The Daily Record’s Nicola Croal witnessed Robbie Williams take to the Barrowland stage in Glasgow on Wednesday evening for the first time since 1997.
15:01, 05 Feb 2026Updated 00:47, 06 Feb 2026
It was the first time Robbie had played the hit venue in 29 years(Image: Nicola Croal)
Robbie Williams returned to the stage at Glasgow’s iconic Barrowland Ballroom for the first time in 14 years last night and I was lucky enough to see him put on an unforgettable performance. His intimate gig to around 2,000 fans on Wednesday, February 4, is worlds apart from his Murrayfield Stadium gig last summer to crowds of over 67,000 people.
The pop star’s Barrowland show comes as part of the singer’s series of smaller gigs across the UK on his long 90s tour and despite his undeniable entertainer talents and stage presence, performing to a much smaller group of people suited Robbie well. The 51-year-old perfectly recreated the nostalgia of the beginning of his solo career, performing his entire 1997 debut album Life Thru a Lens in full as he brought the atmosphere of the nineties back to life for a night.
This was with the exception of mobile phone use. However, as it was predominantly more of an older crowd, they weren’t out in full force. The first half of his 90 minute show was dedicated to his debut album, while the other half was spent performing his newly released 11-track album, Britpop, which came out in January.
As someone with an OG Take That fan mum, I have seen Robbie perform in big venues or stadiums several times throughout my life and being able to see him in a more intimate setting together was a special moment neither of us will ever forget. It also helped that his raw vocals on the night were incredible.
The Rock DJ hitmaker broke records last month with his new record, marking his 16th number one album and knocking the Beatles off the top spot for the highest number of UK number one albums achieved by any artist. Making his entrance to the stage, looking very buff in a top dedicated to the Glasgow formed rock band, Primal Scream, Robbie kick started things with his 1997 track Lazy Days.
It was the first time Robbie had played the hit venue in 29 years(Image: Nicola Croal)
The star took fans through a trip down memory lane as he performed his first album tracks in order, meaning his iconic hit Angels was the fourth song to be played. I found it surprising he didn’t come back on stage to sing it once more to conclude but just throwing it in casually somewhere in the beginning added to the nineties feel of the gig before the song became his most famous track ever.
In true Robbie fashion, he let the crowd sing the entire first verse while parading around with a Saltire flag wrapped around him before showing off his effortless vocals for the rest of the track. The star, who has been very vocal about his battles with imposter syndrome and anxiety on stage over the years, appeared very at ease and less performative than usual, albeit the showing off of his muscles.
He performed another one of his most famous tracks, Let Me Entertain You, from the debut album and finished it up by admitting it was the most “middle-aged” performance of the song he’d ever given but the crowd loved it. Robbie captured the feeling of going back in time for fans and himself too to experience in a different way.
He told the crowd: “For once I am just trying to enjoy my success. I’ve never done that before. We Brits often take a prick and pop the balloon of success, including our own.”
After performing the album in full, he moved onto Britpop, his nostalgic rock-pop record inspired by the mid 1990s Britpop movement. Robbie previously described it as the album he wanted to make in 1995, capturing the spirit of the “Cool Britannia” era.
It came as a part of Robbie’s Long 90s Tour across the UK(Image: Nicola Croal)
The new record is great and after listening to it in the house ahead of the gig and thinking ‘not bad’, hearing him perform the new tracks in real time with so much passion has now made re-listening to the album sound ten times greater.
My favourite of Robbie’s new songs are It’s Ok Until The Drugs Stop Working, Human and All My Life. Between tracks, Robbie who labels himself the ‘nicest narcissist’, reflected on his Take That bad boy days and his infamous feud with Gary Barlow.
The pair have long since put their fall out to bed with Robbie telling the crowd he regrets being so mean to his former bandmate sometimes.
However, he did cheekily admit that he was proud of himself for being completely honest in the explosive aftermath of being chucked out of Take That, noting he’s the only person in the history to quit a boyband and then publicly call them all “a***holes” publicly after the fact.
Robbie concluded his show with a track from the deluxe version of Britpop called Selfish Disco which was a huge hit with the crazy Glasgow crowd.
All in all, Robbie put on a phenomenal show and my mum and I and seemingly everyone else in the room had a brilliant time. I wish I could say certain things could be better, but I honestly couldn’t pinpoint any flaws in his performance or the evening.
The simplicity and rawness of his Barrowlands gig proved that he doesn’t need all the fancy bells and whistles of a stadium tour to put on an amazing performance. After all these years, Robbie Williams has definitely still got it.