Robbie Williams is looking to hark back to “a golden age for British music” with his newly-announced LP Britpop, slated to land this autumn.
The album, which the singer says was inspired by the iconic musical era of the same name and the bands who defined it (Oasis, Blur, Pulp et al), will arrive via Columbia Records. It will mark Williams’ 13th solo full-length effort to date, and his first of non-festive original songs since 2016’s The Heavy Entertainment Show. A release date is due to be confirmed soon.
“I set out to create the album that I wanted to write and release after I left Take That in 1995,” he said in a statement. “It was the peak of Britpop and a golden age for British Music. I’ve worked with some of my heroes on this album; it’s raw, there are more guitars and it’s an album that’s even more upbeat and anthemic than usual.
“There’s some ‘Brit’ in there and there’s certainly some ‘pop’ too – I’m immensely proud of this as a body of work and I’m excited for fans to hear this album.”
The news coincides with the release of the album’s blistering lead single, “Rocket,” which features Black Sabbath legend Tony Iommi on guitar. Its accompanying music video is set to drop this Friday (May 23), though a press release states that it will feature scenes of Williams and Iommi together in the latter’s hometown of Birmingham.
Williams will support Britpop with an extensive U.K. and European headline tour this summer, which features two nights at London’s 60,000-capacity Emirates Stadium (June 6-7). Support will come from Warrington rock band The Lottery Winners, as well as Rag ‘N’ Bone Man on select dates.
The artwork for Britpop, meanwhile, nods to one of Williams’ most iconic looks: the red tracksuit worn to Glastonbury Festival in 1995 when he partied with Oasis at the height of the Britpop era. He had departed boyband Take That shortly before this time, in order to pursue a solo career. It also features an illustration of two demonstrators in ‘Just Stop Pop’ t-shirts defacing the image, in the style of protest group Just Stop Oil.
In January, Williams secured a huge milestone on the U.K. Album Charts. Better Man, the soundtrack to his recent biopic of the same name, gave the pop icon his 15th No. 1 album, seeing him move ahead of The Rolling Stones (14) in the all-time rankings. He is now tied with The Beatles at 15 for the most ever.
