Intensive Care (album)

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Robbie Williams chronology
Intensive Care

Studio album by Robbie Williams
Released	October 24, 2005 (UK)
Recorded	2003-2005 in Los Angeles, California, USA
Genre	Pop, Adult Contemporary
Length	53:02
Label	Chrysalis/EMI
Producer(s)	Robbie Williams, Stephen Duffy
Greatest Hits (2004)	Intensive Care (2005)	Rudebox (2006)

Intensive Care is the ninth album and sixth solo studio album by English pop singer Robbie Williams, released on October 24, 2005 in the United Kingdom.

Although not originally intended to be released in North America, it was made available on iTunes there most likely because of Williams's appearance at Live 8.

1 Album's Description
2 Track listing
3 Trivia
4 Success
5 Singles
6 Musicians
7 Credits
8 Charts
9 External links

[edit] Album's Description

After touring Latin America in late 2004 for the promotion of hits Greatest Hits album, Williams started working on what would become his sixth studio album. Recorded in Robbie Williams' bedroom high in the Hollywood Hills, the album was co-written Stephen Duffy over the course of 24 months.^[1]

Inspired by the Human League's single "Louise", about a man who sees his former girlfriend at a bus stop and realized he still has strong feelings for her.^[2]

[edit] Track listing

"Ghosts" – 3:42
"Tripping" – 4:36
"Make Me Pure" – 4:33
"Spread Your Wings" – 3:50
"Advertising Space" – 4:37
"Please Don't Die" – 4:48
"Your Gay Friend" – 3:21
"Sin Sin Sin" – 4:09
"Random Acts Of Kindness" – 4:15
"The Trouble with Me" – 4:20
"A Place To Crash" – 4:34
"King Of Bloke And Bird" – 6:13

[edit] Trivia

"Ghosts" was intended to be one-half of the fifth single from Intensive Care, with "A Place To Crash." However, this was canceled in favor of releasing a single from his new album Rudebox. "Ghosts" was written as the response from the point of view of Louise featured in Human League's song "Louise" about a man who spots his former lover at a bus stop and realises he still cares for her.
"Please Don't Die" might have been unreleased, because it was a very sensitive song to release at the time because of the London Bombings that happened in 2005. This song deals with the insecurities some people have with their loved ones. The chorus is a pessimistic but realistic question of the vulnerability and helplessness one feels if their love one dies or goes away to far away places.

[edit] Success

The album was launched in Berlin, Germany on the October 9. It was not shown on television, but broadcast to various locations around the world in cinemas and theatres, in a high-definition "cine-cast". It was shown on Saturday 22nd October 2005 on Channel 4. During the album launch, Williams said he would like to be the new "King of Pop".^[3]

When Intensive Care was released in late October 2005, it became smash hit around the world, hitting number-one in the United Kingdom, selling 373,000 copies in its first week as well as topping the charts in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, New Zealand and many other countries, debuting at number-one in the United World Chart selling over 900,000 copies worldwide with over 3 million copies shipped.^[4] The album became Williams' biggest international success in his career, selling over 2 million copies in only six weeks.^[5]

Williams on the music video for "Tripping" (2005)

That November, Williams took home the MTV Europe Music Award for 'Best Male', but also, entered in the The Guinness Book of World Records when he announced his World Tour for 2006, selling 1.6 million tickets in one single day.^[6] But After the success, Gary Barlow, Mark Owen, Jason Orange and Howard Donald had agreed to reunite in Notting Hill, West London, for a preview screening of a documentary about the group, Take That. The documentary screened on ITV1 on Wednesday November 16 2005, Unfortunately, according to a source quoted by Sunday Mirror, "Robbie announced he wasn't coming. The rest of the band were gutted but felt the show had to go on".^[7]

The album became the best selling album in Europe by the end of 2005 with sales over the 4 million copies.^[8] However, it only managed to be the third best selling album in the United Kingdom that year.

Williams' kicked off his Close Encounters World Tour in South Africa in April 2006, when he finished he's European leg of the tour, 2.5 million had seen the show,^[9] and after Latin America and Australia the numbers when up to 3 million.

By the end of the promotion of the album, it was announced that sold over 5 million copies in Europe alone being certified 5x Platinum by the IFPI,^[10] it also certified 5x Platinum in the United Kingdom becoming, at the time, his lowest selling studio album in the country,^[11] worldwide, the album went on to sell way over 7 million copies becoming Williams' best selling studio album around the world.

[edit] Singles

The album's first single, "Tripping", was released in October 3 2005, it became an international success, topping the charts in Germany, The Netherlands, Taiwan, Argentina & Mexico, and more importantly, the United World Chart.

"Make Me Pure" was released as the double a-side to "Tripping" in some countries, in Australia, New Zealand and Mexico, the song was released as a single between "Advertising Space" and "Sin Sin Sin".

By December, the second single from the album was released, the ballad "Advertising Space", becoming another international hit, reaching the top ten in Europe, Australasia and Latin America.

After a long gap between singles, the third cut from the album was released in the summer 2006, "Sin Sin Sin" was the first song Williams and Duffy wrote together,^[12] the video was shot in Cape Town, South Africa right before the start of his tour, when the track was released it became Williams' first single to miss the UK Top 20, charting at number twenty-two, worldwide, the single did a lot better, hitting the top ten in Europe and Latin America.

[edit] Musicians

Robbie Williams: Lead vocals, backing vocals, guitar, epiphone casino, synthesizer
Stephen Duffy: Guitar, keyboards, nord lead, wine glass, sitar, harp, secquencers, shakers, dilruba, harmonica
Claire Worall: Backing vocals, piano, mellotron, Hammond B3, helicopter
Melvin Duffy: Guitar
Neil Taylor: Guitar
Greg Leiz: Guitar
Justin Duarte: Acoustic Guitar
Jerry Mehan: Bass guitar, fender precision
Matt Chamberlain: Drums, percussion
Kate Kisson: Backing Vocals
Tessa Niles: Backing vocals
Jeff Babko: Trombone
Cleto Escobedo: Baritone saxophone
Waddy Wachtel: Guitar
Jebin Bruni: Synthesizer
Davey Farragher: Bass guitar, fender precision
John Paterno: Guitar
Buddy Judge: Guitar
Max Beesley: Percussion, vibes
Gary Nuttall: Backing vocals

[edit] Credits

Album produced by Stephen Duffy and Robbie Williams
Original production by Andy Strange
Mixed by Bob Clearmountain at Mix This
Engineered by John Paterno, Andy Strange, Stephen Duffy Pablo Munguia, Tony Phillips, Adam Noble and Dan Porter
Strings arranged and conducted by David Campbell
Strings engineered by Alan Sides at NRG
Mastering by Tony Cousins at Metropolis Studios, London
A&R: Chris Briggs
Photography: Hamish Brown
Design and artwork: Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely
Art coordination by Tom Hingston Studio

[edit] Charts

Chart (2004)	Peak position
UK Albums Chart	#1
German Albums Chart	#1
Austrian Albums Chart	#1
Austalian Albums Chart	#1
Finnish Albums Chart	#1
Spanish Albums Chart	#1
Italian Albums Chart	#1
Swedish Albums Chart	#1
Swiss Albums Chart	#1
Argentine Albums Chart	#1
French Albums Chart	#2
Mexican Albums Chart	#2

Chart	Certification	Sales
UK BPI	5x Platinum	1.5 Million+
Europe IFPI	5x Platinum	5 Million+
Germany IFPI	11x Gold	1.1 Million+
Argentina CAPIF	2x Platinum	80,000+
Mexico AMPROFON	2x Platinum	200,000+