Let Me Entertain You (Robbie Williams Song)
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"Let Me Entertain You" is a single by
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 fifth and final single from his debut solo studio album ''
Life Thru a Lens ''Life thru a Lens'' is the debut solo studio album by English singer-songwriter Robbie Williams. It was Williams' first solo album following his departure from Take That. Released on 29 September 1997 through Chrysalis Records, it is influenced ...
'' (1997). It was written by Williams and
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 ...
. In March 1998, the track peaked at No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart. It is certified gold for sales of over 400,000 copies.


Background

Williams and Chambers were inspired to write a '
Who Who or WHO may refer to: * Who (pronoun), an interrogative or relative pronoun * Who?, one of the Five Ws in journalism * World Health Organization Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Who, a creature in the Dr. Seuss book '' Horton He ...
-esque' song after watching
the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...
film '' Rock and Roll Circus'' together. "When we started writing the demo there was a furious jungle beat underneath it. It was so hardcore it got me very excited, and I still get excited listening to it now. It's not really heavy metal, it's more like camp rock opera!" The lyrics are mostly innuendoes and double entendre, telling the story of a man trying to persuade someone to cheat on their boyfriend with him. Although the sex of this person is never mentioned, it is worth noting that the lyrics include the phrase ''mon cher'', which means ''my dear'' only when referring to a male. In a 2010 interview, Williams was quoted as saying "An awful lot of gay pop stars pretend to be straight. I'm going to start a movement of straight pop stars pretending to be gay." The 2004 track on the ''Greatest Hits'' album differs slightly from the original 1998 release. The song has been subtly remixed, and Williams' vocals during the instrumental have been removed entirely. This remix was also featured on the ''In and Out of Consciousness'' compilation album in 2010. The original track however, is still featured on Williams' official website and Vevo channel.


Music video

Directed by frequent collaborator
Vaughan Arnell Vaughan Arnell (born 31 May 1961, in Chertsey, Surrey) is a British music video and television commercial director. Although having done films for high-profile clients in the TV commercial field, including Nestlé and Levi's, he is best known for ...
, the video features the Robbie Williams Band who are dressed as members of the band
KISS A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...
. Williams' makeup is very similar to
Gene Simmons Gene Simmons (born Chaim Witz; he, חיים ויץ, ; born August 25, 1949) is an Israeli-American musician. Also known by his stage persona The Demon, he is the bassist and co-lead singer of Kiss, the hard rock band he co-founded with Paul ...
' on-stage persona, the Demon, while the outfit Williams wears is nearly identical to a stage costume worn by Simmons' bandmate Paul Stanley. In doing so, the video has been called a "stylistic appropriation" of KISS and a spoof of 1970s rock in general, while displaying its own characteristics of camp and self-parody. After Simmons filed a lawsuit against
King Diamond Kim Bendix Petersen (born 14 June 1956), better known by his stage name King Diamond, is a Danish rock musician. As a vocalist, he is known for his powerful and wide-ranging countertenor singing voice, in particular his far-reaching falsetto s ...
for using the makeup design in the 1980s, Williams had concerns over KISS taking legal action against "Let Me Entertain You", but felt the makeup was necessary to get into character.Page 73. You Know Me; Robbie Williams & Chris Heath, Ebury Press, 2010 No legal action was taken.


