this post was submitted on 29 Aug 2026
189 points (94.4% liked)

Ask Lemmy

41182 readers
1577 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions


Rules: (interactive)


1) Be nice and; have funDoxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, toxicity and dog-whistling are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them


2) All posts must end with a '?'This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?


3) No spamPlease do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.


4) NSFW is okay, within reasonJust remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either !asklemmyafterdark@lemmy.world or !asklemmynsfw@lemmynsfw.com. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].


5) This is not a support community.
It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email info@lemmy.world. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.


6) No US Politics.
Please don't post about current US Politics. If you need to do this, try !politicaldiscussion@lemmy.world or !uspolitics@lemmy.world


7) No Hit-and-Run questions.
Please don't delete your post for no apparent reason. If you plan on deleting a question later, say so in the post, or if you feel that you have a good reason to remove it, message a mod beforehand. It's not fair to the ones who took their time to answer, and it's not in the spirit of the community.


8) No Bots.
Posts or comments from bots, LLM's, AIs, Neural Networks, Transformers, or Marvin the Paranoid Android are not welcome in AskLemmy. Real humans only please.


Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.

Partnered Communities:

Tech Support

No Stupid Questions

You Should Know

Reddit

Jokes

Ask Ouija


Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu


founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
 

I've been informed that people outside UK generally don't know or care (not caring is the correct response BTW.).

Still seems bizarre to me.

top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] Mothra@mander.xyz 3 points 5 hours ago

Isn't this Robbie Williams? I've never been in UK.

[–] ragepaw@lemmy.ca 2 points 7 hours ago

He looks like an ape I saw in a movie last year.

[–] BaraCoded@literature.cafe 7 points 16 hours ago* (last edited 16 hours ago)

Robbie something. A singer, right? (France)

[–] Smoogs@lemmy.world 7 points 17 hours ago* (last edited 17 hours ago)

he is the OG meat suit before lady gaga was even a concept. He did a stint in rehab for 'caffiene addiction' (but cmon, we all know it was cocaine lol)

He is well known in australia. but since i was travelling away from there people just think im mispronouncing Robin William's name if i bring him up.

[–] froufox@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 13 hours ago

I'm from Eastern Europe, 34 y.o., and i recognise Robbie Williams

[–] solidheron@sh.itjust.works 8 points 18 hours ago

I don't. Looks like a talk show host

[–] steeznson@lemmy.world 7 points 18 hours ago

That's Andy Burnham, our new Prime Minister.

[–] Enkrod@feddit.org 7 points 18 hours ago* (last edited 18 hours ago) (1 children)

Germany here, this is:

Robbie! One of the better musicians to rise from the age of boy bands.

[–] macke49@lemmy.world 9 points 19 hours ago

He is quite known here in Germany, take that !

[–] boaratio@lemmy.world 2 points 14 hours ago

Millennium is still a fucking banger.

[–] Mammothmothman@lemmy.ca 2 points 14 hours ago

Canadian here. He was something special in the 90s but fell off since then.

[–] dream_weasel@sh.itjust.works 2 points 14 hours ago

John Stamos, right?

[–] AnthropomorphicCat@lemmy.world 2 points 14 hours ago

I'm from Mexico and I don't recognize him, but he reminds me of Dick Gumshoe from Ace Attorney.

[–] technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 18 hours ago* (last edited 18 hours ago) (1 children)

I know who dude is, but I couldn't name a single song.

(trapped inside prison USA)

[–] Funwayguy@lemmy.world 2 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

Delta Goodrem is another artist like this who locals in AU would consider 'famous' but otherwise don't make it on the international charts let alone bring anything unique that anyone cares to remember. It's even worse watching them pad their gigs with covers of bigger artists' songs. If not for constant TV appearances I suspect these artists would struggle to stay relevant even locally.

