Robbie Williams is set to earn his fifteenth UK number one album with the soundtrack to his biopic Better Man, the Official Charts Company predicts.
If the British singer and former Take That, 50, who has the most number one singles of any solo act, tops the charts again on Friday, he will draw level with The Beatles, who have 15 number one albums.
In the film Better Man, directed by Michael Gracey, who also helmed musical The Greatest Showman, the former Take That star is played by a CGI chimpanzee, a comment on how he feels like a “performing monkey”.
The soundtrack for film includes his hits Rock DJ, Angels, Let Me Entertain You and Better Man as well as the Take That track Relight My Fire, and his new song Forbidden Road.
Williams scored his first solo number with Life Thru A Lens (1997), after leaving Take That before releasing other chart-toppers such as I’ve Been Expecting You (1998), Sing When You’re Winning (2000), Swing When You’re Winning (2001), Escapology (2002), Greatest Hits (2004), Intensive Care (2005), and Rudebox (2006).
He has also had number ones with In And Out Of Consciousness: Greatest Hits 1990-2010 (2010), Take The Crown (2012), Swings Both Ways (2013), The Heavy Entertainment Show (2016) and The Christmas Present (2019).
The latest chart-topper XXV (2022), earned him his fourteenth number one.
Williams could also face competition from Gracie Abrams’ number one record The Secret Of Us as its released on vinyl, and American singer Sabrina Carpenter’s Short N’ Sweet, which are on track to reach number two and number three, respectively.
New releases from American rapper Mac Miller, with Balloonerism, and British singer David Gray’s Dear Life, are predicted to come in at number four and number five, the Official Charts Company says.
The Better Man film follows Williams’ childhood, time in Take That and his solo career, while exploring the issues fame can bring.
In 2023, he released the Netflix documentary Robbie Williams which explored similar themes.
Williams is set to perform in cities across the UK and Europe this summer, with his 2025 tour beginning in Edinburgh on May 31.
He began his career in 1990s boyband Take That, before going on to have seven UK number one singles.
