"Rudebox" is song by English musician

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 ...

from his seventh studio album of the same name (2006). It interpolates the 1987 song "

Boops (Here to Go) "Boops (Here to Go)" is a song by Jamaican duo Sly and Robbie, released in 1987 as the first single from the album '' Rhythm Killers''. The song is their most successful in the United Kingdom, where it reached No. 12 on the UK Singles Chart in M ...

" by

Sly and Robbie Sly and Robbie were a prolific Jamaican rhythm section and production duo, associated primarily with the reggae and dub genres. Drummer Sly Dunbar and bassist Robbie Shakespeare teamed up in the mid-1970s after establishing themselves separa ...

. The single was released on 4 September 2006, although download purchases allowed it to reach number 30 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

on 3 September. After the release of the

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 ...

, it ascended 26 places to number four, selling 24,821 copies. The track was nominated for the 2006

Ivor Novello Award The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and composing. They have been presented annually in London by the Ivors Academy (formerly the BASCA) since 1956, and over 1,000 statuettes have been a ...

. In the song Williams makes several cultural references including

Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized as adidas since 1949) is a German multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufactur ...

T.K. Maxx TK Maxx is a subsidiary of the American apparel and home goods company TJX Companies based in Framingham, Massachusetts. The stores operate throughout the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, Germany, Poland, Austria and the Netherlands, totall ...

(in a joke about

product placement Product placement, also known as embedded marketing, is a marketing technique where references to specific brands or products are incorporated into another work, such as a film or television program, with specific promotional intent. Much of th ...

, "T.K. Maxx costs less!"),

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

Special Olympics Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities and physical disabilities, providing year-round training and activities to 5 million participants and Unified Sports partners in 1 ...

Durex Durex is a brand of condoms and personal lubricants owned by the British company Reckitt Benckiser. It was initially developed in London under the purview of the London Rubber Company and British Latex Products Ltd, where it was manufactured bet ...

condoms, ''

The Matrix ''The Matrix'' is a 1999 science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the first installment in ''The Matrix'' film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, and Joe Pantolia ...

'' and

Mandrax Methaqualone is a hypnotic sedative. It was sold under the brand names Quaalude ( ) and Sopor among others, which contained 300 mg of methaqualone, and sold as a combination drug under the brand name Mandrax, which contained 250 mg met ...

Commercial performance

"Rudebox" had considerable success in Europe, peaking at number two on the

European Hot 100 Singles The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by '' Billboard'' and '' Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately ...

chart. The single reached number one in Germany, Italy, and Switzerland and entered the top 10 in several other countries around the world. In the United Kingdom, the single debuted at number 30 based on downloads alone; when the single was physically released, it climbed to its peak of number four on the

, spending two weeks inside the top 10 and nine weeks on the chart overall. In Mexico, the song won the award for Song of the Year – International at the 2007

Premios Oye! Premios Oye! (Premio Nacional a la Música Grabada) were presented annually by the ''Academia Nacional de la Música en México'' from 2003 to 2013 with the exception of 2011 when they were not presented, for outstanding achievements in the Mexican ...

ceremony.

Track listings

UK CD1 and European CD single # "Rudebox" (radio edit) # "Lonestar Rising" UK CD2 and Australian CD single # "Rudebox" (album version) # "Rudebox" (Soul Mekanik dub) # "Rudebox" (Chicken Lips Malfunction) # "Rudebox" (Chicken Lips Malfunction dub) # "Rudebox" (video) # "Rudebox" (interview clip)

Credits and personnel

Credits are taken from the ''

Rudebox ''Rudebox'' is the seventh studio album by English singer-songwriter Robbie Williams, released on 23 October 2006 in the United Kingdom. It features two guest appearances from the Pet Shop Boys. The album was produced by a variety of producer ...

'' album booklet. Studios * Recorded at Wendy House Studios * Mixed at Twenty One Studios (London, England) * Mastered at

Metropolis Studios Metropolis Studios is a music production and entertainment industry company established in 1989 by Gary Langan, Carey Taylor and Karin Clayton.Donald Brackett It is located in the Powerhouse, a Grade II listed building, at 70 Chiswick High Roa ...

(London, England) Personnel * Robbie Williams – writing, lead vocals, backing vocals * Kelvin Andrews – writing, backing vocals, Moog, sythesisers, programming *

Danny Spencer Danny Spencer is the former guitarist for Australian band Rogue Traders, taking over from previous guitarist Tim Henwood, who left in order to concentrate on his band the Androids in 2007, with Rogue Traders frontman James Ash stating that "Ti ...

– writing, backing vocals, Moog, sythesisers, programming *

Bill Laswell William Otis Laswell (born February 12, 1955) is an American bass guitarist, record producer, and record label owner. He has been involved in thousands of recordings with many collaborators from all over the world. His music draws from funk, w ...

– writing ("

") * Carl Aiken – writing ("Boops (Here to Go)") * William Collins – writing ("Boops (Here to Go)") *

Sly Dunbar Lowell Fillmore "Sly" Dunbar (born 10 May 1952, Kingston, Jamaica) is a drummer, best known as one half of the prolific Jamaican rhythm section and reggae production duo Sly and Robbie. Biography Dunbar began playing at 15 in a band called ...

– writing ("Boops (Here to Go)") *

Robbie Shakespeare Robert Warren Dale Shakespeare (27 September 1953 – 8 December 2021) was a Jamaican bass guitarist and record producer, best known as half of the reggae rhythm section and production duo Sly and Robbie, with drummer Sly Dunbar. Regarded as ...

– writing ("Boops (Here to Go)") * Charmaine Baines – featured vocals * Marsha Thomason – featured vocals * Richard Scott – backing vocals * Soul Mekanik – production * Jeremy Wheatley – mixing * Matt Kemp – engineering * Tony Cousins – mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{Authority control 2006 songs 2006 singles Robbie Williams songs Chrysalis Records singles Number-one singles in Germany Number-one singles in Italy Number-one singles in Switzerland Number-one singles in Turkey Songs written by Bootsy Collins Songs written by Robbie Williams