By Karl Quinn
Thousands of Robbie Williams fans packed Melbourne’s Federation Square for a free performance by the singer on Thursday afternoon.
The English pop star performed with a five-piece band, three backing singers and an Auslan interpreter for about 40 minutes, belting out some of his biggest hits, including Let Me Entertain You and Angels, as well as new single Forbidden Road.
He also performed a clutch of classics from his swing period, including Minnie the Moocher, Ain’t That a Kick in the Head and My Way.
Williams joked with the crowd, orchestrated singalongs, and during one song confessed to the audience “there’s a note coming up that I can’t reach any more, but I know you’ve got my back”. They did indeed, 10,000 voices soaring to touch the high note now beyond his reach in She’s The One.
As much a vaudevillian as he is a pop star, Williams gently roasted one young fan for trying to sing along to Better Man despite not really knowing the words.
He turned the heat up a little higher when Lord Mayor Nick Reece took the stage to present Williams with the key to the city, a ceremonial honour that has been presented to only about 40 people, Olivia Newton John, Cathy Freeman, Dame Edna Everage and the members of New Kids on the Block among them.
As with his New Year’s Eve gig on the ABC, the main purpose of the show, though, was to plug Better Man, the made-in-Melbourne biopic in which Williams is portrayed as a chimpanzee.
Speaking to reporters in Carlton before the Fed Square event, Williams said he was on the biggest sales pitch he had ever done for a project.
“When I’ve got a single out, an album out, I don’t even bother to tell anybody. But here I am telling you about this film because it’s incredibly important to me, my family and also the good people of Melbourne and Australia,” he said.
Better Man was largely made at Docklands Studios Melbourne over three years from 2022. It was co-written and directed by Michael Gracey, the Melbourne-born filmmaker behind The Greatest Showman, which starred Hugh Jackman as circus impresario P.T. Barnum.
The Victorian government claims Better Man is the biggest film ever made in the state, creating 3000 jobs and injecting $142 million into the economy. The project is likely to have lasting benefits too, with Peter Jackson’s world-leading VFX company, Weta, setting up shop here to create the film’s digital “monkey” (technically an ape).
“Without Melbourne and Australia, this film wouldn’t exist,” said Williams. “These green eyes are beaming gratitude.”
The movie, he added, is “a narcissist’s dream. It’s all about me. I wrote the songs, I said the words, I lived the life.”
The movie opened on Boxing Day to a respectable $1.8 million, but strong word of mouth has helped its box office lift 25 per cent in its second week.
“My favourite part about the movie – and it’s strange at the same time – is it is touching people on a very profound level,” said Williams. “If you don’t leave the cinema having cried, you’re either a sociopath or you’ve found the right meds.
“It is the greatest hits of my trauma. Every 12 seconds, something bad happens to me. And if you like bad things happening to me, this is your film. The whole thing is just a beautiful blessing.”
About half an hour before Williams took to the stage at 5pm, organisers began diverting the crowd to Birrarung Marr, as Fed Square, which holds 10,000 people, had reached capacity.
The first fans started arriving about 6am. Some, like Emily – with whom Williams chatted during the show – had never seen him before because, she said, “I’ve always been broke”. Williams promised her tickets for the next time he plays here, and a meet and greet before that show too.
If he comes, that is. “And then Robbie got on a plane, never to be seen again,” he joked.
Others have seen him perform many times. Sharnee, from Melbourne’s east, said she had been to 15 of Williams’ concerts since 2003, including one at Rod Laver Arena in 2022 that was staged for Better Man.
Before her 16th Williams gig on Thursday, she said she was trembling. “I’m feeling very excited, and I [have] a little bit of adrenaline,” she said. After the show, she was off to the Astor in St Kilda, for a sold-out gala screening with Williams again in attendance.
VicScreen chief executive Caroline Pitcher said Williams had shown “incredible faith in the Victorian screen industry by placing his life story in its hands”.
“Better Man is proof that the Victorian screen industry is as good as the best in the world,” she said.
With Gabriela Sumampow
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