Robbie Williams was finished. In 1997, the British press had basically written him off as a "fat dancer from Take That" who spent too much time partying with Oasis at Glastonbury and not enough time making hits. His debut solo singles were doing okay, but the album Life thru a Lens was sinking. Fast.
Then came the fourth single. Angels by Robbie Williams didn't just save his career; it became a cultural monument.
It’s the song played at every British funeral, every drunken 2:00 AM wedding reception, and every karaoke night from Stoke-on-Trent to Sydney. But the story behind it is messier than the glossy music video suggests. From ghostly inspirations to a bitter legal dispute over who actually wrote those iconic lyrics, the "national anthem of the 90s" has a lot of baggage.
The Mystery of Who Actually Wrote "Angels"
If you check the official credits, you’ll see Robbie Williams and Guy Chambers. They’re the legendary duo who dominated the charts for a decade. Robbie usually tells the story of sitting outside a café, watching a water fountain, and cranking the song out in 25 minutes.
That's the "clean" version.
The other version involves a Dublin singer-songwriter named Ray Heffernan.
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Back in 1996, a freshly solo Robbie met Heffernan in a pub called The Globe in Dublin. Heffernan says he played Robbie an incomplete song he’d written after his partner suffered a miscarriage. They allegedly spent a week together, recorded a demo titled Loving Angels Instead, and then... nothing.
Later, Heffernan found out the song was going to be the centerpiece of Robbie's album. To avoid a massive legal headache, Robbie’s management paid Heffernan a flat fee of £7,500 to sign away his rights.
At the time, Heffernan was struggling and took the money. Years later, Robbie called him a "fantasist" in the press, which didn't go down well. While Robbie and Guy Chambers definitely polished the track into the stadium-filler we know today—adding that massive chorus and the soaring bridge—the "soul" of the song might have started in a much darker place in a Dublin bedroom.
Why it Peaked at Number 4 but Still Won Everything
It’s a weird bit of trivia, but Angels by Robbie Williams never actually hit Number 1 on the UK Singles Chart. It peaked at Number 4.
How does a song that peaked at four become the "best song of the last 25 years"?
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Longevity.
While novelty hits and forgotten Britpop tracks flashed and faded, Angels just stayed there. It stayed in the Top 10 for weeks and lingered in the Top 100 for years. It propelled Life thru a Lens to sell over 2.4 million copies in the UK alone.
The Awards Haul
By 2005, the Brit Awards decided to settle the debate about the greatest song in the history of the ceremony. Angels beat out "Wonderwall" by Oasis, "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen, and "Love Will Tear Us Apart" by Joy Division.
- 1999 Ivor Novello: Best Song Musically and Lyrically.
- 2005 Brit Awards: Best British Song of the Past 25 Years.
- 15 Brit Awards: The total Robbie has collected, partly thanks to the momentum this single created.
The Supernatural and the Cinematic
Robbie has a thing for the paranormal. He’s spent years talking about UFOs and ghosts, so it’s no surprise he claims the song is literally about guardian angels.
"I used to talk to dead people," he once told The Sun. He maintains the song isn't about a girlfriend or his mom, but about actual celestial entities watching over him.
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Whether you believe that or think it’s just great PR, the song has a cinematic quality that directors love. Most recently, a reworked version appeared in the 2024/2025 biopic Better Man. Seeing a CGI monkey—which represents Robbie in the film—belting out Angels is definitely... a choice. But it proves the song's staying power. It still pulls at the heartstrings, even if the singer is a digital primate.
What it’s Like to Hear it in 2026
Honestly? It hasn't aged.
A lot of 90s pop feels tinny or dated now. The production on Angels feels massive. It’s got that "smoky, crisp vocal" that Billboard praised back in the day. Even now, with Robbie doing his 2026 reunion-adjacent tours and headlining festivals like Bilbao BBK, this is the song where every single person in the crowd puts their phone down (or holds it up) and sings every word.
It’s the song that turned a boy band escapee into a legend.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Musicians
If you’re a songwriter, there’s a massive lesson here: The bridge matters. The transition into "And through it all..." is one of the most effective shifts in pop history. It changes the energy of the room instantly. If you're looking to dive deeper into the Robbie lore, here is what you should do next:
- Listen to the "XXV" version: If you want to hear how his voice has matured, the 2022 orchestral version gives the song a completely different, almost weary weight.
- Watch the Glastonbury 1998 footage: It’s the moment the world realized he wasn't going away. He looks terrified and triumphant all at once.
- Check the legal fine print: If you’re a creator, Heffernan’s story is a cautionary tale about why you should never sign away your publishing for a flat fee, no matter how much you need the £7,500.
The legacy of the song is complicated, but its impact isn't. It’s the song that proved Robbie Williams was a solo star who could stand on his own two feet—with or without a little help from his "angels."