Robert Peter “Robbie” Williams, is an English singer, songwriter, and entertainer. He rose to fame as a member of the band, Take That in the early nineties and began his solo career in 1996. He has seven UK number one singles and 11 out of his 12 albums have also reached no 1 in the UK Charts. He is regarded as the “Greatest Artist of the 1990s” and was included in the UK Hall of Fame in 2004. He reunited with taking That in 2010 and worked on their album, “Progress”. He has also appeared in many Musical Theatres, TV Shows, and also performed at the 2018 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony.
Robbie has many tattoos covering his arms and body. Let us take a look at them and the meanings behind them.
1. ‘Eye of Horus’ Tattoo
Tattoo: There is an Egyptian eye design tattooed on the back of Robbie’s neck.
Meaning: The tattoo on his neck is the Eye of Horus which is a symbol of illumination, protection, and good health.
2. ‘B’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The letter, “B” is tattooed on the left side of his neck, behind his ear.
Meaning: The letter represents the name of Robbie’s beloved grandmother, Betty.
3. ‘Pair of Glasses’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The right side of the singer’s neck has a tattoo of a pair of glasses on it.
Meaning: The tattoo of the glasses on his neck is called, The Two Ronnies. Each glass on his neck is a tribute to Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett who were both comedians who inspired Robbie and wore thick-framed glasses. He got the tattoo in 2016 after Ronnie Corbett died.
4. ‘Lion’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The right shoulder of the singer has a large tattoo of a lion’s face tattooed on it. The words, “Elvis, Teach Me Serenity” are tattooed above the lion’s head and there is also a banner tattooed below its head that reads, “Born To Be Mild”
Meaning: The tattoo of the lion represents strength and pride. The words above the lion represent the prayer, “Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference” that he learned in Rehab. He added Elvis above it to make it a tribute to his idol, Elvis. Robbie also says the same prayer each time, before he steps on the stage. The words, “Born to be Mild” is his own twist of the phrase, “Born to be Wild”
5. ‘Stickman’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The back of his right upper arm also has a stick figure tattooed on it with a halo ring over its head.
Meaning: The tattoo represents the TV show, “The Saint”. Robbie got the tattoo in 2017 as a tribute to one of his favorite actors, Sir Roger Moore, who appeared in the TV show.
6. ‘Silhouette’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The upper part of his right forearm has a tattoo of a silhouette of two men on it.
Meaning: The silhouette of the men on his arm represents Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise, who were famous comic act. Robbie was inspired by them a lot and decided to get them tattooed on his body.
7. ‘DE’ Tattoo
Tattoo: His right forearm, below the silhouette tattoo, has a logo tattooed on it along with the letters, “DE” below it.
Meaning: The tattoo of the logo on his arm is the logo of his band, “Take That”. The letters, “DE” on his forearm stand for, David Enthoven who was Robbie’s manager. Robbie got this tattoo to show his love for the man who passed away at the age of 72 in 2016.
8. ‘Cross and Jack’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The inside of his right forearm has a large tattoo design of Jesus Christ on the cross, surrounded by two cherubs and the Virgin Mary. The name, “Jack” is also tattooed on the inside of his right wrist along with a heart.
Meaning: The tattoo of Jesus on the cross represents his religious views and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ to save humanity. The tattoo of the name Jack on his wrist is a tattoo to show his love for his grandfather, Jack Farrell. The last name, Farrell is also tattooed on his body, on the inside of his other wrist along with a heart.
9. ‘Knot and Letter’ Tattoo
Tattoo: There is a knot tattooed on Robbie’s right hand and the letter, “A” is tattooed on his left hand’s ring finger.
Meaning: Robbie says that people confuse the know with a pretzel and said, “It’s the symbol of Stoke-on-Trent and erroneously some people think it’s three whole knots to hang three people with but that’s not what it is. People mistake it for a pretzel. ‘Why’s he got a pretzel on his hand?’ It’s not a pretzel but if I wanted to have a pretzel on my hand, I’d have a pretzel on my hand.”
The tattoo actually represents the Staffordshire knot that represents Robbie’s hometown, Stoke-on-Trent. The knot is also the logo for his clothing line, named after his grandfather, Farrell.
The tattoo of the letter A on his finger represents the name of his wife, Ayda.
