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"Rock DJ" is a song by English singer and songwriter
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 ...
, featured on his third
studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
, ''
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). The song was released on 31 July 2000 as the
lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...
from the album. It samples Barry White's song "
It's Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next to Me "It's Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next to Me" is a hit song by American singer Barry White. The song was written by Ekundayo Paris and Nelson Pigford, and arranged by Barry White. Chart performance Released from his album '' Barry White Sings for ...
", " Can I Kick It?" by
A Tribe Called Quest A Tribe Called Quest was an American hip hop group formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985,Q-Tip
and has a quote from "
La Di Da Di "La Di Da Di" is a song performed by Doug E. Fresh, who provides the beatboxed instrumental, and MC Ricky D (later known as Slick Rick), who performs the vocals. It was originally released in 1985 as the B-side to " The Show". The song has since ...
" by
Slick Rick Richard Martin Lloyd Walters (born January 14, 1965), better known as Slick Rick, is an English-American rapper and record producer. He rose to prominence with Doug E. Fresh & the Get Fresh Crew in the mid-1980s. Their songs " The Show" and " ...
and
Doug E. Fresh Doug E. Fresh (born September 17, 1966) is a Barbados-born American rapper, record producer, and beatboxer, also known as the "Human Beat Box". The pioneer of 20th-century American beatboxing, Fresh is able to accurately imitate drum machines an ...
. "Rock DJ" reached number one in Costa Rica, Iceland, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom whilst reaching the top 10 in Australia, Austria, Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain, and Switzerland. It was the fourth-best-selling song of 2000 in the UK. The music video features Williams trying to impress a female DJ by stripping naked and eventually resorting to removing his skin and muscles, ending up as a skeleton. The song won British Single of the Year, and the video won
British Video of the Year The Brit Award for British Video of the Year was an award given by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), an organisation which represents record companies and artists in the United Kingdom. The accolade is presented at the Brit Awards, an annua ...
at the 2001 Brit Awards.


Chart performance

The song became
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 ...
' third number-one solo single in the United Kingdom, going on to sell over 600,000 copies and being certified Platinum by the BPI. The song also became a smash hit around Europe, charting inside the top ten in most countries and becoming his first number-one single in
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
,
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
and
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
. The song also became a top five hit in Australia, where it went on to sell over 70,000 copies, being certified Platinum by the
ARIA In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...
. However, success in the United States was limited, reaching number 24 on ''Billboard's''
Hot Dance Club Play Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...
but failing to chart inside the
Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...
. "Rock DJ" went on to sell almost 4 million copies worldwide. The song was named the Best Song of 2000 at the
MTV Europe Music Awards The MTV Europe Music Awards (originally named MTV European Music Awards, commonly abbreviated as MTV EMA) are awards presented by Paramount International Networks to honour artists and music in pop culture. It was originally conceived as an a ...
and Best Single and Best Video at the Brits 2001.


