Under the long-term deal, which is for a minimum of six albums, EMI will work closely with Robbie in his non-recording activities including touring, publishing and merchandising. The deal continues a trend towards an integrated relationship in the entertainment business that will provide a multi-platform approach to the respective elements of recording, live work, film and television. There are only a handful of artists in the world that could achieve this level of ownership and control of their own careers and record companies that make it work.
Tony Wadsworth, chairman and CEO of EMI Record Music UK and Ireland confirmed that the label indeed Robbie’s much-talked about new album Escapology. He said, "Escapology is a fantastic record. EMI is looking forward to working with Robbie and continuing our unprecedented success, which has broken all records in five short years. There’s only one Robbie Williams and we’re proud to be his label."
Williams says, "It feels good, I’m very delighted to be with EMI."
Meanwhile, Wadsworth declared, "We have heard the new album Escapology and is undoubtedly his best album yet."
To this, Robbie says, "That is not just a bunch of hot air. It really is the best thing I’ve ever done. I’m looking forward to getting out there and performing it. This is the first album I’m really proud of."
Robbie first found fame with the boy band Take That. While in there, Robbie enjoyed eight number one singles, seven of which debuted at the top position. He left the group in June 1995.
He was launched as a solo artist a year later and has sold nearly 20 million albums worldwide. He has won 13 Brit Awards, including nine as solo artist. Swing When You’re Winning, his last album took him to the top of the UK charts during Christmas of 2001. He also beat Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson and John Lennon in a recent poll of VHI viewers of the top 100 men in music of all time.
But little do the public know, there was a time when Robbie felt like giving up on his singing career. "I’ve never enjoyed the process of recording. I’ve always found it boring. I’ve always found it very lonely. But the Swing album changed all that because it was just amazing. I was working with a 60 piece orchestra a lot of the time – singing to them playing in the studio which I never thought I’d be able to do and pull it off. And it was a joy. I thought it’s just a shame that recording my own material can’t be this much fun. And then blow me, if it hasn’t been as much fun as the Swing album on Escapology as well, it’s been amazing."
The first single of Escapology is Feel, the video for which was recently shot in Calgary, Alberta and features actress Darryl Hannah. It had a simultaneous debut airing recently on DWTM, DWLS FM, 99.5 RT, K-Lite and RX 93.1.
Says Robbie on Feel, "It’s just a beautiful song. There’s not much I can say about it. You listen to it. It’s a beautiful song where I poured my heart out. The vocal’s great. In fact, the version you’re hearing now is from the demo version. I couldn’t re-do the demo because the demo vocal was so great. I think I just couldn’t sing as well as I did that day."
Another track of Escapology is Something Beautiful. Robbie declares, "We wrote the song in Barbados. Guy (Chambers, co-writer and producer of the album) and myself weren’t having a great time at all. I was in between good times. This is a very straightforward pop track.... The thing that happened with Something Beautiful that made it right was the feel. It went into being Al Green, Macy Gray and Van Morrison. That’s the people I wanted it to sound like when I listened to the demo. There’s a lot of soul in it."
Of coming up with the title of the album, Robbie reveals, "How I hit upon Escapology was – I was riding up in Laurel Canyon in Los Angeles and up the Canyon is supposedly Houdini’s house. But it wasn’t. I bought this book LA Exposed and it tells you about all the rumors and the truths about urban legends. The whole Houdini estate thing was a big myth. As I was traveling up, I was thinking about Houdini and his posters that I’ve seen and the images were amazing. And then it hit me: Houdini is the master of escapology. That’s where I got the title of my album."
Escapology is available in record bars in CD and cassette formats under EMI Music Philippines.