Escapology is the fifth studio album by English singer-songwriter Robbie Williams.
In 2002, Williams signed a record-breaking £80 million contract with EMI. The contract featured a number of provisos, including the label ceding greater creative control to the artist and a commitment to breaking Williams in the American market. In return, EMI affirmed they would benefit from a cut of Williams' non-recording activities, including touring, publishing, and merchandising, thus protecting the company from any commercial downturn in the singer's album sales. So far it has become the biggest music deal in British history. Williams began working on what would be his fifth studio album, after a year out from recording. The album heralded a new era for Williams, as he had taken a more active role in the making of the album, giving an indication of his growing confidence in the studio. "One Fine Day", "Nan's Song" and "Come Undone" were the first three songs that Robbie wrote without Guy Chambers' input. The majority of the album was recorded in Los Angeles. "Escapology" was arguably conceived as a concept album, due to its lyrical content being totally reflective of Williams' life as a popstar. The album focuses on his his hopes and fears. Williams stated: "Half of the album it is written from the standpoint of 'Look, this is really me with my tears of a clown. Do they love me or hate me?' The rest of it is about somebody that I have to think I am to get up onstage. Because little me wouldn't get up there. It's too scary!" As the contract stated, EMI attempted to break Williams in the American market, and such, asked him to tweak Escapology to suit the market. As such, the American release shuffles the song order, removes "Song 3", "Hot Fudge", "Cursed", and one hidden track, and adding "Get A Little High" and "One Fine Day", and making "How Peculiar (Reprise)" a main album track instead of a hidden track. Williams promoted the album on shows such as Good Morning America, Last Call with Carson Daly and the Tonight Show. This version of the album won the award for 'Best Album by a Solo Male' in the International Category at the Oye! Awards in Mexico.Escapology is the fifth studio album by English singer-songwriter Robbie Williams.
In 2002, Williams signed a record-breaking £80 million contract with EMI. The contract featured a number of provisos, including the label ceding greater creative control to the artist and a commitment to breaking Williams in the American market. In return, EMI affirmed they would benefit from a cut of Williams' non-recording activities, including touring, publishing, and merchandising, thus protecting the company from any commercial downturn in the singer's album sales. So far it has become the biggest music deal in British history. Williams began working on what would be his fifth studio album, after a year out from recording. The album heralded a new era for Williams, as he had taken a more active role in the making of the album, giving an indication of his growing confidence in the studio. "One Fine Day", "Nan's Song" and "Come Undone" were the first three songs that Robbie wrote without Guy Chambers' input. The majority of the album was recorded in Los Angeles. "Escapology" was arguably conceived as a concept album, due to its lyrical content being totally reflective of Williams' life as a popstar. The album focuses on his his hopes and fears. Williams stated: "Half of the album it is written from the standpoint of 'Look, this is really me with my tears of a clown. Do they love me or hate me?' The rest of it is about somebody that I have to think I am to get up onstage. Because little me wouldn't get up there. It's too scary!" As the contract stated, EMI attempted to break Williams in the American market, and such, asked him to tweak Escapology to suit the market. As such, the American release shuffles the song order, removes "Song 3", "Hot Fudge", "Cursed", and one hidden track, and adding "Get A Little High" and "One Fine Day", and making "How Peculiar (Reprise)" a main album track instead of a hidden track. Williams promoted the album on shows such as Good Morning America, Last Call with Carson Daly and the Tonight Show. This version of the album won the award for 'Best Album by a Solo Male' in the International Category at the Oye! Awards in Mexico.false2025-01-23 17:44:49Escapology20022002-01-012002-01-0174DowntempoElectronicPopPop RockRockSoft Rock11132521108934627f781-02da-4b73-9a4d-05dc6fcd2594db4624cf-0e44-481e-a9dc-2142b833ec2f190374ef-a254-32d0-a6dd-9821beac79cf/media/data/media5/Music/Robbie Williams/Escapology/folder.jpgRobbie WilliamsRobbie WilliamsRobert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974 as Robert Peter Conway) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His discography includes seven UK No. 1 singles, and all but one of his 12 studio albums have reached No. 1 in the UK. Six of his albums are among the top 100 biggest-selling albums in the UK, with two of them in the top 60, and he gained a Guinness World Record in 2006 for selling 1.6 million tickets in a single day during his Close Encounters Tour.Williams has received a record 18 Brit Awards, winning Best British Male Artist four times, Outstanding Contribution to Music twice, an Icon Award for his lasting impact on British culture, eight German ECHO Awards, and three MTV European Music Awards. In 2004, he was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame after being voted the Greatest Artist of the 1990s. According to the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), he has been certified for 20.2 million albums and 8.4 million singles in the UK as a solo artist. Five of his albums have also topped the Australian albums chart, and has sold 75 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. He additionally topped the 2000–2010 UK airplay chart. His three concerts at Knebworth in 2003 drew over 375,000 people, the UK's biggest music event to that point. In 2014, he was awarded the freedom of his home town of Stoke-on-Trent, as well as having a tourist trail created and streets named in his honour.
After 15 years, Williams rejoined Take That in 2010 to co-write and perform lead vocals on their album Progress, which became the second-fastest-selling album in UK chart history and the fastest-selling record of the century at the time. The subsequent stadium tour, which featured seven songs from Williams' solo career, became the biggest-selling concert in UK history when it sold 1.34 million tickets in less than 24 hours. In 2011, Take That frontman Gary Barlow confirmed that Williams had left the band for a second time to focus on his solo career, although he stated that the departure was amicable and that Williams was welcome to rejoin Take That in the future. Williams has since performed with Take That on three separate television appearances, and collaborated with Barlow on a number of projects such as the West End musical The Band.