Robbie favourites: ‘Millennium’ and ‘Kids’; ‘Come Undone’ and ‘She’s The One’; ‘Theme From New York, New York’ and ‘My Way’; and a brief foray into the Minder TV theme tune - for some reason known mostly to Robbie and his band, and likely not at all to the younger half of the audience.

Arguably, each song’s era could’ve been given a greater focus, but time is tight when you’re shitting hits. And, after all, this is “Britpop summer”. As the satisfied masses leave, the refrain of inevitable closer ‘Angels’ ringing through the muggy North London air, it’s possible to spot other artists’ merch on display: Fontaines DC; IDLES; Download Festival 2023. In short, there’s the inkling that his 2025 embrace of his 1995 self - while the scathing dialogue formed between him and the tabloid press is increasingly forgotten - might well be perfect timing. ‘Cringe’ be damned, tonight Robbie’s not only very much relevant, but (whisper it) cool at that.