I've been informed that people outside UK generally don't know or care (not caring is the correct response BTW.).
Still seems bizarre to me.
Kiwi here and yep, he used to be up there on the charts
this post was submitted on 29 Aug 2026
165 points (94.6% liked)
Ask Lemmy
41165 readers
2360 users here now
A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions
Rules: (interactive)
1) Be nice and; have fun
Doxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, toxicity and dog-whistling are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them
2) All posts must end with a '?'
This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?
3) No spam
Please do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.
4) NSFW is okay, within reason
Just remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either !asklemmyafterdark@lemmy.world or !asklemmynsfw@lemmynsfw.com.
NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].
5) This is not a support community.
It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions.
If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email info@lemmy.world. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.
6) No US Politics.
Please don't post about current US Politics. If you need to do this, try !politicaldiscussion@lemmy.world or !uspolitics@lemmy.world
7) No Hit-and-Run questions.
Please don't delete your post for no apparent reason. If you plan on deleting a question later, say so in the post, or if you feel that you have a good reason to remove it, message a mod beforehand. It's not fair to the ones who took their time to answer, and it's not in the spirit of the community.
8) No Bots.
Posts or comments from bots, LLM's, AIs, Neural Networks, Transformers, or Marvin the Paranoid Android are not welcome in AskLemmy. Real humans only please.
Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.
Partnered Communities:
Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu
founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
Canadian here, never seen him to my awareness.
Not British. I'm a grown ass straight man with wife, kids, back pain, and mortgage, but FFS I'm still such a Robbie fangirl.
I always thought he should have played James Bond instead of Daniel Craig. But then again I always like Roger Moore better than Sean Connery. Robbie could have brought an Archer vibe back, instead of overcompensating for that 90s casting fail.
If only Robbie had been an actor. It may out my age quite a bit, but escapology is IMO one of the best albums ever. And it doesn't even have Rock DJ, Angels or Let Me Entertain You. As I love how Robbie started crooning... It makes it easier to follow the speed regulations on my commute.
He is quite known here in Germany, take that !
He had a song called Millennium which was about the millennium. I don’t think I have heard anything about him since.
He caused quite a few wet spots among danish teenage girls in the 90's - 00's.
Britty McBritface?
He looks like the king of the oompa loompas
I saw him on top gear one time maybe
Yes, he's the dude that's famous for not being famous enough for Americans to recognize, which pisses off British people who insist that he's so famous everyone on earth has to know about him.
Swiss here yes, he is super famous here. This year, he had a show that was sold out quite quickly, so he got a second show that sold out as well. I remeber my sis being obssessed with his song Angels back in the early 2000s...
no
American millennial here and I've had The Ego Has Landed since it came out in 99.
Right in the Feel.
Robbie!
nope
No.
French guy in his late 30s here.
I recognize Robbie Williams. He had at least one song in the charts (Angels reached n°7 in France in 1997-1999).
Probably saw him on MTV at the time. Also heard him on the radio more than a few times.
Used to mix up his name with Robin Williams' ^^
Ya, once you mentioned the I thought " that's not Robin...."
you should have asked this 20 years ago buddy. doubt many ppl in the uk now know who he is either!
Yeah it wasnt until that movie came out and I saw americans complaining about it that I started to wonder if people really didnt know. I dont actually care but its feels strange. Like if people didn't know who Elvis was or something
No. And what is "UK"?
U Know?
No idea who that is, no.
German here. He's super famous in Germany. I used to think he was an international superstar and only learned a couple of years ago that nobody knows him in the US. Still don't quite understand how that happened. How is "Feel" and "Angels" not stuck in everyone's head every once in a while?
His people made multiple attempts to break in America. It's just... bad music. Has a distinct "Eurosheen" that isn't inherently a negative at all, but is something that traditionally hasn't sold well with American audiences.
So I just want to be clear: American audiences weren't unexposed to Robbie Williams, American audiences flatly rejected Robbie Williams.
ok buddy, "bad music", really?
We don't know most of the US famous people, so that's fair.
load more comments
(2 replies)
Middle-aged French woman who never really was in the loop about pop culture: No idea whatsoever.
I thought about this over-memed wrestler, then the TV chef who screams (and whom I only know through memes.)
Then I saw a comment about Robbie sth, so I thought about Margo Robbie, who might have played Barbie. And now I'm pretty sure this man is Robbie William, who was in a boys band when I was a kid? teen? and who might have gone on to have a solo career of not-quite-as-bad music.
I gave it my all.
Had to look him up. I recognize Millenium, and Feel because of a German friend.
German here.
My favorite songs (open for more):
- Beyond the sea
- Feel
- Supreme (2004 Mix)
GenX American here. I thought that it might be him, but I wasn't certain and couldn't think of his name off the top of my head. I know he was involved in a lot of hits from my 20s, but the only reason that i recognize his face is from the Derren Brown TV spot, which I only know about because I had a co-worker who was an amateur magician.
Is this guy still alive and still living with his mother? I had enough of his music and persona being shoved in my ears by classmates when I was in high school.
Aussie here. He made some of the coolest music videos ever.
No
Taiwanese here. No. And many white people look just resemblant for me in my small Asian eyes.
I find it hilarious to see him doing ads for "golden oldies" radio stations after his youthful shenanigans, but I appreciate him leaning into it
And he's a talented entertainer, even if he's not my cup of tea
But asking 'Muricans if they know anything outside of their little bubble will only lead to disappointment
I looked him up, and i still don't know who he is. Don't think I've ever heard one of his songs even.
Belgium loves Robbie
Yeah, it's Matt Damon and Patton Oswald's fusion dance result.
I was thinking alt universe Rami Malek
Huh? I thought it was the baby from the hokey 90s show Dinosaurs, all grown up??
Finland here, I recognize him. I like his music too. Seen him at the Pori Jazz Festival a couple years ago.
Jazz?
view more: next ›