An Open Letter To Robbie Williams

Hi Rob!

 Let me start by congratulating you on a very well-deserved Brit Icon Award! As you noticed last night in the Troxy and on social media, we (the friendlies) are very proud of you! I couldn’t come, but I watched video’s and read stories of my fellow-friendlies that were there. I can’t wait to see the show on tv, or perhaps dvd / blu-ray?

 Let me take you on a little journey… I’ve been following you ever since you left Take That. I always say: I like TT’s music, I love Rob’s. :-)
In 2003 I had tickets for the tour but I got a nasty flu and wasn’t able to go. Needless to say I was bummed! In 2006 I got tickets again and yay, it was time to go to my first ever Robbie Williams concert! Then a week before that, my mum died unexpectedly… I was devastated and unable to queue at the time my friends and I had planned. But thanks to my fellow-friendlies (then called F-gang for Forum-gang, your RW-forum) I could come a bit later to queue and they got me the best possible spot in the venue, right in the middle in front of the stage, in front of you. Just as my mum would have wanted I had a great time!
I also went to the live broadcast of The BBC Proms in 2009, the Take That & Robbie concert in 2011 and the Take The Crown Tour in 2013.
 In 2014 I bought tickets for the Swings Both Ways concert in Amsterdam. I was so happy when I won the Upfront Meet & Greet on May 4th! I went there with my husband; remember the tall guy that made you stand on tip-toes? ;-) You almost ignored us at first because you thought we were just from the record company, but then made up for it big time. We all laughed when your security guy accidentally put out the lights. We chatted and thoroughly enjoyed the time you spent with us, and the concert was great too of course!
When the LMEY-tour was announced we heard it would be different venues and festivals. In The Netherlands you came to Pinkpop. Unfortunately I have some medical issues that make me unable to stand for a longer period of time, so I knew I couldn’t make it there. My budget didn’t allow me to travel abroad to go to one of the concerts there that did have seated tix. Of course I was a bit disappointed but I still enjoyed it by watching you on Periscope while chatting with other friendlies on Upfront and by video’s, pics and stories of others. There were already rumours of a new album and a real stadium-tour in 2017 so I promised myself I’d definitely see you there!

That brings me to the present day. The last week it was Robbie-time! :-) I tried to get tix for the intimate gigs/tv-things you did over here in The Netherlands. No luck, not a problem. I watched you on tv and liked it almost as much! I got the new album and I really love it! I put my holiday plans for 2017 on hold in anticipation of the announcement of the HES-tour dates. Yesterday I was anxiously checking your website, Upfront, Ticketmaster, Twitter, etc. And YAY, finally… they were there! I was surprised to see Nijmegen in the list, but anywhere in our country would be okay. The Goffert Stadium is beautiful and a great place for a concert. Then I suddenly noticed it said GoffertPARK. O no… that’s an outside venue, just a green field in a park. I really don’t understand why they chose these venues and not one of the many suitable stadiums in The Netherlands: Arena, Kuip, there are many… Is it too much to ask for stadiums on a stadium tour? I don’t think so… I’m just a genuine long-time fan that wants to go to the concert! Belgium got the same with Werchter. This means no seated tickets… I won’t be able to go… Again… I felt sooo disappointed… gutted, in pain even. :-(

Years ago you asked me and my fellow-friendlies to grow old with you. I said YES then and I still say YES today with all of my heart and soul. But you know, when people get older some get little infirmities, ailments, medical issues. More than that, even young people too… Not always too serious thank gods, but still stopping them from doing what they were used to. No Inner Pits for me and that’s a shame, but I still enjoy the concerts! Yes, I need a seat, but I won’t stay on it for long. I dance, I cheer, I even jump, but in between that I just need to sit down for a while. And I’m not the only one. I’ve read several similar sentiments everywhere.

Please don’t get me wrong, I don’t blame you! I know you probably don’t hand-pick the venues, you’ll have people for it, and that makes perfect sense of course. But perhaps you could have a talk with them…? So maybe next time, next tour it could be different. In the meantime I’ll be looking into possibilities to see if I can manage to do a concert with seated places in Germany. A girl can try, can’t she? ;-)
I understand you can’t do a lot right now for this tour, but you’ve always been open and honest with us friendlies so I thought I’d return the favour.

Much love, Cora (TinkNL on Upfront)