He said, “I lost my wedding ring twice. Losing things is what I do, hopefully, I won’t lose this. The A is to signify I’m married to a woman called Ayda.”
10. ‘LOVE’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The letters forming the word, “LOVE” are tattooed on his right hand’s fingers.
11. ‘Spade and Sigil’ Tattoo
Tattoo: Robbie’s right hand also has a spade symbol tattooed on it and his left one has a sigil tattooed on it.
Meaning: The sigil is a symbol used in ritual magic used to summon deities. The sigil on his left hand for the Archangel Michael and protects the bearer from harm. The tattoo of the spade on his right hand represents the name of the song, “Ace of Spades” by Motorhead. Robbie got it tattooed on his body as he is a huge fan of the band.
12. Words Tattoo
Tattoo: The lower sides of both his forearms have words tattooed on them in old English.
Meaning: The words on his forearm translate to, “Mother, I Love You” to show love for his mum, Janet Williams.
13. ‘Teddy’ Tattoo
Tattoo: There is a teddy bear tattooed on his left forearm with the letter, “T” on its stomach.
Meaning: The tattoo of the teddy on his arm represents his beloved daughter, Theodora Rose Williams.
14. ‘X and UFO’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The left forearm of the singer also has an “X” tattooed on it along with a UFO that is seen landing on top of a pyramid.
Meaning: The “X” on his arm is a matching tattoo that he got with Louis Tomlinson. They both were judged on The X Factor and grew quite close so they decided to give each other an “X” tattoo backstage to share their bond. The UFO landing on the pyramid represents Robbie’s belief in the theory that ancient UFOs used Pyramids as their landing sites.
15. ‘1023’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The number, 1023 is tattooed on the upper part of his left wrist.
Meaning: The 10 represents the 10th alphabet, “J” and the 23 represents the 23rd alphabet, “W”. The tattoo represents the initials of his best friend, Jonathan Wilkes. Jonathan also has a matching tattoo of the number, 1823 representing RW for Robbie Williams.
16. ‘Hat’ Tattoo
Tattoo: There is a tiny Fez hat tattooed on the inside of his left wrist too.
Meaning: Robbie got this tattoo in 2017 as a tribute to the British comedian, Tommy Cooper who was famous for wearing a red Fez hat.
17. ‘The Coat of Arms of Burslem’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The inner side of his left forearm has a tattoo of a shield on it along with a banner below it that reads, “READY”
Meaning: The shield on his forearm is actually the coat of arms of Burslem which is one of the 6 towns in Stoke-on-Trent, where Robbie grew up. While talking about the tattoo, Robbie said, “This is the Mother Town, the shield of Burslem in Stoke-on-Trent. And also it’s the shield that’s the crest for Port Vale. Staffordshire means a lot to me, Stoke means a lot to me hence I have it tattooed on my person”
18. Tribal Tattoo
Tattoo: The left shoulder and upper arm of the singer is covered in a large Maori inspired tribal tattoo.
Meaning: The tattoo was done in New Zealand and represents a tale of the Shark and the Sea. The shark is a symbol of protection for Robbie, and the sea represents his swiftness of mind.
19. Quote Tattoo
Tattoo: The words, “A CHACUN SON GOUT” are tattooed across Robbie’s chest.
Meaning: The quote on his chest is in French but tattooed wrong. The correct quote was told to him by his wife, Ayda who speaks French which is, “A CHACUN SON GOUT'” which translates to, “To each his own”
20. ‘Pair of Swallows’ Tattoo
Tattoo: There are two swallow birds tattooed on Robbie’s stomach.
Meaning: Robbie got the tattoo in 2003 and said that it represents all his female fans and also stands for freedom and loyalty.
21. ‘Celtic Cross’ Tattoo
Tattoo: There is a Celtic Cross tattooed on Robbie’s right leg.
Meaning: The tattoo of the Celtic cross was the first tattoo that Robbie got, back when he was a member of “Take That”. Robbie says he has the devil inside him and the Cross on his leg keeps it in check and protects him.
22. ‘Chorus’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The lower back of the singer has another tattoo on it. It is of musical notes on staff along with the words, “All you need is love…” tattooed below the lines.
Meaning: The tattoo of the music sheet on his back represents the name of one of his favorite songs, “All you need is love” by the Beatles.
Sorry to see he sold his soul to Satan. It’s not too late to repent and put your trust in Jesus Robbie.