29th June 2003
Unfortuantely, because of transportaition problems I wasn’t able to make it in first or second pit. I was in the third pit but considering the fact that we came at the stadion only at 3 pm that was quite good position.
Support acts were Kelly Osbourne and Skin. Kelly was really annoying to me and didn’t get the crowd on the feet at all. She sang 4 or 5 songs and after half an hour went off the stage. But Skin was great. She was on for about an hour and was all over the stage. She also used a catwalk a lot which led into a crowd. Of cource Robbie used it often too.
The Setlist:
1. Let Me Entertain You
2. Let Love Be Your Energ
3. Monsoon
4. Come Undone
5. Strong
6. Me And My Monkey
7. Hot Fudge
8. Mr Bojangles
9. One For My Baby
10. She’s the One
12. No Regrets
13. Kids
14. Feel
15. Ecstasy/Rock DJ
16. Millennium
17. Angels
He opened the show with Let me entertain you hanging up side down like on the escapology sleeve. He was wearing the usual black shirt, black trousers and white tie. During that song he introduced himself ‘My name is Robbie Williams! Ich bin ein rockstar (=I am rockstar)!’ He was making jokes in between songs all the time. He imitated Justin Timberlake which was so funny. While he was singing Come undone a few panties and bra were thrown on the stage. He played with panties for a while and then took the bra and said ‘Is that some king of catapult?’and then he shoot the bra into the crowd.
Before Me and my monkey he asked us not to show him our tits, because the other night in Wienna one girl showed him tits and they were so huge that he forgot the lyrics. Then followed Strong with karaoke lessons.
Then he told us that one really wired thing happened to him on his last gig in Wienna. He said that one girl in front row wanted an autograph while he was singing on stage. And that this has never happened to him before. Then he looked at a girl in a front row who was holding a sign ‘Robbie could you give me an autograph?’ He said to her ‘You know you are not alone here? There are 60.000 other people here.’ Then he asked her for a pen.The staduim went wild at this point so he took her pen and paper and lied on the stage and wrote down ‘To Miriam, with all my love, Robbie. And then he said or maybe even (I don’t know) wrote ‘You silly girl’
Then He wished that a piano would come out of in the middle of the stage. And as he says that, this really happens. He told us a sad story of him and Max B. How they were sad for Cristmas because their dicks have shrunken. Latter he rememberd that this wasn’t true and told us that the reason they were sad was cuz their girlfriends dumped them. They were all alone and they sang One for my baby. He sang this song to us and ended it with ‘One for a Spice Girl, and one for Rachel Hunter.’
He dedicated She is the one to the couple in the front row. He said to the guy thet he should marry her and then he and crowd cheerd up ‘kiss her, kiss her,…’
Then the whole stadion started the mexican wave but without his permition. He tried to stop us because he wanted to start a wave and was shouting ‘Stop it! The wave is out of control.’ But the crowd was wild. After a while he began to clap and at this point the crowd stopped with the wave. He said ‘Sorry, but a have a gig to do.’
Then it was the time for the hands in the air and it followd Millenium. Of course he also did ‘ get your cameras out and when I count to 3 take a picture.’
He also sang Babe from Take that but the crowd, didn’t really know the text and then he said ‘how quickly did you forget Take that? when I left Take that the girls threaten to kill themselves and now you don’t even know the lyrics to Babe.’ He said that Mark Owen would turn in his grave if he knew that.
He dedicated Rock DJ to Barry White.
After the encore he came on stage wearing kilt and red t-shirt with love and hate sign on it. He also showed us his bum, which I didn’t manage to catch on my camera. That is all I can remember rigt now. The show was GREAT and I will never forget it. I can’t wait until I see him again.