[–] yermaw@sh.itjust.works 2 points 16 hours ago

That is a perfect example. 100% of my exposure to Delta Goodrem is she was the answer on a quiz on a radio show.

https://youtu.be/BAPp60mFnLQ

[–] MissManiapoto@lemmy.nz 3 points 18 hours ago

Kiwi here and yep, he used to be up there on the charts

[–] Varesti@lemmy.zip 7 points 22 hours ago
[–] LemmyPlaceDN@europe.pub 1 points 14 hours ago* (last edited 14 hours ago)

I grew up with a bunch of his early songs. Some of them I still really enjoy, like "Let Me Entertain You" and "Feel" are his best works from my purely musical perspective

[–] Canigou@jlai.lu 7 points 23 hours ago* (last edited 23 hours ago) (1 children)

French guy in his late 30s here.
I recognize Robbie Williams. He had at least one song in the charts (Angels reached n°7 in France in 1997-1999).
Probably saw him on MTV at the time. Also heard him on the radio more than a few times.
Used to mix up his name with Robin Williams' ^^

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] amelia@feddit.org 10 points 1 day ago (4 children)

German here. He's super famous in Germany. I used to think he was an international superstar and only learned a couple of years ago that nobody knows him in the US. Still don't quite understand how that happened. How is "Feel" and "Angels" not stuck in everyone's head every once in a while?

[–] Vespair@lemmy.zip 2 points 20 hours ago (6 children)

His people made multiple attempts to break in America. It's just... bad music. Has a distinct "Eurosheen" that isn't inherently a negative at all, but is something that traditionally hasn't sold well with American audiences.

So I just want to be clear: American audiences weren't unexposed to Robbie Williams, American audiences flatly rejected Robbie Williams.

[–] rapchee@lemmy.world 3 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

ok buddy, "bad music", really?

[–] Vespair@lemmy.zip 2 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

His music, yes. Not European music broadly, obviously.

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (5 replies)
load more comments (3 replies)
[–] BigDanishGuy@sh.itjust.works 3 points 19 hours ago* (last edited 16 hours ago) (1 children)

Not British. I'm a grown ass straight man with a wife, kids, back pain, and a mortgage, but FFS I'm still such a Robbie fangirl.

I always thought he should have played James Bond instead of Daniel Craig. But then again I always like Roger Moore better than Sean Connery. Robbie could have brought an Archer vibe back, instead of overcompensating for that 90s casting fail.

If only Robbie had been an actor. It may out my age quite a bit, but escapology is IMO one of the best albums ever. And it doesn't even have Rock DJ, Angels or Let Me Entertain You. As I age, I love how Robbie started crooning... It makes it easier to follow the speed regulations on my commute.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] MML@sh.itjust.works 4 points 21 hours ago (1 children)
load more comments (1 replies)
[–] WetHedgeHog@lemmy.world 5 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

you should have asked this 20 years ago buddy. doubt many ppl in the uk now know who he is either!

[–] yermaw@sh.itjust.works 3 points 22 hours ago

Yeah it wasnt until that movie came out and I saw americans complaining about it that I started to wonder if people really didnt know. I dont actually care but its feels strange. Like if people didn't know who Elvis was or something

[–] MarieMarion@literature.cafe 7 points 1 day ago

Middle-aged French woman who never really was in the loop about pop culture: No idea whatsoever.
I thought about this over-memed wrestler, then the TV chef who screams (and whom I only know through memes.)
Then I saw a comment about Robbie sth, so I thought about Margo Robbie, who might have played Barbie. And now I'm pretty sure this man is Robbie William, who was in a boys band when I was a kid? teen? and who might have gone on to have a solo career of not-quite-as-bad music.
I gave it my all.

[–] systemglitch@lemmy.world 2 points 18 hours ago

Canadian here, never seen him to my awareness.

[–] eronth@lemmy.dbzer0.com 18 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Yeah, it's Matt Damon and Patton Oswald's fusion dance result.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] daddycool@lemmy.world 3 points 20 hours ago* (last edited 20 hours ago)

He caused quite a few wet spots among danish teenage girls in the 90's - 00's.

[–] JimVanDeventer@lemmy.world 3 points 20 hours ago

He had a song called Millennium which was about the millennium. I don’t think I have heard anything about him since.

[–] UpperBroccoli@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 22 hours ago
[–] tomi000@lemmy.world 25 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Im from Germany and Im quite shocked right now that there are people who dont know him. I was under the impression he was famous all around the world, kind of like Michael Jackson or Elvis. I think if you ask 100 random people in Germany at least 90 will know him.

[–] Enkrod@feddit.org 3 points 18 hours ago

My reaction exactly.

[–] dwzap@lemmy.world 3 points 21 hours ago

Right in the Feel.

load more comments
view more: next ›