Superstar Taylor Swift is to blame. Robbie Williams announced his new album in May 2025 – it was originally supposed to be released in October. But then Swift’s “The Life of a Showgirl” came out, which Williams later admitted he didn’t want to compete with. That’s why he postponed his album until February 2026. But it didn’t stop there. Now “Britpop” is surprisingly on the market three weeks early.
“You thought it was coming then, then we changed our minds,” Williams announced on his Instagram account, “and now I’ve decided it’s coming now.” Last year gave a foretaste of four singles and a few hand-picked concerts in small British clubs, where Williams, who usually fills stadiums, performed “Britpop” in its entirety.
A heavy metal legend on guitar
The album cover shows a painting of Robbie Williams as he looked in the mid-90s, shortly after leaving Take That. Because that’s where the 51-year-old wanted to go back musically. “I set out to make the album that I wanted to write and release after I left Take That in 1995,” Williams said of the album announcement. “It was the height of Britpop and a golden age for British music.”
The first single, which is also the opening track of the album, has little to do with Britpop. “Rocket” is a simple but thrilling hard rock song featuring legendary heavy metal guitarist Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath. The background vocals come from former Deep Purple bassist and singer Glenn Hughes. “I worked with some of my heroes on this album,” Williams said.
Return to the era of “Cool Britannia”
Only then does Britpop begin – with “a lot of Brit” and “definitely pop,” as the pop star herself says. “Spies”, “Pretty Face” and “All My Life” are actually an unmistakable return to the Robbie Williams style of the 90s. It’s not original, but it’s catchy. By the time of Cool Britannia, he was trading in the boy band sound for something that sounded more – although not quite – like Oasis than the uplifting pop songs penned by Gary Barlow.
Barlow, with whom Williams had a falling out at the time but has long since reconciled, was involved as a songwriter on a strange song. “Morrissey” sounds like a paean to the singer who is famous for both brilliant music and controversy. “I wrote it from the point of view of a stalker, someone who is completely obsessed with him and in love with him,” explained Williams, who is said to be becoming more and more like Morrissey in appearance.
Between hip-hop, glam rock and Tony Christie
Anyone who thought that the gifted entertainer would stay away from hip-hop after his biggest career flop “Rudebox” was wrong. Unfortunately. Because “Bite Your Tongue” shows once again why he should stop rapping. It just sounds too silly.
Strangely enough, the chorus is very similar to “Rocket”. With support from Supergrass frontman Gaz Coombes, the 51-year-old sings the clearly glam rock-inspired “Cocky”. “Human” is a collaboration with the Latin pop duo Jesse & Joy – shallow, melancholic pop, but without an audible Latin influence.
With orchestral accompaniment, harmonious strings and “Lalala” choir singing, “It’s OK Until The Drugs Stop Working” is a tongue-in-cheek reminder of the lively, opulent pop hymns of the 60s and 70s by Neil Diamond, Tony Christie and Engelbert Humperdinck.
Is Williams leaving the Beatles behind?
Williams’ main reason for avoiding the chart duel with Taylor Swift was his hope that he would top the British album charts for the 16th time with “Britpop” – including best-of compilations and the soundtrack to his biopic “Better Man”. The British singer mentioned this several times. That would put him ahead of the Beatles. They both currently have 15 number one albums.
“Britpop” is a solid piece of work. Williams’ return to the 90s sound was a success. Many songs would also have fit on his debut “Life Thru A Lens”. However, his statement that “Britpop” was the album he wanted to make back then is a bit irritating. After all, the million-seller “Life Thru A Lens” contained megahits like “Angels,” “Let Me Entertain You” and “Old Before I Die.” “Britpop” cannot stand up to this comparison.
