The Bodies singer made his first full live appearance in three years at London’s Roundhouse for the BBC Electric Proms show, dazzling fans including singer Will Young, actor Sir Ian McKellen and radio presenter Chris Evans with a mix of classic hits and new material backed by a 38-piece band.
However, Robbie who was recently criticised for a shambolic appearance on UK TV talent show The X Factor ensured he would not make any mistakes by having his lyrics displayed on a small video screen at the back of the venue.
One concertgoer said: The autocue had the lyrics for all his songs scrolling through even the big hits like Feel and Come Undone. He didn’t seem to need it that often though, except for when he covered The Buggles hit Video Killed The Radio Star.
The singer paid tribute to his former Take That bandmates before performing No Regrets a song written about his bitter departure from the band and offered condolences to new best mate Gary Barlow, whose father died last week.
He said: "About 14 months ago we all got back together one night and I got a new best mate....Gary. I'm sending my love to you I know it’s been a tough week."
The star - who also dedicated songs to his mother, girlfriend Ayda Field, and late aunt then told fans he got so excited after meeting up with the group, he got their logo tattooed on his hand.
However, he admitted: When I showed it to them they said all together, You d**k.
Robbie performed seven tracks from forthcoming album Reality Killed The Video Star, including Blasphemy, Starstruck, Morning Sun and latest single Bodies. Although he was delighted with the crowd’s reaction to the songs, he admitted he found performing the new material strange.
After singing Morning Sun, he said: It was nice but a bit odd because no one from the front sang that back to me
so that means the album hasn’t been leaked. Brilliant!
The singer closed his set with a rendition of his most famous song Angels, before returning for a two-song encore of Millennium which ended with a rap from flop single Rudebox and a cover of Video Killed The Radio Star, co-written by Trevor Horn, who masterminded his new album.
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