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"Angels"
Robbie Williams
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15 years from now, I just want to be able to sing Angels and say 'this song has been very good to me'
Six years after this statement was made Robbie Williams can still be very grateful to the song that revived his flagging solo career. Take That were never going to be an easy act to follow plus as he would later reveal to Lisa I'Anson, the boy-band image took a long time to shed:
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"I'm still the same person but the image is different" |
His first two singles had done pretty well considering, but the next two singles started a disturbing downward trend.
It was at this point that his managers suggested the fifth songwriting collaborator in 18 months – a certain Guy Chambers. Rumour has it that Williams agreed mainly because his mum's boyfriend had 'quite liked' the mediocre pop outfit The Lemon Trees that Chambers had been in.
Whatever the reason, the pair hit it off straightaway and in the first session impressively wrote four songs. Even more remarkable was that "Angels" was the first song they tackled and apparently wrote it in under 30 minutes! Along with the previously penned "Old Before I Die", "Angels" was played to Chrysalis Records and clinched a three-album deal.
Contrary to popular belief Chambers wasn't responsible for the majority of the song and the credit isequally due:
"in the main he was responsible for the lyrics and melody, and I did the music. It was very equal. Rob knew exactly what he wanted to say, and how he wanted to say it."
The song appeared on Life Thru A Lens which was released in September 1997. Initially it only sold 33,000 copies in the first eight weeks before disappearing entirely from the chart. Reviews were mixed to say the least although by the time they came out Williams was already in rehab and hopefully oblivious to them.
Out of desperation the record company decided to release "Angels" at the beginning of December. No-one could have possibly predicted the song's huge success as it leapt into the charts peaking at #4 and selling over a million copies on the way.
As important as the success of the single was the fact that he also ceased to be 'that fat dancer from Take That' and finally got the recognition he felt he deserved:
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"yeah I am rich, yes I am having a good time." |
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This booted football fan RW into the Premier Division. First the big move - a root triad leaps boldly to the ninth on "and through it all". Then some fancy footwork - on the last syllable of "protection" the ninth hangs suspended over the relative minor. A series of fluid passing notes lead us onto the winning score - the George Harrisonesque guitar solo kicking off on the dominant minor. Goooooaaaalllll! Ìý
Dominic King |
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12 months later two Ivor Novello Awards were received, one for the Most Performed Work and the other for Songwriters OfÌý The Year. Its legacy still continues however, as producer Steve Power sums up: "It's used a lot at weddings and funerals, it's become a very important thing in the lives of a lot of people".
In 2005Ìý Angels won the Best Song Award at the as voted for by Radio 2 listeners
Recommended Reading
Robbie Williams: Somebody Someday by Mark McCrum. Published 2002, Ebury Press.
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