Guy Chambers thought he was going to “die” while recording ‘Angels’ with Robbie Williams.
The songwriter, 61, who has also produced hits for Kylie Minogue, Tina Turner and Mel C, said he was suffering with a crippling sinus infection when he penned Robbie’s 1997 anthem, but was persuaded by his mum to go to a session with the singer to sort a demo of the track.
He told the Confetti Institute of Technologies’ annual Industry Week event Nottingham, UK, which brings together experts in music and technology to share their stories with the next generation of creatives: “‘Angels’ started in my bedroom where I had a little studio set up, and it went from there to the studio where we (I and Robbie) recorded it.
“Then we went on tour with it and we noticed how people reacted to it before it had even come out… .
“It was our second day of working together and I had a terrible sinus infection. I remember phoning my mother before, saying, ‘I really don’t think I can do this session. I’m going to cancel it.’
“She said, ‘Guy, I’ve got this feeling about today. Whatever you do, don’t cancel it.’
“(Robbie) started singing the ‘I sit and wait / Does an angel contemplate my fate’ line a cappella and I started to play on the piano. We wrote two verses and a chorus. The reason that song doesn’t have a middle eight is because of my sinus infection.
“The original demo for ‘Angels’ was just piano, his voice and me singing (backing vocals.)
“That’s it. There are no drums, there’s no guitar. Just very, very simple – and again, that was because I thought I was going to die (from my sinus infection.)
“I thought my head was going to explode.”
Guy added about how the track differs from Robbie’s other output: “It’s one of the few Robbie songs that isn’t very specific to his life. It’s a universal song. A lot of his lyrics aren’t very personal and have a lot of his humour in it and that kind of thing.
“Quirky would be the word I’d use. ‘Angels’ isn’t like that. ‘Angels’ is a spiritual song. It’s kind of a hymn. Therefore, I think because of that, it was this massive deal. We should have written more like that really, but we didn’t.”