The plan is clear as mud. Robbie Williams is making his biopic Better Man in Melbourne and he’s putting on two concerts to film a recreation of the 1998 Brit awards. So please wear 90s clothes – or don’t, no one will mind. You might be in the film, but the first rows will be filled with extras. And the concert is not just a concert; it is An Evening with Robbie Williams, which means we’ll also get a Richard Wilkins interview with him, plus the promise of “a guest appearance from a spokesperson from the set”. The Guardian is offered free tickets, on the condition we promise not to write anything. I buy one instead, because we have so many questions: why is one of the UK’s most successful musicians making his movie in Melbourne? Is it true that Williams will be played by a CGI monkey? Bohemian Rhapsody, this is not; I suspect Better Man will be closer to the out-and-out weirdness of Aline, which saw an adult actor play Celine Dion as a baby.
At least the fashion rules are clear. On Sunday night, the second of the two shows, a sea of flannel flows towards Rod Laver Arena; there are more mullets here than the Saints’ changing room. It is easy to spot who won’t make the final edit: the fan in her “Williams ’03” jersey for instance; same for the guys puffing away on vapes, or those who won’t put down their iPhones.
