Robbie Williams reunited with his former TAKE THAT band mates, Gary Barlow, Mark Owen and Howard Donald for a rare, one-off performance on the opening night of Tim Firth’s jukebox musical THE BAND, which features their songs, at the Theatre Royal Haymarket on 4 December last year. The evening was a Charity Gala where they raised £500,000 for Sir Elton John’s AIDS Foundation Christmas appeal.

TAKE THAT had 12 singles and eight albums reach number one in the UK, winning eight Brit Awards. The musical tells the story of five women who were best friends as teenagers and huge fans of THE BAND. Twenty-five years later four of them reunite to see their favourite group perform. After its world premiere in Manchester in 2017 and a UK and Ireland tour the musical took up residency in London’s West End over the festive season.

Robbie left the band in 1995 to launch his hugely successful solo career, becoming the UK’s best selling solo artist. All but one of his 11 albums reached number one in the UK, where he was inducted into the Hall of Fame after being voted the ‘greatest artist of the 1990’s.’ He has received a record 18 Brit Awards. Robbie briefly returned to the band in 2010 for a stadium tour. Their subsequent album ‘Progress’ became the second fastest-selling album in UK chart history and the fastest-selling record of the century at the time.

Robbie signed my drawing for me at the Theatre Royal’s stage door after they had rehearsed late in the afternoon. He popped out for a ciggy and a siggy.