Live performances

"Let Me Entertain You" became Williams' concert opener for most of his shows throughout his career. He enjoys opening shows with high energy performances of the song "because of what happens to the audience... this is going to make you do this right at the beginning of the set." To date, Williams has given more than 300 live performances of the song. Williams performed the song for the
Brit Awards The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...
' opening act in 1999, and as the opening act for the
Diamond Jubilee Concert The Diamond Jubilee Concert was a British music concert and celebration held outside Buckingham Palace on The Mall in London on 4 June 2012. The concert was organised by Take That singer-songwriter Gary Barlow and was part of Queen Elizabeth ...
as part of
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during h ...
's
Diamond Jubilee A diamond jubilee celebrates the 60th anniversary of a significant event related to a person (e.g. accession to the throne or wedding, among others) or the 60th anniversary of an institution's founding. The term is also used for 75th annivers ...
celebrations in 2012 in front of an audience of an estimated 500,000. He also performed the song at the Live 8 Concert at
Hyde Park Hyde Park may refer to: Places England * Hyde Park, London, a Royal Park in Central London * Hyde Park, Leeds, an inner-city area of north-west Leeds * Hyde Park, Sheffield, district of Sheffield * Hyde Park, in Hyde, Greater Manchester Austra ...
in 2005, to high critical acclaim. In a
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
documentary about the event shown that Christmas,
Richard Curtis Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis (born 8 November 1956) is a New Zealand-born British screenwriter, producer and film director. One of Britain's most successful comedy screenwriters, he is known primarily for romantic comedy films, among them '' ...
described the performance as ecstatic, comparing Williams to "a man who hasn't had sex for two years inallycoming."
David Baddiel David Lionel Baddiel (; born 28 May 1964) is an English comedian, presenter, screenwriter, and author. He is known for his work alongside Rob Newman in ''The Mary Whitehouse Experience'' and his comedy partnership with Frank Skinner. He has al ...
likened the set to
Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
's iconic performance at
Live Aid Live Aid was a multi-venue benefit concert held on Saturday 13 July 1985, as well as a music-based fundraising initiative. The original event was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise further funds for relief of the 1983–1985 fami ...
in 1985, and Williams himself commented that "the audience just went ballistic." When interviewed, members of the audience commented that Williams' performance was the first time of the night they could hear the audience singing at the back of the field. As with many of Williams' live performances, he often improvises with the melody and changes the lyrics to suit the venue or event. One notable example of this was during the
Progress Live Progress Live was the eighth concert tour by British pop group Take That. The tour, sponsored by Samsung, supported their sixth studio album, ''Progress'' as they visited major cities in the UK and Europe. It was the first tour to feature all f ...
tour in 2011 following his reconciliation with his former band
Take That Take That are an English pop group formed in Manchester in 1990. The group currently consists of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen. The original line-up also featured Jason Orange and Robbie Williams. Barlow is the group's lead singe ...
after 15 years apart. The lyric "''You're my rock of empathy''" was replaced with "''Hello enueremember me?''" Williams rarely sings the chorus himself, often relying on the audience and backing vocalists to carry the song for him as he shouts words of encouragement for the audience. However, on the
Swings Both Ways ''Swings Both Ways'' is the tenth studio album by English singer-songwriter Robbie Williams. It is his second swing album after 2001's ''Swing When You're Winning''; unlike the latter, which had one original composition, this album features an ...
Arena Tour in 2014, Williams performed a
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
arrangement of the song, instead singing "Let me enter you" to individual members of the audience during the chorus. A popular pop-rock anthem in most European countries, the song has been covered live by several artists, including
Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 1983 in Sayreville, New Jersey. It consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarist Phil X, and bassist Hugh McDonald (American musician), Hugh McD ...
,
Westlife Westlife is an Irish pop vocal group formed in Dublin, Ireland in 1998. The group currently consists of members Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan, and Nicky Byrne. Brian McFadden was a member, until he left in 2004. The group temporarily di ...
and the cast of ''
Duets A duet is a musical composition or piece for two performers. Duets or The Duets may also refer to: Films and television * ''Duets'' (film), a 2000 film, starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Paul Giamatti and Huey Lewis * "Duets" (''Glee''), a 2010 episod ...
''. Five singers have performed the song on
Syco Syco Entertainment is a British media entertainment company, headquartered in London, founded and owned by British entrepreneur and record executive Simon Cowell. The company focuses on TV production. The company was formed in 2005 through So ...
's talent show ''
The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...
''.


Influence and reception

The song was found in a survey by
Mind The mind is the set of faculties responsible for all mental phenomena. Often the term is also identified with the phenomena themselves. These faculties include thought, imagination, memory, will, and sensation. They are responsible for various m ...
to be one of the top three songs for happiness. It has been called arguably one of the most well-known songs of the 1990s. "Let Me Entertain You" is often played during news reports or interviews with Williams, and is frequently played to welcome him to the stage during chat shows and other personal appearances. It was also used as the title of a best-selling biography of Williams. The song is not only used in association with Williams. It was the only song featured in the video game ''
Actua Soccer 3 ''Actua Sports'' is a sports video game series published by Gremlin Interactive which competed with Electronic Arts EA Sports label during the second half of the 1990s, until Gremlin was acquired by Infogrames. The term "Actua" is a (seemingly ma ...
'', it was played at the end of the football match in '' Mean Machine'' and was also featured in a UK commercial for the Sega Dreamcast. After his 2009 album ''
Reality Killed the Video Star ''Reality Killed the Video Star'' is the eighth solo studio album by English singer-songwriter Robbie Williams, released in November 2009. The album was produced by Trevor Horn and recorded between September 2008 and August 2009 in London and L ...
'' received mixed reviews, Williams joked he should have titled that album ''Let Me Underwhelm You''. The song has been covered by other artists, including VoiceMale, who inserted lyrics from Steppenwolf's " Magic Carpet Ride".Duchan, Joshua
Powerful Voices
2012. p.80.


Formats and track listings

These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Let Me Entertain You". UK CD1
(Released 16 March 1998) # "Let Me Entertain You" – 4:24 # "The Full Monty Medley" featuring Tom Jones – 5:28 # "
I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing "I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys from their fifth studio album, '' Very'' (1993). The song describes a person normally hesitant to unwind and show his feelings, who—because of some e ...
" – 3:07 # "I Am the Res-Erection" – 3:48 UK CD2
(Released 16 March 1998) # "Let Me Entertain You" (full-length version) – 5:19 # "Let Me Entertain You" (Stretch 'N' Vern's Rock 'N' Roll Mix) – 11:10 # "Let Me Entertain You" (Amethyst's Dub) – 7:47 # "Let Me Entertain You" (Robbie Loves His Mother Mix) – 7:49 # "Let Me Entertain You" (The Bizzarro Mix) – 5:50 Australian CD (Released 18 March 1998) # "Let Me Entertain You" (LP version) – 4:22 # "The Full Monty Medley" featuring Tom Jones – 5:28 # "
I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing "I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys from their fifth studio album, '' Very'' (1993). The song describes a person normally hesitant to unwind and show his feelings, who—because of some e ...
" – 3:08 # "Back for Good" (live version) – 3:49 # "Let Me Entertain You" (Amethyst's Dub) – 7:47


Charts and certifications


Charts


Certifications


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Let Me Entertain You (Robbie Williams Song) 1997 songs 1998 singles Robbie Williams songs Songs written by Guy Chambers Songs written by Robbie Williams Song recordings produced by Guy Chambers Song recordings produced by Steve Power Chrysalis Records singles Black-and-white music videos Music videos directed by Vaughan Arnell