Music Blogs

There is a lack of glitter-sprinkled mystique in 21st century pop'n'roll. Everything is on the table for music fans to examine and consume. Just this week, the whole world was given the dubious pleasure of seeing a naked Amy Winehouse playing Scrabble alongside a dangerously obese woman by a Caribbean swimming pool. Robbie Williams seems to be one of few stars left with some element of strangeness, a feeling emphasised by reports of his life in Los Angeles, where he has taken to hanging out in the desert looking for UFOs while sporting a very impressive beard.

The tabloids have been buzzing recently with reports of his imminent return to the UK and it seems they could be right, judging by a peculiar photograph (see above) taken by the Swindon Advertiser on Tuesday. Apparently, the man in the black balaclava is Robbie, who announced his comeback by buying a £5000 bicycle while pretending to be on gardening leave from the SAS. Fred Platt, manager of the Red Planet shop in Swindon, apparently told reporters that his suspicious looking client was not in fact an armed robber and didn't wish to attract attention to himself. Perhaps he might have considered landing on the roof in a helicopter and smashing through the window after abseiling down the post office next door?

On Monday, Robbie's sister Sally told Hello he is quitting Hollywood after five years in the sun. "He has wanted to come back for the past 12 to 18 months. He loves the British culture and the British people and he wants to spend more time here. He has enjoyed living in LA - he can move around freely and the sun always shines. But it's a pretty soulless place", she said. Famethrowa welcomes him back with open arms and looks forward to a new album which is rumoured to include work with Mark Ronson and Guy Chambers. However, we can't help wondering if the style of his comeback lacks something. It's not exactly David Bowie offering a Nazi salute to his screaming disciples at Victoria station, is it?