 Williams is touring Europe |
Robbie Williams played to more than 335,000 fans at three massive concerts at Knebworth in Hertfordshire.The singer received rave reviews from the critics for his performances, but fans have complained about chaotic organisation.
"Robbie Williams is the man of the moment and he knows it," said the BBC's Dan Taylor, who saw Williams live on Saturday night.
But what did you think?
This debate is now closed. Please see below for a selection of your comments.
Send us your views on the form below.
I went on Sunday and thought it was the best concert I had been too. Moby were great but Robbie looked as though he really was enjoying himself and I loved the crowd interaction. Angels had me in tears because it is a great anthem and to listen to 125,000 singing it too was fab! I also cried when he got emotional after he sung Feel, I just wish it was me snogging him on that stage on Sunday night!
Jane Bridgman, UK
I was fortunate to be one of the lucky ones to see Robbie Williams on Sunday 3 August at Knebworth. It was worth every minute that we sat in the traffic. Robbie certainly knows how to entertain and play up to the audience. Good luck Robbie, we love you ...
Pauline Hughes, England
My fiance and I went to see Robbie on Saturday and his performance was absolutely fabulous. There are not enough words to describe just how good he was. I myself have always been a big fan of Robbie Williams and going to see this gig was one of the best experiences in my life so far.
My fiance has always just liked him and only bought me the tickets for a Christmas present last year but after seeing him live at Knebworth he thinks the man is an absolute star and fantastic entertainer and wants to see him live again. I can honestly say that it was the best Christmas present ever!!!!
Deborah Harkness, UK
The concert was absolutely amazing and spectacular. He is a natural performer and doing what he was born to do. I've never seen a concert like it and probably never will again.
Mandy Wesley, UK
I saw Robbie last Saturday night and what was undoubtedly a spectacular gig was marred by the badly organised, overcrowded arena. I've been to many concerts and festivals and am not faint-hearted at the thought of struggling through a crowd, but what I experienced there made me want to up and leave. This venue cannot hold 125,000 people. It should be limited to 90,000 at the most.
What made it worse was at the back of the arena there is no view of the stage and screens due to the stage being hidden in a dip. A great shame as the location is gorgeous. Nevertheless, Robbie managed to delight right to the back and all frustrations were forgotten when he got on stage. He is truly a born entertainer!!
Eleanor, England
Words couldn't possibly descirbe how brilliant Robbie was at Knebworth at the weekend. He really is the the best entertainer ever. Never fails to impress. The duet with Mark Owen had me in tears - very moving!
Stacy Marshall, England
I was front row at Knebwoth on Sunday 03/08/03. I have seen Robbie live over 30 times and this was by FAR the best he has ever been. You could tell how happy he was to be there and to feel the love of the crowd - I have never seen him so reluctant to leave the stage! Even after the concert had ended he just stayed on stage soaking up the atmosphere, shaking his head with tears in his eyes - it was amazing and well worth the sunburn and exhaustion!!!!!
Catherine Bache, Worcestershire, England
The performance from Robbie and Moby was absolutely fantastic, you had to be there to experience the buzz. The heat in the day was a bit much at times, well worth the wait in the end though. The crowd and litter control was absolutely appalling and the car-park wait at the end was a shambles.
Nigel, Birmingham, England
Watched on TV and listened on Radio 1. Brilliant. Think we watchers and listeners on the whole had the best deal without all the hassle of getting there and away after. Superb camera coverage on TV. Saw much more than if I'd been there. Have just bought Escapology, sold out at Christmas and am looking forward to listening to it. Any guy who loves his mum and writes a song for his nan must be a good 'un.
Gill Mullins, UK
I have never witnessed anything like it in my life! I was there on Friday with my sister and two friends and although the anticipation of waiting for him to come on felt like we were going to explode, it was well worth it. For most of the night I was in tears nothing had prepared me for how emotionally charged it would be.
At the end of the day I was there to see Robbie and the amazing, mad, bouncing fans! Not to sample the food and see how clean the toilets were! It was a long day and took as while to get out, but I was there, I was part of music history and got to see and listen to the gorgeous RW, who could ask for more?
