Robbie Williams and Guy Chambers have channelled the Britpop era for the soundtrack to David Walliams’ new musical ‘The Boy In The Dress’.
The ‘I Love My Life’ hitmaker and his long-time songwriting partner have teamed up with the ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ judge and author on the music for his new production based on his debut children’s tome, which was published in 2008, and tells the story of a young boy who enjoys cross-dressing and how his loved ones reacted.
Guy – who released his debut solo album entitled ‘Go Gentle Into The Light’ earlier this month – has revealed their new tunes were inspired by the period in the mid-1990s which was dominated by bands such as Oasis, Radiohead and Blur and Robbie’s first solo album, ‘Life Thru a Lens’, which he released in 1997 and saw him move away from his band Take That’s pop sound and was largely inspired by the Britpop movement.
The show is by the Royal Shakespeare Company and is set to launch this November in the birthplace of late literary legend William Shakespeare; Stratford-Upon-Avon.
Speaking to m-magazine.co.uk, Guy said: "It’s a musical based on David’s book and basically, it’s very like the first album we did, Life thru a Lens. It’s got that sort of Britpop feel to it, lots of guitars and sunny pop songs, there’s also some sad pop songs. And the opening night is 9 November in Stratford-Upon-Avon."
The producer – who has also worked with the likes of Kylie Minogue, Miles Kane, Mark Ronson and Tina Turner to name a few – helped Robbie achieve International success with his first five solo albums all topping the chart.
The pair reunited in 2013 for the covers record ‘Swings Both Ways’, which became the ‘Rock DJ’ hitmaker’s 11th number one.
As well as working on the musical and his recently released solo album, Guy has also been in the studio with Robbie again recording songs for his next album, the follow-up to 2016’s ‘The Heavy Entertainment Show’.
The Ivor Novello-winner recently shared how Robbie’s approach to creating new music is often quite spontaneous, and he has to make sure he’s always recording just in case the singer does something "really very strong".
He said: "[Robbie] gets quite a buzz from a track already in progress. He likes a certain amount of music to … So what we tend to do when he walks through the room is we immediately give him a mic, a handheld mic, and he immediately starts singing, if he likes the track. We record everything he does, because sometimes his first thoughts are really very strong, and I’m sort of playing along at the same time trying to interact with him.
"I like jamming with people when I’m writing. I like playing at the same time, I like getting involved, and not just watching it. I like … I suppose directing it in a way, and that’s what it’s like with Rob."
Robbie Williams and Guy Chambers channel Britpop for David Walliams’ musical soundtrack
