Robbie Williams releases Britpop early; album called wayward but engaging

Robbie Williams’s 13th album, Britpop, has appeared unexpectedly two weeks into January after an earlier announcement and delay. The record was first revealed in May 2025 and had been due in October before Williams postponed it to mid-February, he said at a launch gig, only for it to surface sooner without explanation.

Williams spent the summer promoting the project with Britpop-themed stunts, from fake blue plaques around London to a press conference at the Groucho Club, and performed the album in full at Dingwalls alongside his 1997 solo debut Life Thru a Lens. He has described Britpop as the album he wanted to make when he left Take That and a celebration of a "golden age for British music"; he also has the scale to call on guests such as Tony Iommi and has sold 75m records.

The Guardian review finds the album peculiar but often enjoyable. Tracks range from Oasis-like glam on Cocky and the drawled vocal intonation of All My Life to Spies, which the review likens to Liam Gallagher’s 2019 solo work and quotes the lyric, "We used to stay up all night, thinking we were all spies, praying that tomorrow won’t come." Other moments include a jokey, Morrissey-themed synth-pop song co-written by Gary Barlow, a bubblegum-tinged It’s OK Until the Drugs Stop Working, and Human, a lambent electronic ballad about AI featuring Jesse & Joy and Chris Martin.

Key Topics

Culture, Robbie Williams, Britpop, Dingwalls, Tony Iommi, Chris Martin