Guy Chambers is one of the UK’s most successful living songwriters having worked with artists and writers including Tina Turner, Kyle Minogue, Will Young, Scissor Sisters, Busted, Melanie C, Diana Ross, Tom Jones, James Blunt, Marlon Roudette, Rufus Wainwright, Mark Ronson and many more. Guy is perhaps best known for his work with Robbie Williams, co-writing some of Williams’ most iconic hits including ‘Angels’, ‘Millennium’, ‘Feel’, ‘Let Me Entertain You’ and ‘Rock DJ’.
Guy is consistently seeking new creative endeavors and in 2019, Guy and Robbie Williams teamed up with Chris Heath to compose the music and lyrics for the RSC’s musical adaptation of David Walliams’ ‘The Boy in the Dress’. The show opened to five-star reviews (The Independent, What’s On Stage) at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon. This builds on the success of Guy’s children’s folk opera based on the Oscar Wilde short story ‘The Selfish Giant’ - which he dedicated to his late mother, Pat. The show premiered at The Vaudeville Theatre in London’s West End in 2018.
Guy’s life as a musician began from an early age and at 16 his first band, Hambi and The Dance, were signed to Virgin Records, but it was at the Guildhall School of Music where he studied piano and composition that his love affair with the recording studio really began. After graduating, Guy worked as a session musician: playing piano at Hamiltons Gallery in Mayfair, touring Europe with the Waterboys, or adding fills to Aztec Camera’s ‘lounge’ cover of Van Halen’s ‘Jump’, before joining Karl Wallinger’s World Party. Guy left to form his own band The Lemon Trees and their first album ‘Open Book’ released in 1992 was critically well-received and all of its five singles entered the UK Top 100. However, the band never released a second album as they explored other musical ventures.
For Guy, his next collaboration would bring a new level of success as he teamed up with teen pop sensation Robbie Williams from Take That. Their first work together, ‘Life Thru A Lens’, was released in 1997, with singles ‘Angels’ and ‘Let Me Entertained You’ propelling the album into the UK No.1 spot. The pair co-wrote and released 5 UK no.1 albums in 5 years: ‘I’ve Been Expecting You’, ‘Sing When You’re Winning’, ‘Swing When You’re Winning’ and ‘Escapology’. All topped the UK album charts, and each variously scored number one spots in Ireland, France, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Switzerland, Australia and New Zealand.
Guy was musical director for the multiple world stadium tours that accompanied their global chart success and this era saw Williams become not only the best-selling British born solo artist of all time in the UK, but also the best-selling, non-Latino solo artist of all time in Latin America. Guy has produced Robbie Williams’ most recent three albums, all of which became UK No. 1s including The Christmas Present in 2019 on which Guy also co-wrote the single ‘Time For Change’. To date, this brings the total of UK No.1 albums that Guy has produced for Robbie Williams to eight making their partnership one of the most successful collaborations in UK pop history.
As a songwriting polymath, Guy has turned his hand to collaborations that span the 21st Century pop canon throughout Europe. These co-writes include: Marlon Roudette’s single ‘New Age’ that went straight to No.1 in Germany and held the spot for 9 weeks whilst topping charts in Austria, Russia and Switzerland in 2011; ‘Tears in Rain’ with James Blunt that appears on Blunt’s iconic 2003 album ‘Back to Bedlam’ (which to date is the 18th best-selling album in UK chart history); ‘First Day of my Life’ by Spice Girl Melanie C which topped charts in Germany, Spain, Portugal and Switzerland and was covered by world-renowned tenor Andrea Bocelli; to name a few.
In 2019 Guy released his debut solo piano album, ‘Go Gentle Into the Light’ - a collection of some of the best-loved songs that he and Robbie Williams have written together reimagined for solo piano, with the single ‘The Road To Mandalay’ reaching over 6 million streams. Guy is currently working on his 2nd solo album.
He has curated the org*smatron, presented TV series and gives his time to charities, including Save the Children. In 2019, Guy created and produced the BBC Children in Need album ‘Got it Covered’ featuring stars such as Olivia Colman, Jodie Whittaker and Helena Bonham Carter and reached Number 1 in the UK Charts. In 2012 he produced The Justice Collective’s cover of The Hollies hit ‘He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother’ to raise funds for the Hillsborough families’ campaign for justice.