Josie, England
Great gig, Robbie, Moby and Ash held the crowd's attention like I've never experienced before.
Organisation was terrible, only 16 arrests, not a surprise as I didn't see any police all day (Sunday). Very crowded, 20,000 less people would have been more reasonable. Should have created designated walkways using "tracking" to enable movement around the site. If there had been a scare then this would have been another Hillsborough disaster as just no room to move.
Prices expensive but what do you expect - free drinking water available but had to negotiate the loos and a very hot day.
No info sent with tickets, I found details on Knebworth site. Not enough bins - rubbish was terrible, I pity those who had to clear it up. We walked out of site so no problems getting to hotel!
Vanessa Kensington, UK
"Saw" the concert from outside the arena on one of the big screens while attending a party at a neighbouring farm. Didn't pay 40 quid for the ticket, didn't sit in hours of traffic jams and had plenty of room to move and all the toilet facilities available. Even saw RW as he left in his helicopter.
Jon, UK
Robbie is a true star!! Well done to you! I had the best time ever! Keep shining and I hope to see you again very soon.
Sarah Doyle, London
I went to the concert on Saturday. Robbie worked the crowd well. He was great! But the build up to Robbie was an anti-climax as we were forced to wait 30 minutes between each support act in the burning sunlight unable to move because of the sheer mass of people. This killed any atmosphere and left many people grumpy with sunburn. But Robbie, when he finally came, was excellent.
J. White, England
I agree with the majority that the event was fantastic. Loved Bojangles and Marco Owen's appearance but pitied the people not as fortunate as us to be in the "closer sector" just in front of the stage. To be anywhere other than at the front would have been unbearable.
Given the fact that only about 5% were as fortunate I feel that a lot of people will have felt ripped off. The price of food and drink, particularly water, was too high and T shirts and other merchandise prices were a disgrace. However I had a great time and would def. go again.
Mark, Surrey, England
This is the first concert I have ever been to and I must say it rocked. I went with close friends and family and had a fantastic time. The weather was hot it was packed and Robbie did us proud, I have never seen or heard anything like it before, when he came on early evening the place went mad. Hope he goes on to entertain many more people.....Well done rob.....
Martin Mccarthy, england
I was at the Saturday gig, which in itself was a great show. Luckily the crowd was good natured, because the promoters clearly made every attempt to fleece the fans wherever possible. No food was allowed in, forcing fans to pay �2.50 for an ice-cream or �4.00 for a burger. The crowd control was non-existent, with no space to move anywhere inside the arena. Had there been an incident of any sort I am certain there would have been fatalities. This may sound melodramatic but there were many thousand too many people for the size of the venue and if a stampede had started there was no crowd control in place to stop it getting out of hand.
Adam Jenkins, UK
My sister and I left the Sunday concert after only 5 songs of Robbie being on stage. We just could not see the screens from the back of the area, let alone the stage due to the amount of people there. Being at Knebworth to see Robbie did not feel like you were at a concert at all because there were far too many people there. After our 50 minute walk back to the car park, Radio 1's superb live broadcast was actually better than being there because of the quality of sound. Knebworth, with that many people, was just not the right place to see Robbie. I look forward to when he next plays a stadium arena, just so that you can at least relate the ant-like figure on stage to the video screen version.
Catriona Cameron, UK
Not a bad show but it looked like Robbie ran out of ideas after 45 mins. It was obvious he hasn't got a voice that can survive a 2 hour show. I'd give him 6/10
rob, UK
What a shambles. We travelled on roads recommended by Herts police only to find they'd closed the main one into the event. What should have been an hour-and-a-half journey took over four hours. We still arrived four hours before Robbie was due on stage only to find that we could just about get through the gate before we met a sea of people who had already claimed their patch of grass. We couldn't even see the stage, let alone the performers, and felt gutted. When we witnessed people climbling over the portaloos in an attempt to get out of the crowd we decided the whole think was just too unsafe to stay and went home without seeing anything. Never again.
