Take The Crown is an audacious title for a tour and only someone like Robbie Williams could pull it off. In fact, the royal reference is apt: everything about this mega show was epic, complemented by the Aviva’s futuristic interior. The centrepiece was a giant 3D stone-effect bust of Williams’ head. His arrival via a trapeze zip-wire with a red paint trailing was suitably spectacular and there was little sign of opening night nerves. ‘Let Me Entertain You’ is not so much a song as a promise he duly lives up to. Not much has changed since his previous Irish solo stadium show, at Croke Park in 2006, though Williams appears to have ditched the “cheeky-chappie-I-can’t-believe-I’m-up-here” look. Despite some patchy recent albums he’s still massively popular and remains a quintessentially British entertainer – a blend of Tom Jones, Freddie Mercury and Rod Stewart.
His every move and facial expression is greeted with screams from the 60,000 plus audience. He even gets away with a swinging version of ‘Minnie The Moocher’ early on. Support act Olly Murs also made an early guest appearance on ‘Friends’ while in a nod to his other job in Take That he performs ‘Everything Changes’, inviting a female fan to join him in a double-bed on stage!