THERE aren’t many men who could boast of locking lips with two Spice Girls and a member of Take That. But Robbie Williams isn’t most men.
The superstar naturally takes his roll call of A-list conquests in his stride as we play a toe-curling — mine, not his — game of Never Have I Ever.
Robbie Williams with Ginger Spice Geri Horner in 2001Credit: Refer to source
Robbie with Take That members, from left: Mark Owen, Howard Donald, Jason Orange and Gary BarlowCredit: Getty
Robbie plays a non-drinking drinking game of I Have Never with The Sun’s Clemmie MoodieCredit: The Sun
“If I’ve done it, I have to drink,” Robbie reminds himself as we prepare to down shots of Evian, not vodka, thanks to the singer’s quarter century of sobriety.
“The Spice Girls: Yep, snogged two,” chimes as I gingerly neck a shot while managing to dodge publicly confessing which of the five I’ve snogged (IFYKYK).
Of his bandmates, , , and self-imposed hermit , Robbie adds: “I must have kissed one. Tongues? Hmmm I don’t know if there’d be tongues.”
While many a D-list celebrity would be absolutely horrified by some of my questions — “I have never pooed myself?”, “I have never had a 72-hour bender?” — Robbie is a man with nothing to prove.
He has seen and done it all, and has the gongs, accolades and fame to prove it.
When I text him in advance to check a non-drinking would be OK, he replies: “Can we make it filthy?”
He then promptly asks a question unprintable in a family newspaper.
Naturally, there is no escaping prior to settling down with .
Today, he is happy to rake over some of them. Has he ever joined the ? ( at 36,000ft, not an awful private members bar).
“I’ve never joined the Mile High . . . oh, yeah, I have,” Robbie grins.
“Helicopter!”
He adds: “To be fair I’d have shagged a slow puncture, but opportunity never arose.
“I’ve slept with many older women who would probably be younger than me now. And maybe a little older than me, but not over 60. Not saying that I wouldn’t have.”
Pre-, Robbie never properly settled and, in a rare moment of calm in the game, expands.
“Looking outside of myself, I ticked a lot of boxes,” the Let Me Entertain You singer explains.
“Therefore, lots of people would fall in love with me very, very quickly. And I just got bored and scared of breaking people’s hearts.
“When I was out and about, I was a good option for people’s futures. I’ve ghosted several people.”
He says he also nearly got a life ban from a well-known airline.
“Virgin Atlantic nearly didn’t let me on the plane for being so drunk.
“I was absolutely hammered and demanding more booze.
“So what they did, on the plane, they went and rimmed my glass with Jack Daniel’s.
“So I was just drinking Coke but it smelt of Jack Daniel’s. Thank you, Virgin.”
The turning point, after , was welcoming his four children. And his dogs.
Virgin Atlantic nearly didn’t let me on a plane, I was so drunk
Robbie Williams
I meet five, including Mr Showbiz and Shih Tzu Buddy.
“When they arrived, they changed everything,” Robbie says, of his kids, not the dogs, I think.
“I got a purpose,” he adds.
Would he go the whole hog and get a five-a-side football team, I ask, remembering from the last time we spoke that still have an embryo in the freezer.
“I’m done, it’s over,” Robbie says firmly.
“It’s just renting a space that it doesn’t need to rent now but my wife won’t let go of it.
Robbie said: ‘I have done public farts and I do quite a few on stage and they are, for I would say about five seconds, one of life’s greatest pleasures’Credit: The Sun
Robbie said: ‘Virgin Atlantic nearly didn’t let me on a plane, I was so drunk’Credit: The Sun
“She brings it up all the time and, no, I’m done, done.
“I’m loving what we’re going through and what we’re experiencing but I don’t want to start again.
“We’ve got four, that’s four more than I ever thought I would have.”
Despite all the staff who help run his life, Robbie is a remarkably hands-on dad.
He has written songs for all his kids, with 100% Beau an ode to his youngest child on his brilliant new album, Britpop.
The desire to provide for his kids remains his drive.
He muses: “My arse is lit with purpose and I love my job.
“Subconsciously I saw being a pop star and becoming famous and successful as something that was going to fix me.
“But then, and I’m not the first one to experience this, you get to the top of the mountain and you have an existential crisis.
“It’s like, ‘It didn’t fix me’. And now I have the best job in the world.
“I think I’m addicted to work.”
However, he is acutely aware of the scrutiny he still faces in public, saying: “Anywhere I go, people think I can’t see them taking a picture, holding the camera at an unusual angle.
Ayda brings it up all the time but we’ve got 4. No, I’m done, done
Robbie Williams
“We know you’re doing it. It’s weird.
“So you’re constantly aware of yourself in public, just in case somebody catches five seconds of you scratching your bum, or looking as if you’re having an argument with somebody when you’re not.
“You’re aware that anything you do at any moment can be an international incident.”
It doesn’t stop Robbie from dropping a stinker every now and then.
A fan, I mention , and ask if Robbie has accidentally let one slip.
He admits: “I have done public farts and I do quite a few on stage and they are, for I would say about five seconds, one of life’s greatest pleasures.
“You’ll be up there singing a ballad or, ‘I just wanna (fart noise) feel real love” and everybody’s having this moment and you’re like . . . sniff . . . ‘Fill the home that I live in . . . ’ Then all of a sudden you’ll think, ‘One of the dancers is going to walk through that.’”
Aww. Boys will be boys, eh.
The Sun’s Clemmie with Robbie ROBBIE Q&A
Q. The most famous person in your phone book?
A. Prince Harry.
Q. The most famous person you’ve sent a DM?
A. There’ll probably be people like Ryan Reynolds.
Q.What’s the longest you’ve stayed up and partied?
A. Sunday through to Thursday.
Q. Ever forgotten the words to one of your songs?
A. All the time.
I had a moment on singing Bodies and I completely forgot the words.
I now have autocue so that moment doesn’t happen again.
Q. Have you ever pooed the bed?
A. I think it’s a side effect of .
I’d rented a hotel, and I woke up and I was like, what?
I couldn’t tell anybody.
And then I just got a double espresso and covered it with a double espresso.