Rachel Roach, England
I felt privileged to attend such a fantastic event on Saturday - Robbie's performance was mindblowing. I saw him in Sydney in 2001 and although great, it was all about him and his ego. This time, the ego had landed elsewhere and it was all about entertaining the fans. The support bands (particularly Moby and Ash) were excellent and, despite reports in today's papers, I thought the organisation and crowd control were superb. Roll on the next tour!
Emma Terleske, Newbury, UK
I went Friday night arrived at 1.30pm and had a resonable view.The afternoon was excellent, however nothing prepared me for Robbie I was in awe, never experienced anything like it, I saw Queen at Knebworth and thought that was fantastic this was awesome. Bojangles had me in tears, if I never go to another concert I can at least say I saw Robbie at Knebworth.
Sharon, UK
Fantastic as always, audience participation and interaction, is as always excellent, guaranteed crowd pleaser. Worth the 14 hour wait and slog I made.
Donna Jones, England
His personality really shone through his singing - the problem is he is an arrogant show off.
James Andrews, UK
Absolutely superb, fantastic, awesome performance by Mr Robert Peter Williams. He truly is what he says he is a "born entertainer", and he is completely gorgeous with it. He wowed us with his performances of early and new tracks and was accompanied by a well voiced crowd. It was most wonderful experience. The UK loves you Robbie and we are glad your "moving to UK!!!!!" Fantastic performance Robbie. It was great to see the reunion and performance from both Robbie and Mark Owen, a historical pop music moment.
Yes, Robbie was indeed fantastic, as was Moby. The whole experience though was marred by the organisers cramming far too many people into far too small a space. The arena seemed to be smaller than at Oasis, foodstalls and merchandise stands were stuck in the middle of the arena, the toilets were at the back at the top of the hill, causing a nice muddy area to walk through, there was gridlock everytime you tried to move anywhere, oh and did I mention the 4 hour wait to get out of the carpark?
Neli, UK
The impact of the loss of Guy Chambers is all over Robbie's latest material. He's losing it and his cheeky chappie persona is starting to wear thin with nothing apparent to replace it. The showmanship, his strongest suit, was pedestrian at best. Compare the Knebworth concert to Springsteen's NY concert footage and Robbie pales to zero in comparison. He failed to break America because he believes his own hype. Without the talent to back up that attitude nobody breaks America. Robbie just doesn't have the real talent Coldplay are exhibiting to win America.
Steve B, Scotland
I went to the first Robbie concert on Friday and was not disappointed by the man himself. The show was very entertaining and Robbie belting out all the old favourites. Moby was fab but Kelly Osborne was an embarrassment. She really should take her own advice and "Shut Up". The facilites at Knebworth themselves could have been better. The toilets were placed at the back of the arena and after struggling to climb over various other spectators who deemed it "sensible" to lie down, it took a good 45 mins to an hour to get back to the rest of your friends. Re-think the toilet positioning next time!
Caz of Hertfordshire, England
I went to see Robbie in concert in Manchester 2 years ago - although the music was great, I came away feeling dissappointed. For someone who had idolised him since the days of Take That, it was a real let down. However - Saturday night at Knebworth absolutley blew me away! I had a long day - we arrived just before 12noon and didnt get out of the car park until past 3am but it was well worth it. The support bands were excellent and when Robbie finally came on stage the atmosphere was electric. He seemed in himself so much more relaxed and content with himself than the last time I saw him on stage. He was really attentive to the audience and my only regret is that it wasn't me being led up on stage and sang to!!
sarah howard, uk
I went on Saturday and this was my first time seeing Robbie. He was brilliant, he managed to control everyone there and at times you could have heard a pin drop, as we anticipated his next word. We did exactly what Robbie requested from singing silly tunes to waving our fingers in the air. I arrived at 2.00pm at the ground and soaked up the sun and environment. I felt the crowd on Saturday was very well behaved and when exiting the gig we all sang Robbie's songs together, most of the 135,000 of us! Robbie you are an excellent entertainer, performer, songwriter. Thank you for that wonderful experience, it will be with me forever.
