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Robbie Williams Surprise-Releases ‘Britpop,’ a 1990s Homage with High-Profile Guests

The early drop positions Williams for a record 16th UK No. 1 album.

Overview

  • The album arrived on January 16, three weeks ahead of its planned February 6 release after a previous delay to avoid clashing with a Taylor Swift rollout.
  • Britpop is Williams’s first collection of all-new material since 2016 and is framed as the record he wished he had made in the mid-1990s.
  • Reviews published today describe a deliberately derivative 1990s pastiche that showcases his theatrical persona and draws mixed assessments of the songwriting.
  • Notable credits include Tony Iommi on opener “Rocket,” Chris Martin and Joy Huerta on “Human,” and a Gary Barlow co-write on “Morrissey.”
  • Williams’s Long 90s tour is scheduled to start on February 4 at Glasgow’s Barrowland Ballroom, where he intends to perform the new album in full.