Music videos

The accompanying
music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
for "Rock DJ" was directed by
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 ...
. It was released on 6 July. It begins with Williams dancing on a
roller disco A roller disco is a discothèque or skating rink where all the dancers wear roller skates of some kind (traditional quad or inline). The music played is modern and easily danceable, historically disco but in modern times including almost any form ...
with women skating around him. He wants to get the attention of the female DJ (played by Lauren Gold) standing above the stage, so he begins taking off his clothes. After he finally gets her attention, he proceeds with stripping off his skin, muscles and organs, until the only thing left of him are his bones, which is performed by special effects. In the end, the DJ dances with his skeleton. The video ends with the note, "No Robbies were Harmed During the Making of this Video", a jocular take on the " No animals were harmed" note. The skinless Robbie also appears on the single's cover art, as well as on the cover of the DVD release of '' In and Out of Consciousness: Greatest Hits 1990–2010'' in 2010. The video's ending (beginning with Williams taking off his skin) was cut by most music channels around Europe, including
VIVA Viva may refer to: Companies and organisations * Viva (network operator), a Dominican mobile network operator * Viva Air, a Spanish airline taken over by flag carrier Iberia * Viva Air Dominicana * VIVA Bahrain, a telecommunication company * ...
, MCM, The Box and
VH1 Europe VH1 (referred as VH1 Europe) was a European music television channel owned by ViacomCBS Networks EMEAA. It played a wide variety of music programs on a daily or weekly basis, and various VH1 original series. The channel focused on current mus ...
. However, in the recent years, some of the music channels in Europe (including
MTV Classic MTV Classic may refer to: *MTV Classic (American TV channel), a television channel that replaced VH1 Classic on August 1, 2016 *MTV Classic (Australian TV channel), a television channel previously named VH1 Australia until May 2010, and shut down i ...
and
VH1 Europe VH1 (referred as VH1 Europe) was a European music television channel owned by ViacomCBS Networks EMEAA. It played a wide variety of music programs on a daily or weekly basis, and various VH1 original series. The channel focused on current mus ...
) airs the "studio recording" version of the music video, even on late night, which made the edited version of the music video fall into obscurity. Examples of TV stations that still play the full video are Bulgarian channel MM, former German located channel B.TV (often in daytime) and Canadian channel
MusiquePlus Elle Fictions (stylized ELLE Fictions) is a Canadian French language specialty channel owned by Remstar Media Group. The channel broadcasts general entertainment programming targeting young adult women. It was first established in 1986 as the mu ...
, some channels ran the edited video during the day and the unedited one overnight, while
The Hits The Hits was a music video channel broadcast in the United Kingdom and Ireland, owned by Box Television. On 15 August 2008 it was rebranded as 4Music. Overview and availability The channel showcased a range of pop centred on chart hits and cur ...
played a version which cut from Williams dancing in his underwear to dancing as a skeleton, filling the gap by repeating previous footage. This is the version that is currently played on channels owned by
The Box Plus Network The Box Plus Network (formerly Video Jukebox Network International Ltd and Box Television Ltd) was a British television company owned by Channel Four Television Corporation, it specialised in music programming. On 2 April 2013, all The Box Pl ...
. In 2001, "Rock DJ" won the
MTV Video Music Award for Best Special Effects The MTV Video Music Award for Best Visual Effects is a craft award given to the artist, the artist's manager, and the visual effects artists and/or visual effects company of the music video. From 1984 to 2006, the award's full name was Best Specia ...
. In 2006, it was voted by viewers as the seventh Most Groundbreaking Video Ever on MTV and in 2007 it was ranked at number 48 on
MuchMusic Much (an abbreviation for its full name MuchMusic) is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. MuchMusic launched on August 31 ...
's 50 Most Controversial Videos. The video was banned in
Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...
due to allegations of Satanism. The video has been shown numerous times on
Fuse Fuse or FUSE may refer to: Devices * Fuse (electrical), a device used in electrical systems to protect against excessive current ** Fuse (automotive), a class of fuses for vehicles * Fuse (hydraulic), a device used in hydraulic systems to protect ...
's ''
Pants-Off Dance-Off ''Pants-Off Dance-Off'' (''PODO'') is a dance contest that premiered on April 18, 2006 on Fuse TV, Fuse. It features Strippers, stripteasers as they dance while disrobing. Format In each episode, five contestants striptease to a music video, w ...
'', despite its gory content. Toward the end of the dancer's dancing/stripping to it when the video is shown in the background like any other, they only show Williams, briefly, ripping and throwing his skin, and dancing in muscle form before cutting to the hostess of the show. The video appears as an instance of the re-use of the motif of "dancing with the dead" in a book about medieval images of death and dying in art and literature. A second video shows Williams in a studio while recording the song.


Track listings

UK CD and cassette single, Australian CD single # "Rock DJ" – 4:15 # "Talk to Me" – 3:28 # "Rock DJ" (Player One remix) – 5:34 UK DVD single # "Rock DJ" (full length video) # "Rock DJ" (a short documentary feature) European CD single # "Rock DJ" – 4:15 # "Talk to Me" – 3:28 European maxi-CD single # "Rock DJ" – 4:15 # "Talk to Me" – 3:28 # "Rock DJ" (Player One remix) – 5:34 # "Rock DJ" (video)


Credits and personnel

Credits are taken from the ''
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 ...
'' 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, all keyboards, production, arrangement * Kelvin Andrews – writing * Nelson Pigford – writing * Ekundayo Paris – writing * Andy Caine – backing vocals * Derek Green – backing vocals *
Katie Kissoon Mac and Katie Kissoon are a pop soul duo, consisting of brother and sister Mac Kissoon (born Gerald Farthing, November 11, 1943, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago) and Katie Kissoon (born Katherine Farthing, March 11, 1951, Port of Spain). E ...
– backing vocals * Sylvia Mason-James – backing vocals *
Tessa Niles Tessa Margaret Niles ( ''née'' Webb; born 27 January 1961 in Ilford, Essex) is an English singer, best known as a backing singer for a wide variety of contemporary artists. She began her professional singing career in 1979. Early life and ca ...
– backing vocals * Paul "Tubbs" Williams – backing vocals * Steve Power
vocoder A vocoder (, a portmanteau of ''voice'' and ''encoder'') is a category of speech coding that analyzes and synthesizes the human voice signal for audio data compression, multiplexing, voice encryption or voice transformation. The vocoder was ...
, production, mixing * Neil Taylor – electric guitar * Winston Blissett – bass guitar * Andy Duncan – drum programming * Dave Bishop – brass * Neil Sidwell – brass * Steve Sidwell – brass *
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
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 * Richard Flack –
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 ...
* Tony Cousins – mastering


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Decade-end charts


Certifications


Release history


Notes


References


External links

* * {{Authority control 2000 songs 2000 singles Brit Award for British Single Capitol Records singles Chrysalis Records singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Music video controversies Music videos directed by Vaughan Arnell Number-one singles in Iceland Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in Scotland Robbie Williams songs Song recordings produced by Guy Chambers Song recordings produced by Steve Power Songs written by Guy Chambers UK Singles Chart number-one singles