Marie Vassalli-Collard, England
Robbie Williams is a true star. An original, enigmatic, hugely talented performer. A fantastic showman, he had the audience eating out of his hands, a sight not to be missed. The thing that made it all the more enjoyable is that he showed he was enjoying every moment of the performance, he appreciates the adoration of his fans and in is no way taking his success for granted. You can tell he knows he is an incredibly lucky guy (especially after nearly throwing his career away during his drug/drink phase). He has no qualms expressing the strength of his feelings with a tear in his eye & a lump in his throat! Well done Robbie, you can be sure you have "real love in the home that you're living" and I will be the first to snap up tickets for the next RW spectacular!! The pre-Robbie performances from Moby & Ash were also excellent, Moby's set was the perfect soundtrack to the sunset over the park. A fantastic concert all round.
Cassie Mercer, UK
We arrived at 10.30 to yesterday's show and got home at 5.00 this morning. It was hot and cramped at points but very very worth it. I saw him at Milton Keynes last year and he surpassed it last night, only a true genius could have 100,000+ people hanging on their every word for 2 hours. Every song was performed with maximium effort and I loved evry minute if it, even the journey home was made better with Escapology blearing from the CD player!
Kay, UK
We were at Knebworth on Saturday 2nd August. It was superb, it was well worth the wait, we have seen Robbie in concert before at London Docklands and we will want to see him again and again! We all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and the weather was a bonus! I found the whole event quite emotional, he is exactly what he says, an entertainer, a very talented man! I am proud to say we were there for the experience.
Vanessa
I was lucky enough to be at Knebworth on Saturday night and what an experience. The show was amazing from start to finish. It's hard to pick a best moment but 'Nan's Song' was very emotional and had a few of us in tears. So what if it took hours to get home - we were part of music history.
Elaine Butler, England
Robbie was fantastic. I saw him on Friday night and it is without a shadow of doubt the best gig I have ever seen. He was emotional, funny and hugely entertaining, which is what we paid our money for! I'm sorry there were transport problems for many, I hope it didn't tarnish the effect of his performance.
Lisa Parker, England
I have seen Robbie a fair few times now. And he still has it, he manages to get everyone pumped up and excited just like him. Sometimes its good to just take a step back and see the expresions on other peoples faces. He was surperb.
Catherine Chapman, United Kingdom
Tracey Sharp, England
Whatever you say about him ... Songwriter / Performer / Singer ... He knows how to entertain people ... No gimmicks / No cheap thrills ... That's what sends him apart from the others
Nigel D, England
Too many people crammed into the space available, could not see the stage or even any of the big screens, heard 2 songs and left, disappointed and angry! The organisers should have made more adequate arrangements for people to at least see Robbie on a screen, watched as some of his fans were in tears because they could not see anything, very disappointed!!
Cathy Coleman, England
Robbie is the new Freddie Mercury - he can hold a crowd in the palm of his hand like no other and Knebworth was no exception. His performance was electric. He seemed to be relaxed at the helm as he belted out his hits - long may he reign.
leigh cottier, uk
I was at the concert last night and it was absolutely amazing! Robbie is a born entertainer. I first saw him live 10 years ago at a Take That gig - from cheeky boy band member to a slick professional - the transformation is astounding! I had a fantastic time (and a appearance by Mark Owen made it all the better - he's still a gorgeous as ever). When are you touring again Rob?
Emma, Cambridge, UK
Best concert I've ever been too, Robbie proved beyond any doubt he is the best entertainer this country has to offer. He had the crowd hanging on his every word for over 2 hours, and played all his chart-toppers. Saving Angels to last was a stroke of genius, as I for one would've been gutted if he'd missed that one out. The evening was only slightly marred by the chaotic scenes in the car park, as thousands upon thousands of cars all tried to leave at once. All in all though, a brilliant night and well worth the hassle of getting there and getting away. Robbie for PM!
Allen, UK
Great day, all acts were fantastic except Kelly Osbourne who was terrible. Robbie was impressive yet humble in the presence of an adoring crowd. Glad I was there to see it!
