Robbie Williams
Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
Saturday, November 7th
Earlier this week, Robbie Williams couldn’t resist trying on the singlet top he wore in his “Rock DJ” video during an appearance at his Shoppie Williams pop-up in the Melbourne suburb of Prahran. It still fits. Later this evening, Robbie confirms he’s been off the booze for 27 years – trading pints for push-ups is obviously working for him.
In career-best vocal form and comfortable in his own skin, Robbie truly is the greatest showman. His banter and crowd engagement are unparalleled. Just add his high LPM (Laughs Per Minute) score and Robbie is untouchable live.
Tonight’s interstitial backdrop resembles a blackboard covered in white chalk speech bubbles, which read like Robbie’s internal dialogue (eg. “I’ve just said something witty”, “I feel really anxious”, “I want to go home now”).
As pitch darkness sets in, “Williams Blood” by Grace Jones is a cute lead-up song while we wait for the man himself to take the stage.
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A voiceover pondering the future of entertainment in the wake of TikTok, AI and the like. An illuminated rocket platform rises as sparks fly. Wait, that can’t be Robbie on top of the structure wearing an astronaut’s outfit and shades, can it? It is! He dives off and is slowly lowered onto stage level – upside down, no less – before flipping onto his feet and launching into “Rocket”, the lead single from his latest BRITPOP album (2026).
Counting up the musicians (brass section, inclusive) and dancers, there’s gotta be close to 20 people on stage. Ahead of “Let Me Entertain You”, Robbie somehow manages a complete costume change – signature comfy red tracksuit with bedazzled jacket, before showing off some fancy Charleston footwork.
Robbie’s come a long way from the self-described “fat dancer from Take That” to the world-class entertainer we witness tonight. “Can I kick it?” Adelaide massive: “YES YOU CAN!” Enter “Rock DJ”, for which Robbie sports an Elmo-red, floor-length, faux-fur coat, as dancers with umbrellas do their thing.
He opens “Wrong” with a Charlie Chaplin impersonation, waddling while circling his mic stand like a cane. We endure another newie, “Pretty Face”. Post-song, Robbie hilariously thanks us for putting up with it, admitting that when artists who have been around for 30 years sing new stuff it gives him “a soft-on”.
Introducing “Love My Life”, Robbie endearingly shares, “My wife and my kids saved my fucking life”. Cannons launch multicoloured streamers, which rain down on the crowd, during this one.
Robbie dobs his drummer Karl Brazil in for pestering him to include “Hot Fudge” (the song about moving to LA) in the setlist over the years. He’s finally capitulated and we’re so glad he did.
“Supreme” – which heavily interpolates Gloria Gaynor’s disco hit “I Will Survive” – is another welcome addition, during which backing vocalists, Sara Jane Skeete and Elle Cato, shine.
With its fun “bom bom bom ba da” singalong sections, “The Road To Mandalay” is an unexpected highlight. During this one, Robbie makes his way down to a C stage, which he admits was inspired by Coldplay. The phone torches come out for “Better Man”, during which footage from Robbie’s 2024 biopic of the same name plays on the giant screens.
Thom Rylance, the lead singer from tonight’s first support band Lottery Winners, pops up onto the C stage. He accompanies Robbie on guitar while they test out which songs are familiar to Adelaidians – “Candy”? Not so much. Then Rylance starts strumming “Wonderwall” by Oasis, which prompts Robbie to admit this song triggers him to this day. Turns out that two years after Oasis broke up, Robbie rang Noel Gallagher to volunteer his services as a singer. Gallagher guffawed, then hung up.
For “Millennium”, eight gold-clad dancers appear evenly dispersed across the stage, each elevated on a box. Their extra-long skirts make them look like they’re on stilts – kinda like a row of Logie trophies come to life.
Following a quick change that sees him belatedly doing up his fly (back on stage), Robbie performs Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York” wearing a neon pink suit and matching feather boa. That sustained note during this one, though! Such a showoff.
Resplendent with string section, layered harmonies and brass stings, “No Regrets” would make a great Bond song.
Robbie puts his own spin on band intros: each musician plays a segment of a song by another artist, after which the audience is encouraged to deem them “shit” or “not”’. Guitarist Tom Longworth nails Shania Twain’s “Man! I Feel Like A Woman!”, bassist Jerry Meehan treats us to “Seven Nation Army” by The White Stripes, Brazil pummels Men At Work’s “Down Under” on drums, the BV duo do “Livin’ On A Prayer” by Bon Jovi justice, Hot City Horns take on Village People’s “YMCA”, keyboardist Owen Parker’s rendition of “Never Tear Us Apart” by INXS wins the biggest crowd reaction and then rhythm guitarist Gary Nuttall – who’s been playing with Robbie since the very beginning of his solo journey (1997) – lovingly concludes this section with The Beatles’ “Hey Jude”.
“Come Undone” inspires Robbie to enquire, “Australia, am I still your son?” Our deafening cheers give him all the confirmation he needs.
A rockin’ brass-enhanced version of “Kids” sees Robbie’s backing vocalists sharing Kylie’s parts in this duet. They’re both absolutely brilliant, but we sure wish Kylie had made an appearance!
Robbie’s chosen serenade subject this evening (for the entirety of “She’s The One”) is Georgie Potter. He hands Potter the mic, giving her an opportunity to plug her upcoming 2027 Adelaide Fringe comedy cabaret show, Fangirl Fundamentals, which we’re told “heavily features a certain popstar”.
While introducing the main-set closer, “My Way“, Robbie reveals it was seeing his “daddy” Pete – a singer/comedian – performing this song many moons ago that made him wanna follow in his footsteps.
The encore commences with “Real Love”, poignant and stirring, before Robbie gushes, “If I had the chance to be born again, I’d be born again in Australia.” Now silver, the rocket launcher from this show’s dazzling opening now resembles angel’s wings for (you guessed it) “Angels” – the singalong of all singalongs and a karaoke fave to boot.
Robbie’s previous Australian tour saw him mainly playing arenas and wineries, but now he’s back where he belongs: in massive stadiums. At 52 years young, Robbie makes performers half his age look lazy.
While exiting the stadium, punters aptly sing along with “(I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life”, which plays over the venue sound system and encapsulates the vibe.
