Robbie Williams opens up about his drinking and steroid injections before going on stage

Robbie Williams and the stage are a long-standing love story. If the British star has been in the spotlight since his teenage years, it seems that he never really got used to it. Alcohol, drugs, steroid injections… All means were good to reduce his anxiety. In a Netflix documentary released this Wednesday, November 8, 2023, soberly titled Robbie Williamshe confides in his excesses.

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Robbie Williams is a performer, and has always been (or almost). But if the singer exudes self-confidence, it seemed that sometimes it was only on the surface… He dropped out of school at the age of 16 to join the famous group Take That, he recounts in an intimate Netflix documentary, released this Wednesday, November 8 and titled Robbie Williams, how he was thrust too quickly into an adult world. From his teenage years, his alcohol consumption was excessive and he was unable to go on stage without having drunk. But his anxiety about performing in front of a crowd never really left him: much later, exhausted from touring and terrified of performing in front of an audience, he had to give himself steroid injections to keep up. The singer, who opened up in August 2023 about his dysmorphophobia – a psychological disorder linked to self-obsession – has often had difficulty managing his celebrity. In this Netflix documentary, he tells it, while viewing archive footage.

Robbie Williams: during his Take That days, he drank a bottle of vodka every night before going on stage

If the psychological fragility of Robbie Williams – like many stars of such stature – has been known to everyone for a long time, some are unaware that, from the time of Take That (boy band created in 1990 and whose members are Gary Barlow, Mark Owen , Howard Donald, Jason Orange and our dear Robbie), the British singer has difficulty going on stage without having drunk. In the Netflix documentary, we see him upset, watching videos of his younger self opening up about his severe addiction to alcohol and drugs. “My consumption had passed the point of no return.” he admits, lying in bed. At the time, while still a minor, he drank an entire bottle of vodka every night before going on stage with the rest of his band.

Robbie Williams talks about the steroid injections that allowed him to perform in concert

Exhausted during his European concert tour in 2003, he began receiving steroid injections to keep him going. Until a stop in Leeds, where he suffered a real trauma, overwhelmed by the intensity of going on stage every night. “I had an anxiety attack during the entire performance.”he remembers with emotion. “I never wanted to go on stage again in my life.” Realizing that if he cancels his second date in Leeds it will cost him more money than he has, he finally comes to his senses and goes ahead with his gig the next day. It was following these big bursts of anxiety that the man who would later marry the singer Ayda Field developed an addiction to medical drugs. Fortunately, he would later recover through a stay in rehab.