HotFudge
6th July 2003
First the setlist of the evening:
1. Let me entertain you
2. Let love be your engergy
3. We will rock you - Monsoon
4. Come Undone
5. Strong
6. Me and My monkey
7. Mr. Bojangles
8. She's the one
9. Supreme
10. Kids
11. Better Man
12. Nans song
13. Feel
Rappel 1
14. Rock DJ
15. Angels
Rappel 2
Back for Good
So now the report! Robbie was in a very good mood. Although the concert didn't start as it should be. The white draperie didn't wont to go down!! So Robbie was hanging there, :-) But the problem was fixed in a couple of seconds. than the show started and robbie was really entertaining the audience. He made jokes about sting, justin timberlake and gary barlow, mark owen and the other members of take that. There was a very special moment for gary nuthall, the guitarist. It was his birthday so Robbie had a surprise. He said: " We have no cake and no presents gary, but we have Antwerp" and than the 14000 fans sang Happy Birthday dear Gary
There was also a special introducing of monsoon. Robbie started the song We will rock you from queen and than he went to the beginning lines of Monsoon !
He didn't sang No regrets, one for my baby and millenium. He did a solo guitar medley instead of that. He improvised first a song about antwerp, than he sang some lines of better man and than he sang some lines of nan's song!
Also he dedicated the song rock dj to Barry White.
And during Angels there was a very special moment for a young kid (6-7 years). She was sitting on the knee of Robbie during a part of the song (very nice moment)
Than the band members and robbie said goodbye but Robbie didn't wont to stop! He asked his band for just one song and robbie declared : "im going to sing one more song because i have lost my mind here tonight in Antwerp! He dedicated the song at the members of take that and than Robbie begin to sing back for good
23rd July 2003
23rd July 2003
The line-up was pretty much the same as his former concerts. But he did play a bit of Nan’s song and better man, and he didn't play Millennium.
He started by introducing himself. The crowd was directly with him. He even spoke a few worths in Dutch ( lekker ding= nice thing (of a woman), Doei= See you, dank u= thanks, hoe gaat het?= how are you,...) That was pretty funny.
There was a banner that said: “Robbie its Sonja’s birthday, please say something” So Robbie read it and said: SOMETHING. Then someone threw a pant, but he threw it back. All the other things you’ve already heard of other concerts f.e. the karaoke and stuff. It was wonderful; he’s one hell of an entertainer. He’s even more attractive in real life. He also imitated Justin and said something about Mark. He showed us a little dance. That was real fun. He also sang a song while he was playing guitar, but he said that’s the only thing he could do with a guitar.
And then he had a little surprise, a surprise he didn’t know just until the start of the concert. It was the birthday of Garry Nuttal (guitar) so we had to sing for him.
My boyfriend also found it very very good, but he was more into his dancers, they were all great looking girls. I wish I could go again and again and again and….. Afterwards I have bought the book (18€) expensive, but worth it. And when we walked back to the car, my boyfriend found something on the street, yes the five broches(?) someone had lost it, so they’re mine now.
And of course, Kelly Osbourne. She really can’t sing and she doesn’t have any self-assurance. When she said “This is the last song” the crowd went wild.
We had to walk a long way from the pick up point to get to the entrance and then there was really long ques. We started quing at about 12ish and got in about 1 o'clock. Theres people selling stuff everywhere.
It was a long day of watiting. Darkness came on at about 3 and they were ok. Kelly Osborn was on bout an hour later and, well she realyl cant sing live!!lo. ash and Moby were good, but not as good as robbie!!
He came on at about 8.20 singing Let me entertain you and throught out the conert he did not let his forst song down-he entertained me alright and the whole crowd. Everyone was singing and danceing and waving. It was a great atmosphere. He got everyone to sing happy birthday to johnathon wilks and we all took part in the biggest kareoke ever, to strong-there were words on the screen. There were big scressn everywhere and so you coudl see him all the time. The lightting was great and he had the flames on his official last song- angels but he did carry on one more- a take that jumble of songs. He didnt sing millenium or something beautiful, which i was a bit dissapointed about and he said he wished he could have stayed on longer but couldn't. He appeared overwhealmed and upset by all the people, but then this could be an act- like he says in his film, he is robbie on stage and rob offstage, a different person.
