At a venue best known as a rock music hotbed, Robbie Williams was perhaps not the usual name you'd expect to see performing at Newcastle's Mayfair Ballroom.
But 25 years ago, the former Take That man took centre stage at a location that had famously hosted the likes of Pink Floyd, U2, Led Zeppelin, The Who, AC/DC and other giant rock acts over the decades. It was October 12, 1997, two years after parting acrimoniously from Gary Barlow and co, when Robbie performed at the iconic club that sat on the corner of Newgate Street and Low Friar Street.
The 23-year-old was in the midst of a UK theatre and club tour titled The Show Off Must Go On to promote his debut album, Life Thru A Lens. And if there was initial scepticism about the viability of the dancer turned singer's proposed solo career, those doubts would be smashed to pieces over time.
READ MORE: AC/DC's Brian Johnson turns 75: From Gateshead schoolboy to rock superstar
To date Robbie Williams has scored 31 UK top 10 singles, including seven number ones - and 16 top 10 albums, 14 of which have hit the top spot. There have been collaborations with the likes of Kylie Minogue, the Pet Shop Boys, as well as his former Take That mate Gary Barlow, while he has performed at most of the major concert venues in the UK and Europe.
Twenty-five years ago at Newcastle Mayfair, our Chronicle reviewer was certainly left impressed: “Robbie Williams proved his critics wrong with a rousing performance which showed he can make it alone. Some have questioned whether the former Take That man could emerge from the shadows of his former group, but the show was a triumph.
“Robbie’s weight gain and struggles with too much of the rock and roll lifestyle have received more attention than his stop-start attempts at a solo career recently. But as he strode on stage to wolf whistles and screams, Williams did not look like a man under pressure.
“While some of his solo songs lack the ecstatic power of Take That’s finest moments, his magnetic personality and enthusiasm meant the attention rarely wavered. His voice was also surprisingly strong enough to carry material from new album Life Thru A Lens.
“Between songs he joked about his past and received rapturous applause to Lazy Days and I Hope I Die Before I Get Old. Probably the finest moment was the hilarious version of the Take That classic Back For Good which spun from being a ballad to a mad punk version. It was as if Williams was exorcising his Take That past and pointing to the future as a rock star - on this form it certainly looks rosy.”
The Mayfair, to the despair of many, would be demolished to make way for The Gate leisure complex just two years later. Robbie Williams would return to play live dates in the North East as a hugely successful solo artist in the years that followed.
READ NEXT
- Newcastle's Royal Station Hotel - an iconic city centre presence for 170 years
Gateshead town centre's two vanished railway stations - East and West
- Newcastle 50 years ago and the sound of marching juvenile jazz bands
- The North Tyneside village once known as Moor Town - in words and photographs
The Stranglers at Newcastle City Hall when pogoing fans brought the show to a halt