Adam Potter, England
Fantastic - I went on Sunday and had a great time. All the bands were wonderful and it was noticeable that all sorts of people were there - wide age range and as many blokes singing as us girls. Robbie - welcome home!
lynn, UK
Went to Knebworth to see Robbie Williams on Saturday and, with the exception of the traffic chaos afterwards which was to be expected, I couldn't fault what was an excellent day - easily one of the best organised outdoor events I have been to compared to the complete travesty that was Eminem at Milton Keynes and the Ozzfest at Donnington last year The Darkness, Ash and Moby put on great performances, especially Moby and Robbie's set was as spectacular as expected
I can understand people's frustrations about their view but surely at an event for 125,000 people they didn't expect to have a perfect view without getting there early enough to get down the front did they? Overall, a fantastic experience I was glad to be a part of!
John Malys, UK
Absolutely Brilliant! Robbie is pure first class entertainment!
Jane Steer, UK
What a corking gig! The support acts were great (especially Moby), Robbie was on top form, the crowd were a happy bunch, and the weather was glorious. It's just a shame that the after-show organisation seemed to be non-existent, with seemingly no stewarding of the car parks and general chaos resulting in hours of crawling forward in the vain hope you were heading towards an exit. That aside, it was a belter of a day and I'm off to enjoy my sunburn.
Andy, Cambridge, UK
What a day, what a concert, WHAT A MAN ! My husband and I went to see Robbie on Saturday, and it was excellent! So talented, so sweet, so Rock & Roll, Robbie is a born entertainer. He asked us all to remember it, but Robbie -I think we all knew that anyway.... He is Top Class.. Getting home at 5:30am in the morning, after being stuck in the car park for 4 hours - was DEFINATELY worth it !! Thanks Robbie x
Rachael Boddington, England
How tolerant and affable we all are. We pay �40 for the concert ticket, are forced to pay high prices for food, water and beer (because of restrictions). We will even allow many extra hours for the simple journey, to arrive and go home. Many of us waiting ludicrous amounts of time to arrive home. Yet, about 30% of us could not even see the stage clearly and some still could not even get a clear view of the video screens. The atmosphere may have been terrific and Robbie's performance great but surely the 'tinned in' feeling and the 'great escape or get trapped' scenario limits the true enjoyment? Don't be fooled into believing, in an 'Emperors New Clothes' way that it was brilliant - be honest was it worth it? (Unless you were at the front perhaps!!). Think of the millions made by all concerned. I suggest either restricting numbers to 90,000 or have the concert at a proper venue that is used to these volumes of customers.
B, London, England
Saw the show last night and for the first 20 mins he did a appalling impression of the Great Freddie Mercury's stage act. Robbie is a talentless artist and always will be he will never ever be as talented as Freddie Mercury was and is about time he created his own stage image rather then ripping off others.
Gary Lines, England
The best concert I have ever seen in my life. I was thoroughly entertained for two hours and can't speak very well today after screaming out lyrics of all the brilliant songs. He is an amazing entertainer and the Take That medley at the end topped the night off brilliantly! A fantastic night.
Amy Constantin, England
No Regrets! We arrived around 1pm very smoothly and totally enjoyed the entire event. We paid the price of being '1st in; last out' though, leaving at 4.15 a.m. However, Robbie held us spellbound, arousing emotions and responses through an absolute connection with his audience. To be one of the 125,000 fans bouncing as one entity was elating! Welcome Home Robbie!
Jan Freer, UK-Devon
I attended on Friday night. What a showman! Robbie was fantastic, words fail me to describe his performance. I was totally enthralled from start to finish. It was a pity that the organisers were lax in ensuring crowd safety at the end. Chaos reigned supreme, without a steward in sight! It spoilt what had otherwise been a brilliant evening of entertainment.
sue sawley, england
The concert was amazing. I went on Friday night. I have never seen so many people in one place to see one man in my life, and after seeing the concert again on TV it looked even bigger. It was also good to see it wasn't just the teeny-boppers who went there was a real mix of older men and women and families too and everyone of them having a great time!
The only thing which let it all down was after it has finished; the security tried to squeeze 125,000 out of one small gap, including the cars - a complete disaster...I was walking and it took at least 2.5 hours just to get out of the gate. Robbie williams is definitely a legend!!!
Freya Corns, UK