FAQs
Speaking to 5 Live's Nihal Arthanayake, he said: “I think the breakup that we had in 2002 took me a long time to get over. I really did miss him. We were a really good writing team.” “There is something special about the songs that me and Rob wrote together.
Are Robbie and Guy Chambers still friends? ›
Robbie William and Guy Chambers have had their ups and downs through the years, but it seems the pair are now friends again, having in recent years collaborated together on the music and lyrics for RSC stageshow The Boy in the Dress - an adaptation of the David Walliams book of the same name.
What happened to Guy Chambers? ›
Guy is currently working on his 2nd solo album. He has curated the org*smatron, presented TV series and gives his time to charities, including Save the Children.
How much money did Guy Chambers make? ›
What is Guy Chambers' net worth? It's not 100 per cent know what Guy's net worth is, and internet speculation puts it at anywhere between $5million and around $215million (roughly £177million), thanks to his work with Robbie Williams and other artists.
Why did Robbie fall out with Guy? ›
Despite patching things up the pair were then said to have fallen out later after Robbie was allegedly upset to hear Guy had been working with Gary Barlow and Mark Owen on the TV show Britannia High, and the two stopped writing sessions again.
Did basem*nt Jaxx support Robbie Williams? ›
In 2006, Basem*nt Jaxx were also one of the support acts for Robbie Williams on his 'Close Encounters' tour.
Who is Robbie Williams' best friend? ›
While some may know him as the close friend of singer Robbie Williams, Jonathan Wilkes has made his mark in various fields over the past two decades. Whether it's singing, acting or sports, Jonathan has proved time and time again that he is no one-trick-pony.
When did Robbie Williams come out? ›
His debut album, Life thru a Lens, was released in September 1997. The album launched with his first live solo gig at the Élysée Montmartre theatre in Paris, France. The album debuted at number eleven on the UK Albums Chart. "Angels", the fourth single, is Williams' best-seller in the United Kingdom.
How rich is Robbie Williams? ›
Even though Williams may not be the richest person in the world, the singer and songwriter has spent more than 30 years in the limelight. According to some reports, he is worth around £222 million. Other reports state that Williams has built a £300 million empire. But not all of his wealth comes from being on stage.
Do Robbie and Guy still talk? ›
Guy annoys me less and I annoy him less, and I think that's maturity and experience on both our parts. I love him to bits.” Speaking on Instagram, Guy confirmed they are still friends, and said the Netflix documentary shows truthfully how their relationship transpired.
Guy and Robbie suddenly parted ways in 2002, with Robbie wanting to go in a new direction. The docuseries presents things as having become a little creatively strained between them.
Is Robbie Williams still friends with Johnny Wilkes? ›
The pair are still close friends. Per The Mirror, Jonny said of their friendship, "It does not matter if we have not spoken for months and months, we just go back to the old routine."
Did Robbie Williams and Guy Chambers reconcile? ›
Following their friendship breakup, three years later Robbie reportedly said the pair had patched things up. He's quoted by the Daily Star as saying at a press conference in 2005: "Me and Guy are friends again. We speak now and will be working together in the future, you'll all be pleased to hear."
Is Guy Chambers still married? ›
Guy Chambers lives with his wife Emma and their four children in Camden and in Sussex where he enjoys “good wine, good food, cinema and pretty much everything French”.
Are Gary Barlow and Robbie Williams friends? ›
Port Vale president Robbie and Gary have had a bumpy friendship since they became famous in the 1990s. Robbie was only 16 when he joined Gary, Mark Owen, Jason Orange and Howard Donald in one of the biggest bands ever.
Why did Gary and Robbie fall out? ›
In a Netflix documentary, Robbie admitted, "It seemed like there was one person being managed in Take That, and it was Gary Barlow. As a young person, I would have been jealous of that, and a lot of me resented him." This resentment led to Robbie's departure from the band in 1995 during their 'Nobody Else' tour.
Are Robbie Williams and Geri Halliwell still friends? ›
Despite that, Williams blamed his own trust issues for the demise of their relationship. “It was a very confusing relationship, because she's a girl and I'm a boy, we are very good friends trying to sort out the wreckage of the past,” he said.
Is terrifying songwriter behind Robbie Williams hits out at AI in the music industry? ›
'It's terrifying': songwriter behind Robbie Williams hits out at AI in the music industry. The songwriter behind hits for Robbie Williams and Kylie Minogue has described the acceleration in use of artificial intelligence in the music industry as “terrifying” because of its potential to replace songwriters.
