Having already been confirmed as the recipient of the Icon Award, it’s now been confirmed that Robbie Williams is to perform at the Brit Awards 2017.
As British music fans well know, Robbie has won more gongs at the Brits than any other recording artist (with a whopping 18 under his belt at the time of writing!), so it’s safe to say that he’s made several memorable appearances at the ceremony over the past two decades.
Here are just 10 of the moments he made headlines at the Brits...
1994: Take That Make Their Brit Awards Debut
The then-emerging five-piece boyband won their first Brits in 1994, including Best British Single and Best British Video, both for ‘Pray’.
This year also marked their first performance at the ceremony, where they paid homage to the swinging sixties, performing The Beatles’ hits, ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’, ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ and ‘She Loves You’.
1998: Tom Jones Duets With Robbie
Cut to four years later and things were looking very different. Robbie had quit Take That, and the four-piece had split not long after, while he was enjoying the beginnings of success as a solo artist.
He made his first appearance sans Take That in 1998, where he was joined by Sir Tom Jones, for a performance inspired by ‘The Full Monty’, which had led to a resurgence in the crooner’s career.
1999: Robbie Opens The Show With ‘Let Me Entertain You’
Things continued to go from strength to strength in Robbie’s solo career, and a year later he was invited to kick off the whole ceremony, with ‘Let Me Entertain You’, one of his biggest hits at the time.
2000: The Liam Gallagher Debacle
Throughout his time in the spotlight, Robbie had been swapping insults with Oasis singer Liam Gallagher in the press, which he took the time to address when ‘She’s The One’ was voted the year’s Best British Single.
“Liam,” he said into the microphone, “a hundred grand o’ your money, a hundred grand o’ my money, we’ll get in the ring, and we’ll have a fight. And you can all watch it on TV... now are you gonna do it, or are you gonna pussy out? You fucking wimp.”
We’re still waiting for this to happen...
2005: Robbie’s Face Says It All As David Walliams And Matt Lucas Imitate Take That
Keep in mind that before Take That got back together in 2006, they weren’t exactly looked upon favourably in the press - particularly in comparison to Robbie’s solo success - and the man himself hadn’t spoken to most of his bandmates, particularly Gary Barlow, in a long time.
You can imagine his surprise, then, when Gary was announced as the presenter of Best British Single Of The Past 25 Years - which ‘Angels’ had been nominated for - and his relief when it turned out to just be Matt Lucas in a wig.
2005: Joss Stone Performs ‘Angels’ With Robbie
The Brits has always been synonymous with putting artists together who wouldn’t usually have the chance to collaborate, and this was definitely the case in 2005.
With his classic track ‘Angels’ having already been named the Best British Single of the past 25 years, he performed an updated version during the ceremony, inviting Joss Stone to join him halfway through .
Two years later, Joss stuck up for Robbie, whose stint in rehab had been the subject of jokes from presenters during the show.
2010: Robbie Williams Wins Outstanding Contribution To Music
The fact that his personal life often overshadowed his musical output - not to mention the fact he was still considered by some to be a former boyband singer, even years after quitting Take That - meant Robbie often struggled to be taken seriously as an artist.
We imagine it was a proud moment for him, then, when he joined his heroes like Tom Jones, Paul McCartney and the Pet Shop Boys in being awarded the Outstanding Contribution To Music award.
Listening to his 13-minute medley, there was no arguing with those hits (yes, even ‘Rudebox’).
2011: Robbie Rejoins Take That And Opens The Brits With ‘Kidz’
After swearing for years he wouldn’t do it, Robbie finally came back to Take That in 2011, for the album ‘Progress’ - a move which was lauded by both fans and reviewers.
Back together as a five-piece, the group put on an elaborate show as they kicked off the night’s entertainment with the second single from the album, ‘Kidz’, complete with riot police and lots of serious face.
2011: Robbie Doesn’t Have Much To Contribute To The Group’s Speech
There was less serious face as the band came together to collect the prize for Best British Group.
While Mark Owen thanked Robbie for coming back, his main contribution to the moment was two weak cries of “shabba!”. We still don’t know why.
2013: Robbie Returns To The Brits As A Solo Star
Having enjoyed success as a member of Take That once again, Robbie decided not to continue, and instead pursue the solo career that had brought him so much success over the years.
‘Candy’ (co-penned by Gary Barlow) gave him his first solo number one in eight years, so it seemed only fitting that he perform it at the Brits, where he’d also been nominated for Best British Single.
See Robbie’s return to the Brits live from London’s O2 Arena on Wednesday 22 February 2017.