Robbie Williams confirms collaboration with Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi
Pop star Robbie Williams, the former Take That member who recently surprised the world with his monkey-led biopic Better Man, has recorded a song with metal legends Tony Iommi and Glenn Hughes.
This collaboration was first revealed by Williams’ drummer and musical director Karl Brazil, in an episode of the Percussion Podcast back in August. “He’s working with various people,” Brazil explained.
The drummer continued: “I’ve been fortunate enough to do some songs with him and he’s actually done a track called Rocket with Tony Iommi, which is very random. It’s great. It’s a rocker and it’s really, really cool. Right up my street.”
He confirmed that Iommi has “done his thing” on the track and that the record itself features other great collaborations, including Supergrass frontman Gaz Coombes. Brazil noted that it’s predominantly a guitar record that draws upon the sound of the 1990s and flecks of contemporary pop.
In a new interview with NME, Williams himself shed more light on the recording, and outlined that Hughes has contributed to it. “I wanted to make the album that I’d make if I’d left Take That now, knowing what I know,” he said. “This particular song encapsulates that perfectly. Unfortunately and fortunately for me, pop songs turned up along the way, too. I’m like: ‘Ah, fuck – a hit!'”
Further expanding on the rock sound of the track, Williams suggested how the two music legends contributed to his latest sound: “This [Rocket] is massive guitars, as you can imagine. It’s adrenaline-filled and balls-to-the-wall. That one in particular is my favourite song off my new album – that I’ve just announced is happening!”
Better Man was released in UK cinemas on December 26th.
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