Overall it was really great. Would have loved to be right at the front and nect concert im doing anything to get there. The only bad thing about the concetr is that i like him even more :D Thought that may be a good thing- althought the one thing that would have been better than the concert would have been meeting him, but I doubt that will happen, so this is the next best thing!!
Luv Niki x
1st August 2003
At 7 AM on the 1st August 2003 I was woken up by my 3 year old daughter Melissa shouting down my ear "Mummy, Mummy, Robbie today." It hit me like a tornado "Oh my God, it's here at last, I'm going to see him." I'd had tickets to see him three times in the past and each time events in my life had made it impossible for me to go. The last few weeks I'd been holding on anxiously, praying nothing was going to go wrong this time. Now here it was.
Melissa has assumed she was coming from when I first told her about it. She has adored Robbie since she was one week old and heard Angel's on the radio in the car on the way home from hospital. I would have loved to have taken her but she is far too young. I knew she was going to be heart broken.
I was going with my friend Allie. We had planned to go on a coach or a train but all the coach's were booked up and the trains are going to be a nightmare so my very kind, darling husband Ste was taking us down - we live in Liverpool.
We set off at 10 o'clock - sure enough, Melissa was devastated, and I felt awful leaving her. She stood at the door shouting "Robbie, Robbie" down the road.
So, we were off. I was so excited.
We arrived about 4 o'clock. I bought Melissa the gorgeous "Robbie boxing" poster in hope that she would ever forgive me for not taking her! Ste was going to spend the day in Stevenage and later find a pub that had the football on.
We missed The Darkness and Kelly Osbourne but Ash were on when we arrived.
As we walked into Knebworth I was taken away by the vastness of the place, it wasn't even half full at that point but even then, there were so many people I was blown away. At that point it really hit me what was happening - I was going to see Robbie Williams the man who I have worshiped and adored for 7 years, I was going to see him in the famous Knebworth among 125,000 other adoring fans! I suddenly started shaking from head to toe and I had to sit down and drink some water. At this point, I gave myself a strict talking to. At this rate, I would pass out before he had even come on stage and I didn't want to miss a thing. I had to get myself under control.
We managed to get a decent speck not too far back from the front and there were massive screens for us to look at as well. Moby came on about 6 o'clock and about 1/2 way through his set I heard someone shouting "Julie" behind me. I looked round and was absolutely gobsmacked - there was Ste! He had bought a ticket outside for £15!!!!!!! The most amazing thing was though that he had managed to find us, he said he just kept walking among the crowd and suddenly saw us!
By this time 2 helicopters were flying around Knebworth and everyone was eagerly wondering if Robbie was in one of them. At 20 past 8, the curtains went back, the band appeared, and suddenly there was Robbie, suspended up side down, arms stretched out dressed in black trousers and shirt, white tie and very cool black shades. The crowd erupted; the moment we had waited for was finally here. Robbie was slowly lowered down to the almost deafening cheers of his adoring public. When on the floor his dancers assisted him in untying himself and he immediately threw himself into "Let me entertain you." The crowd was wild, when he sang "Now scream" the noise was like nothing you have ever heard before. After the first verse and chorus, he said to us "Good evening Knebworth, my name is Robbie Williams and tonight I am going to give you the best show of your lives." Even at that early stage we knew that was exactly what we were going to get, Robbie was in absolute top form, already he was giving 110% of himself to us and we were giving 110% back to him, the whole place was electric. He went straight from "Let Me entertain you into "Let Love be you Energy." Robbie had everyone moving and singing along, the atmosphere was so intense it was amazing. At the end of "Let love be your Energy" Robbie just stood there with his hands over his mouth, his eyes were glistering with tears and he said "Oh my God what have I done!" He then said that for the first time in his life he was lost for words, he said he was totally in awe of what he was seeing, he had never seen anything like this in his life. That was my first cry of the night, if that man wasn't genuinely overcome with emotion he deserves an Oscar! His face, his eyes, everything about him told us he absolutely and completely blown away by what he was seeing and hearing. He actually asked us "What have I done to deserve this?" and then said that he hoped he could be as good as us that night because so far we had been a lot better than he had! Obviously we furiously objected because it just wasn't true!
