Robbie Williams: I turned down the chance to be Queen’s frontman

Robbie Williams and Queen's Brian May & Roger Taylor (Image credit: Tristar Media, Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic - Getty)

Robbie Williams says he was asked to be the frontman of Queen after he worked with the band at the start of the millennium.

The former Take That singer hooked up with Brian May and Roger Taylor in 2001 for a new version of We Are The Champions which appeared on the soundtrack to Brian Helgeland’s action adventure movie A Knight’s Tale.

In a recent interview on SiriusXM’s Volume, Williams was asked if there was ever any talk about him fronting Queen after that.

Williams replies: “There was, yeah. They asked me to do it."

He adds: "Even though I’m very confident here on the microphone, I have suffered with incredibly low self-esteem – and I just thought I’d save them the audacity of me even trying to step on a stage and be in the same echelon as Freddie Mercury.

“Because he, to me, is angelic. He’s godlike and it was just too scary. Plus, I was doing stadiums myself at the time, so I didn’t want to have to split it three ways, but that’s another story!”

Asked if he regretted the decision, Williams says: “No, I don’t. Adam Lambert, if he wasn’t such a lovely person, which he is, I would just be terrified of him because of his pure talent.

“His voice is absolutely incredible and he’s an incredible performer and a lovely person.”

Williams last hit the rock headlines due to his public feud with his neighbour Jimmy Page.

Williams and the former Led Zeppelin guitarist have been at loggerheads since 2015 over Williams’ plans to build a swimming pool in the basement of his west London home.

Page has long argued that if that went ahead, it could have “catastrophic consequences” for the integrity of his home – a Grade 1 listed building which is situated just 13 meters away.

Scott has spent 37 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in 2014 before moving into e-commerce in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, highlights deals, and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more. Over the last 12 years, Scott has written more than 11,500 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. He's previously written for publications including IGN, Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from news and features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.