After leaving Take That and struggling to find success as a solo artist, it was his 1997 track Angels that transformed the fortunes of Robbie Williams.
But as the song rode high in the charts around Christmas, Rob was also hitting the headlines for another reason - his budding romance with Spice Girl Mel C.
Things were reportedly looking so good that Robbie, Mel, her bandmate Victoria Beckham and husband David flew to Ireland for a Christmas getaway.