Robbie Williams on why 90s gay club tour with Take That changed his life: ‘I’m grateful’
Robbie Williams has recalled visiting gay clubs in the 90s with boyband Take That, calling the experience “instantly life-changing.”
The ‘Rock DJ’ singer first found fame in 1991 with bandmates Gary Barlow, Jason Orange, Mark Owen and Howard Donald.
One of the band’s first interactions with the public was a tour of UK gay clubs. Thus began Robbie’s LGBTQ allyship, which would lead to the star appearing on the cover of Attitude four times – a record for a straight man.
“You learn that being a homosexual is a shameful thing” – Robbie Williams on 80s England
“I’m from a northern English town in a northern English time, the 70s and the 80s, where to grow up at school, the thing that you could be bullied about was you may be a homosexual, so you learn that being a homosexual is a shameful thing and there’s nothing you should aspire to,” Robbie recently told The Advocate in an interview.
The star – currently the subject of biopic Better Man – went on: “Also, at the same time, I see the [gay] characters and the people on the TV, and they seem like really nice people and they’re making me feel happy. This is confusing.”
Robbie continued: “As a 16-year-old, I get into a band called Take That, and we do gay clubs for the first 18 months. And what I can say is this, where I’m from, we do kindness and violence really well, and you don’t know which one you’re going to get. So, you’re never safe because you’re surrounded by psychos.
“First gay club that I went to, I was safe, I was welcomed, and not only was I welcomed, I was loved and appreciated, and yeah, it was instantly life-changing, life-affirming, and I’m very grateful. Still am,”
Robbie features on Take That hits including ‘It Only Takes a Minute’, ‘Could It Be Magic’ and ‘The Flood’. His number one hits as a soloist include ‘Millennium’ and ‘She’s the One’.
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