Please forgive me if I don't get the exact order he sang the songs correct, I can remember every song he done and every word he said but the precise order may not be exact. He packed 2 hours and 20 minutes full of sensational songs, clever wit and comedy, dynamic dancing and sentimental emotion. He made us laugh, he made us cry, he made us gasp in amazement, he made us sing, dance, cheer and he even had us making stupid noises - following which he said "It's nice to know you lot are as mad as I am!"
He told us to cheer if he said alcohol and boo if he said drugs. He then gave a young girl in the crowd a lecture about the evils of drugs. He told her only to take drugs if she really, really liked them and then she had to keep them close because a lot of bad people would try to rob them and they are very expensive! Then we had a practice "Alcohol - Drugs" Robbie chanted repeatedly and the crowd cheered and booed accordingly till it got a bit messed up! "Oh I'm getting confused myself now" Robbie complained. At various points throughout the night he would suddenly shout "Alcohol" or "Drugs" depending on the reaction he wanted, and he was not left disappointed!
If Robbie said put your hand in the air 125,000 people put their hands in the air, if Robbie said put 2 hands in the air 125.000 people put 2 hands in the air. If Robbie said bounce 125,000 people bounced and if Robbie said sing 125,000 people sang. But the most amazing thing was that if Robbie wanted to say something to us and make himself heard he (politely!) asked the audience to sshhh and I swear you would have heard a pin drop among that 125,00 crowd!
He gave a fantastic performance of "We will rock you" with all the crowd singing and dancing along. "Come undone" was wonderful with a very lucky lady joining Robbie on stage. There was a lot of tit flashing throughout the show - as usual! One particular girl at the front, who was absolutely massive, caught Robbie's eye. He exclaimed "Oh my god, look at the size of them! I have never seen anything like that in my entire life, it's amazing! Quick get the camera in on them!"
Monsoon was of cause fantastic. I have looked forward to hearing that song live since Escapology was released and I was not disappointed. Instead of singing "I'm moving to L.A" he said, "I'm moving back to England". It came out like it had just entered his head on Friday night. Did he mean it? I think at that moment he probably felt like he never wanted to leave England again but I really don't think he will move back.
Hot Fudge was fabulous, enhanced by Robbie's brilliant dancers who he enjoyed introducing to the male members of the audience!
He dedicated "No regrets" to the ex members of Take-That, naughty boy! The end of the song was very dramatic with the whole audience raising their arms in the air and shouting "Dead". One of the highlights of the night was Robbie bringing Jonny Wilkes on stage and getting us all to sing happy birthday to him, he was obviously chuffed. As Jonny left the stage Robbie says, "He's so camp he is, no wonder everyone thinks we're gay!"
We took part in the largest kareoki in the world! Robbie said he had Cheryl Baker etc from the Guinness book of records back stage and we sang "Strong". Afterwards he told us he had had official notification that we had set a new record!
"Me and my monkey" was brilliant and gave us all a change to catch our breaths!
The poor butcher from Knebworth High Street got a right ribbing off Robbie who gave him mock business advice telling him "See everything as an opportunity, you should have been out selling hot-dogs today instead of harking on about pork chops, you could have cleared up!"
Robbie announced that he was in the mood for a bit of Swing but unfortunately there was no piano. With that a piano rose up onto the stage with Max Beasley sat at it, the crowd was very pleased to see him. Robbie asked Max how he was feeling and he said he was in awe of the crowd and feeling slightly aroused! They then gave us a wonderful performance of "Mr. Bojangles".
Following "Mr.Bojangles" Robbie told us that him and Max were very sad because they didn't have girlfriends. He said they both finished with their girlfriends just before Christmas, then said he always finished with his girlfriends before Christmas so he didn't have to buy them an expensive present! He asked the audience if anyone wanted to be their girlfriends - I don't suppose I have to tell you what reaction that got!!!!!!!!!!!
