Editing Robbie Williams (section)

==Influences==
During his childhood, Williams was influenced by [[Swing music|swing]] musicians such as [[Frank Sinatra]], [[Dean Martin]], and [[Sammy Davis Jr]]. The first records he listened to were released by [[Nat King Cole]], [[Sarah Vaughan]], [[Ella Fitzgerald]] and [[Cole Porter]], which belonged to his mother. At the age of 10, he got into [[hip hop]] and started collecting [[Electronic music|electro]] albums;<ref name="Holland">{{cite news |title=Robbie Williams interview with Jools Holland (13/11/1998). |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snyRWgEYdnw |access-date=20 March 2020}}</ref> and when he started his solo career in the '90s, he was influenced by [[Britpop]] bands such as [[Oasis (band)|Oasis]], [[Blur (band)|Blur]] and [[Pulp (band)|Pulp]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Life Thru a Lens Review by John Bush. |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/life-thru-a-lens-mw0000462941#:~:text=Life%20Thru%20a%20Lens%20Review&text=Beginning%20with%20the%20joyous%20%22Lazy,outrageous%2C%20utterly%20enjoyable%20pop%20music. |access-date=29 May 2022}}</ref>

As a singer, his influences include [[George Michael]], [[Tom Jones (singer)|Tom Jones]],<ref name="Holland"/> [[Elvis Presley]] and [[Bono]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Robbie Loves Bono. |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bh-gdX2LG8E |access-date=29 May 2022}}</ref> He worked with Jones several times throughout his career: They performed together at the Brit Awards in 1998; the following year, they recorded a cover of the song "[[Are You Gonna Go My Way]]" for Jones' album [[Reload (Tom Jones album)|Reload]]; and in 2012, Williams and Jones worked together again on the song "On My Own", b-side of his single "[[Different (Robbie Williams song)|Different]]".

Williams also feels great admiration for [[Freddie Mercury]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/robbie-williams-turned-to-freddie-mercury-1698408|title=Robbie Williams turned to Freddie Mercury for tour inspiration|last=People|first=Sunday|website=mirror|date=18 June 2011|access-date=17 April 2016}}</ref> and Queen. In 2001, Williams, [[Brian May]] and [[Roger Taylor (Queen drummer)|Roger Taylor]] released a new version of "[[We Are the Champions]]" for the movie ''A Knight's Tale''. He also revealed that he was once asked to be the new frontman of Queen, but that he turned down the offer because of his "very low self-esteem". He said: "I just thought I'd save them the audacity of me even trying to step on a stage and be in the same echelon as Freddie Mercury. Because he, to me, is angelic. He's godlike. It was just too scary."<ref>{{cite news |title=RobbieWilliams refused Queen member. |url=https://www.digitalspy.com/showbiz/a31267930/robbie-williams-refused-queen-member/|access-date=29 May 2022}}</ref>

Williams has revealed that he does the "Elvis Prayer" before going on stage at every concert. In 2000, he got a tattoo of the phrase "Elvis Grant Me Serenity"<ref>{{cite news |title=Robbie Williams tattoos. |url=https://www.rwdb.info/tattoos/|access-date=29 May 2022}}</ref> and he also played as an Elvis impersonator in the music video for his song "[[Advertising Space]]" (2005).

Speaking to BBC Radio 2 in February 2021, Williams cited [[Ian Dury]] as his biggest inspiration as a lyricist.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0965q90|title=Gary Barlow – We Write The Songs – Series 2 – Robbie Williams – BBC Sounds|website=BBC|access-date=11 February 2021|archive-date=6 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210206092535/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0965q90|url-status=live}}</ref> He sings on "You're the Why", the final track of the posthumously released album ''[[Ten More Turnips from the Tip]]'' (2002).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/n8cz/|title=BBC – Music – Review of Ian Dury – Ten Turnips From The Tip|first=Chris|last=Jones|website=BBC|access-date=11 February 2021|archive-date=16 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210316145742/https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/n8cz/|url-status=live}}</ref>