Robbie Williams had fans in stitches before a recent concert with a hilarious “pre-show national anthem” featuring some rather cheeky lyrics.
The former Take That star, now 50, certainly entertained fans and has been hailed an “icon” for his humorous twist on the patriotic song, Land of Hope and Glory.
Williams came up with new lyrics to the song that touched on his past drug and alcohol use, his sexuality (claiming he “swings both ways”), and his enduring popularity.
The entertainer’s fans were thrilled, taking to social media to share a video of the modified lyrics displayed on the screen behind the stage before his appearance.
One fan expressed their delight: “Just found out about Robbie Williams’ pre-show national anthem and I think that’s beautiful.”
Attendees at the concert joined in singing the altered anthem, which crowned Williams the “King of Song” and said he “can rock all night long.”
Social media users who saw the video online praised the sing-a-long, with one commenting, “I love this to bits.” Another remarked: “Hearing this play in the USA was pretty funny cause we all yelled about not being popular in the USA.”
A third fan chimed in: “lmao he’s such a diva I love it.” It follows the release of Robbie Williams’ biopic, ‘Better Man’, famed for its unconventional portrayal of the singer as a computer-generated monkey. Williams has hinted at a sequel, eager to share even more of his journey.
He said: “There is so much that didn’t make the movie. Only because we couldn’t fit it in – not because I was too embarrassed or ashamed to put it in… many stories.
“It would have had to be a five-hour film to fit everything in. And hopefully it does good and there is a Better Man 2.”
Despite the film’s modest £10million global box office haul against a whopping £90million budget, with the UK contributing significantly, hopes for a sequel remain. Fans had hoped ‘Better Man’ would be a strong contender in this year’s awards season; however, it only snagged an Oscar nomination for visual effects.
The Williams film faced a setback when his entry for Best Original Song was disqualified by the Academy for not being penned expressly for the movie. Reports from insiders, as published by Variety, reveal the song “incorporates material from an existing song that was not written for the film”.