Robbie then became very serious and asked if anyone in the audience was in love because he was looking for love. He chose a couple at the front. He asked their names, if they had any children and how long they had been together. They were obviously delighted and very much in love. Robbie asked them to kissed and they did, he was obviously very touched by their closeness and said "That is real love and that is what I am looking for". He then dedicated the next song - "She's the one to them". She cried throughout the song and he was pretty close himself! At the end of the song Robbie removed the jacket he was wearing, signed it and gave it to them. They were over the moon.
"Supreme" was fantastic, "Kids" was obviously brilliant and "Better Man" was a beautiful surprise.
Robbie then brought out his guitar and started messing about singing silly made up lyrics "We're here at Knebworth on a Friday night" etc. Suddenly he sang, "There is a little lady at the edge of the stage and she is my Mum". With that he brought his Mum on, the crowd gave her a fabulous reception and I don't know who looked the prouder, Jan of her son Robbie or Robbie of his Mum. He said "Everyone this is my Mum, Mum this is everyone" just like he was introducing her to a group of friends. As she walked off stage Robbie says "Ey Mum what are you walking like that for? Have you all seen the way she is walking it's like a 'he's my son he is' walk. Ey Mum is that how you walk when you answer the phone in that posh voice?" The audience was in stitches laughing and his Mum was looking at him like "Just wait till I get you home!"
The next song was simply introduced "For all the Grans". It was the beautiful "Nan's song". I think this song means a lot to everyone because it is such a heartfelt, honest display of pure love and emotion. Everyone has lost someone who was special to them and I think everyone can relate to the lyrics. For me the special person is my lovely Mum who I lost 10 years ago - more tears!
He told us the song he was about to sing he had written about 2-3 years ago when he was at a very bad point in his life. But now he felt well and he was happy because he has got a brilliant family, a brilliant band, a brilliant record company, brilliant friends and the best fans in the world. It was Feel. I can't believe that anyone had a dry eye at Knebworth during "Feel" and that includes Robbie himself. Inspite of, or maybe because of Robbie's tears he sang the song beautifully and with so much feeling and meaning. The majestic backdrop to the already splendid stage setting, which depicted silhouetted images of Robbie in various poses and facial profiles, enhanced the song. The look on his face and in his eyes as he looked out at us all will never leave me.
He then said "Good-Night" and he and the band left the stage. They weren't gone more than a couple of minutes through and then exploded back on stage with the magnificent "Rock DJ".
Then it was the one and only "Angels". What can I say about it? Some critic's criticise Robbie by saying, "He doesn't sing 'Angels' live, the audience sing it". Well he sung it live on 1st August 2003 and he sung it loud and it sung it proud! The audience sang with him and it was like a God leading his disciples. At the end of the song Robbie asked us "One more time with me, please" and we did another chorus. Then giant flames ignited from either side of the magnificent stage, the effect was amazing.
We thought it was over but then after a quick consultation with the band members he threw himself into a medley of "Take-That" songs, culminating in the "Robbie version" of "Back for good".
Then, at 20 to 11, it was over. We had just witnessed what will surely go down in history as one of the greatest shows of all time. In years to come I would tell my Grandchildren about this night. We had witnessed history in the making.
I was in a daze for a long time afterwards, it took me a long time to come down. I had to be led back to the car by Allie and Ste while they kept asking me "Are you OK Julie?" and I was just nodding with a silly grin on my face! I wasn't even on this planet.
One of the most amazing things about tonight's performance was witnessing Robbie's awe and humbleness, he was genuinely taken away by it all. In the Saturday night performance on Channel 4 he said that the night before he had been on another planet for the first 5 songs, and that showed.
Even the 4 and 1/2-hour wait to leave the car park meaning we didn't get home till 8 o'clock the next morning didn't take anything away from how special it was. Later on I asked Ste how he had enjoyed it. Now bear in mind that Ste is a die-hard Pink Floyd fan who was always part of the "Robbie's just a cabaret entertainer" crowd. But I think his reply summed up what everyone at Knebworth that night would have thought. He said "The man is a fuckin' genius!"
1st August 2003