Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and song… Read Full Bio ↴Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut studio album, Life thru a Lens, was released in 1997, and included his signature song, "Angels". His second album, I've Been Expecting You, featured the songs "Millennium" and "She's the One", his first number one singles. His discography includes seven UK No. 1 singles, and all but one of his 14 studio albums have reached No. 1 in the UK. Six of his albums are among the top 100 biggest-selling albums in the UK, with two of them in the top 60, and he gained a Guinness World Record in 2006 for selling 1.6 million tickets in a single day during his Close Encounters Tour.

Williams has received a record 18 Brit Awards, winning Best British Male Artist four times, Outstanding Contribution to Music twice, an Icon Award for his lasting impact on British culture, eight German ECHO Awards, and three MTV European Music Awards. In 2004, he was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame after being voted the Greatest Artist of the 1990s. According to the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), he has been certified for 20.2 million albums and 8.66 million singles in the UK as a solo artist. Five of his albums have also topped the Australian albums chart, and has sold 75 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. He also topped the 2000–2010 UK airplay chart. His three concerts at Knebworth in 2003 drew over 375,000 people, the UK's biggest music event to that point. In 2014, he was awarded the freedom of his hometown of Stoke-on-Trent and had a tourist trail created and streets named in his honour. Williams' thirteenth album, XXV was released on 9 September 2022.

After 15 years, Williams rejoined Take That in 2010 to co-write and perform lead vocals on their album Progress, which became the second-fastest-selling album in UK chart history and the fastest-selling record of the century at the time. The subsequent stadium tour, which featured seven songs from Williams' solo career, became the biggest-selling concert in UK history when it sold 1.34 million tickets in less than 24 hours. In 2011, Take That frontman Gary Barlow confirmed that Williams had left the band for a second time to focus on his solo career, although he stated that the departure was amicable and that Williams was welcome to rejoin Take That in the future. Williams has since performed with Take That on three separate television appearances, and collaborated with Barlow on a number of projects such as the West End musical The Band.

Average B-Side
Robbie Williams Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

You say you're sick and tired
Of feeling sick and tired
I walked and told the truth
Do you wish I'd stayed alive?

'Cause she said that you said that I said
She said that I said the love's dead
And I tried to explain

Don't expect you to be the same

On this rockin' rollercoaster, an emotional ride
We were just an average b-side
We were just an average b-side

I watched the past run by on the silver screen
We played our parts and died, scene by scene
When she said that you said that I said
She said that I said the love's dead
And I try to explain
Don't expect you to feel the same

On this rockin' rollercoaster, an emotional ride
We were just an average b-side, oh, b-side

Pretend you like me
Pretend I like you
Pretend, pretend, pretend
This is not happening

Oh, rockin' rollercoaster, an emotional ride (this is not happening)
We were just an average b-side (this is not happening)
Oh, rockin' rollercoaster, an emotional ride
We were just an average b-side
We were just an average b-side
We were just an average b-side
You say you're sick and tired
Of feeling sick and tired
I walked and told the truth
Do you wish I'd stayed alive?

'Cause she said that you said that I said
She said that I said the love's dead
And I tried to explain
Don't expect you to be the same

On this rockin' rollercoaster, an emotional ride
We were just an average b-side
We were just an average b-side

I watched the past run by on the silver screen
We played our parts and died, scene by scene
When she said that you said that I said
She said that I said the love's dead
And I try to explain
Don't expect you to feel the same

On this rockin' rollercoaster, an emotional ride
We were just an average b-side, oh, b-side

Pretend you like me
Pretend I like you
Pretend, pretend, pretend
This is not happening

Oh, rockin' rollercoaster, an emotional ride (this is not happening)
We were just an average b-side (this is not happening)
Oh, rockin' rollercoaster, an emotional ride
We were just an average b-side

We were just an average b-side
We were just an average b-side

Overall Meaning

The song "Average B-Side" by Robbie Williams appears to be about a failed relationship. The singer is addressing his former partner, who seems to have become disenchanted with their love and is tired of feeling that way. He questions whether she wishes he had stayed alive in their relationship and implies that she has blamed him for the end of their love. The refrain "rockin' rollercoaster, an emotional ride" suggests that their relationship was tumultuous and unstable. The line "We were just an average b-side" may be a metaphor for the fact that their love story was not the main attraction, but rather a secondary, less significant feature that ultimately did not stand out.

The lyrics also contain a sense of reflection and remorse, as the singer looks back on their failed relationship and laments how they pretended to like each other. The phrase "this is not happening" is repeated, perhaps indicating that the singer cannot come to terms with the fact that their love story has come to an end. Overall, the song seems to capture the painful aftermath of an unsuccessful relationship, with the singer searching for answers about what went wrong and struggling to come to terms with the fact that their love was not meant to be.

Line by Line Meaning

You say you're sick and tired
You express that you are exhausted

Of feeling sick and tired
You're tired of feeling exhausted all the time

I walked and told the truth
I spoke the truth as I know it

Do you wish I'd stayed alive?
Are you regretful that I'm still alive?

'Cause she said that you said that I said
Because she said that you said that I said

She said that I said the love's dead
She said that I claimed the love is dead

And I tried to explain
And I attempted to clarify

Don't expect you to be the same
I'm not expecting you to be identical

On this rockin' rollercoaster, an emotional ride
This experience has been like an emotional rollercoaster ride

We were just an average b-side
Our relationship was ordinary and not memorable

I watched the past run by on the silver screen
I observed my previous experiences as if watching a film