"Better Man" is a song by English pop singer

Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stud ...

, released as the final single from his third studio album, ''

Sing When You're Winning ''Sing When You're Winning'' is the third studio album by English singer-songwriter Robbie Williams. It was released on 28 August 2000 in the United Kingdom by Chrysalis Records and in the United States by Capitol Records. Following the critica ...

'' (2000), in October 2001. It was released only in Australia, New Zealand, and Latin America. A music video for the Australian release was produced in 2001, reusing scenes from Williams' "

Eternity Eternity, in common parlance, means Infinity, infinite time that never ends or the quality, condition, or fact of being everlasting or eternal. Classical philosophy, however, defines eternity as what is timeless or exists outside time, whereas ...

" music video (since the single was not released in that territory) intercut with a live performance of "Better Man" from his The Sermon on the Mount Tour in Manchester, England, in October 2000, overdubbed with the studio version.

Spanish version

recorded a Spanish version of the song called "" ("To Be Better"). It was included on the Latin American pressings of ''

''.

Release and success

In New Zealand, "Better Man" began receiving airplay in late 2000. It eventually peaked at number four on the

RIANZ Singles Chart Recorded Music NZ (formerly the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ)) is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell recorded music in New Zealand. Membership of Recorded Mus ...

for four weeks in December 2000 and January 2001. The promotional disc of "Ser mejor" was sent to Latin American radio stations in 2001. In Australia, "Better Man" was released as a

CD single A CD single (sometimes abbreviated to CDS) is a music single in the form of a compact disc. The standard in the Red Book for the term ''CD single'' is an 8 cm (3-inch) CD (or Mini CD). It now refers to any single recorded onto a CD of any si ...

on 22 October 2001. It appeared on the

ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

the following week, climbing to number eight during its ninth week on the chart and reaching its peak of number six on 20 January 2002, spending four nonconsecutive weeks at that position and remaining in the top 50 for 29 weeks. It sold over 35,000 copies, earning a gold

certification Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...

from the

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing th ...

(ARIA).

Track listing

Australian CD single # "Better Man" – 3:24 # "My Way" (live) – 4:35 # "Rolling Stone" – 3:43 # "Toxic" – 3:51 # "Let Love Be Your Energy" (video) – 4:18

Credits and personnel

Credits are taken from the ''

'' album booklet. Studios * Recorded at Master Rock Studios (North London, England) and Sarm Hook End (

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

, England) * Mixed at Battery Studios (London, England) * Mastered at Metropolis Mastering (London, England) Personnel * Robbie Williams – writing, lead vocals *

Guy Chambers Guy Antony Chambers (born 12 January 1963) is an English songwriter, musician and record producer, best known for his work with Robbie Williams. Education Chambers attended Quarry Bank Comprehensive School sixth form in Liverpool. From 18, h ...

– writing, piano, orchestration, production, arrangement *

Dave Catlin-Birch David Catlin-Birch is a British musician. He was a bass guitarist for pop/alternative rock band World Party, and was the original "Paul" for the March 1980 launch of The Beatles tribute band, The Bootleg Beatles. With Rowland Rivron and Richa ...

– backing vocals, bass guitar *

Steve McEwan Steve McEwan is a multi Grammy award winning British songwriter, artist, and musician. His songs have been recorded by country music artists including Kenny Chesney, Carrie Underwood, Faith Hill, and Keith Urban. Outside of country, he has also ...

– backing vocals *

Gary Nuttall Gary Nuttall is an English musician and vocalist, best known for his long-time affiliation with Robbie Williams, spanning from 1997 to the present day. Solo In 2007, Nuttall released his first solo album, ''Dated Bedroom Ditties.'' Discograp ...

– backing vocals *

Phil Palmer Philip John Palmer (born 9 September 1952) is a rock sideman and session guitarist who has toured, recorded, and worked with numerous artists. He is best known for his work with Eric Clapton and Dire Straits. Biography Palmer grew up in nort ...

–

12-string guitar A twelve-string guitar (or 12-string guitar) is a steel-string guitar with 12 strings in six courses, which produces a thicker, more ringing tone than a standard six-string guitar. Typically, the strings of the lower four courses are tuned in o ...

* Neil Taylor – electric guitars *

Chris Sharrock Chris Sharrock (born 30 May 1964) is an English drummer, hailing from Bebington, Cheshire (now Merseyside), England. He has been a member of the Icicle Works, the La's, the Wild Swans, World Party, the Lightning Seeds, Robbie Williams's live ...

– drums * Andy Duncan – percussion *

London Session Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Symphony ...

– orchestra *

Gavyn Wright Gavyn Wright is a British violinist and orchestra leader with the London Session Orchestra and Penguin Cafe Orchestra. He is best known for his orchestral arrangements on pop productions (including Elton John, Simply Red, Bush, Mecano, Oasis, ...

–

concertmaster The concertmaster (from the German ''Konzertmeister''), first chair (U.S.) or leader (U.K.) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (or clarinet in a concert band). After the conductor, the concertmaster is the second-most signifi ...

Nick Ingman Nicholas Ingman (born 29 April 1948) is an English arranger, composer and conductor in the commercial music field. His collaborators include Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Björk, and the British X-factor. Born and educated in London, Ingman moved ...

– orchestration * Isobel Griffiths – orchestral contractor * Steve Price – orchestral engineering *

Steve Power Steve Power (born in Liverpool) is an English record producer best known for his work with Robbie Williams. He has produced and mixed a wide variety of artists over the years, including Blur, Busted, Andrea Bocelli, Feeder, Joe Cocker,Perciv ...

– production, mixing,

Pro Tools Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed and released by Avid Technology (formerly Digidesign) for Microsoft Windows and macOS. It is used for music creation and production, sound for picture (sound design, audio post-productio ...

* Richard Flack – Pro Tools * Tony Cousins – mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

References

{{Authority control Robbie Williams songs 2000 songs 2001 singles Chrysalis Records singles EMI Records singles Song recordings produced by Guy Chambers Song recordings produced by Steve Power Songs written by Guy Chambers Songs written by Robbie Williams