Watch a live performance of Angels by Robbie Williams cover at a recent massive festival below by nineties cover band Britpop Reunion. This song was released on 1st December 1997 and peaked at number 4, but its longevity is what really counts. It sold over 1.16 million copies in the UK earning it four times Platinum status and it spent a solid 12 weeks in the Top 10. Beyond the numbers, it has become a staple of British life.
It was famously voted the best British song of the last 25 years at the 2005 Brit Awards, and it consistently tops polls as the song people most want played at their funerals. You’d honestly think it got to number 1 in the UK charts wouldn’t you? Also isn’t it funny how Robbie Williams 4th single got to number 4 in the UK charts? Contact Andy Starkey from Britpop Reunion to hire a live 90s tribute band.
Angels by Robbie Williams cover from Life Thru a Lens
Angels was the fourth single to be taken from Life Thru a Lens and that album was something of a slow burner when it was first released. It initially debuted at number 11 on the UK charts and struggled to gain traction, but the massive, enduring success of “Angels” eventually turned things around and propelled the album to the top of the charts. In the UK, it has been a major commercial success, selling approximately 2.4 million copies and earning an 8 x Platinum certification, while worldwide sales have surpassed the 4 million mark.
Robbie Williams 2025 album was entitled “Britpop” which upset a lot of people at the time, but we firmly believe Robbie does have Britpop credential’s as Life Thru A Lens fits in very well with other Brit pop albums released at similar periods of the mid 90s. It features very Oasis sounding guitars in parts, has moments of The Who and other 60s and 90s bands.
The backstory to Robbie Williams Angels
While “Angels” is Robbie Williams’ signature song, the backstory has always been a bit messy. Officially, it’s credited to Robbie and his long-time collaborator Guy Chambers, but Irish singer-songwriter Ray Heffernan has claimed for years that he actually co-wrote it.
Heffernan says he met Robbie in a Dublin pub in 1996 and they worked on a track called “Loving Angels Instead,” which Heffernan had started writing after a personal tragedy. He claims he wrote the first verse and parts of the chorus. Eventually, a settlement was reached where Robbie’s team paid Heffernan £7,500 for the rights to the song. While that settled the legal side of things, Heffernan has stayed vocal over the years about feeling like his actual creative input was pushed aside.
The original video for the Robbie Williams song Angels is in black and white and features the previous member of Take That Robbie Williams walking around various locations, kicking a football around, riding a motorcycle on the beach. It’s that raw, desolate, and intimate atmosphere that really made it stand out compared to the high-budget, busy music videos that were common at the time
An interesting fact about this classic 90s song:
The bass parts must’ve been played on a five string bass guitar because there is a single instance of a low B being played as the first note during the guitar solo. This helps gives the song it’s unique sound and tone helping the guitar solo to be its own part in the song featuring different chords.
This really is a massive singalong tune. Everybody knows the words to the chorus…..EVERYBODY. We’d love to perform it at your festival, wedding reception, corporate event or any event or party.