Boy band Take That topped the charts in the 90s. Hits like “Relight My Fire”, “Babe” and “Everything Changes” made the band wildly popular; and just like that, they had 10,000 fans from all over the world. The band had five members, but one of them broadly stood out – head, shoulders, and all: Robbie Williams. Since the others had that innocent look to them in the past, Robbie was regarded as the bad boy of the group. He didn’t look as clean, and his drinking and drug use didn’t go unnoticed. After a few years, Robbie couldn’t see himself headed in the same direction as the rest of the band, hence the successful solo career that followed.
Throughout the years, Robbie kept getting rougher-looking, not in the least due to tattoos he had done. Check out what he got below.
Tattoos for protection
Robbie has a lot of tats – some religious, some not – that are supposed to protect him from bad influences and “evil” in general.
To start off, we can see a large, Celtic cross on his right hip, which is a tattoo he had done when he was still in Take That. The reason? Word goes, he’s got the devil in him, and this cross is supposed to ward off those negative influences.
On his right forearm, there is another Christian cross. “The Christian“, as Robbie calls the tattoo, shows Jesus on the cross with Maria underneath.
On the backside of Robbie’s neck, you’ll find the all-seeing eye of the Egyptian God Horus, a symbol that is supposed to protect him from angry spirits.
Tattoos about love and friendship
Although Robbie is often depicted as a disrespectful bad boy, he does have a soft side too. That appears to be the case not only from several of his emotional songs, like “Angels”, but also from the fact that he has gotten a bunch of tattoos done that symbolize love and friendship.
First, there’s the “Love” tattoo on his knuckles. That needs no explanation obviously. We also see an “A” tatted on his ring finger. That refers to his wife Ayda and replaces the wedding ring he keeps losing.
On his left and right forearms, you can read the words “I Love U” and “Mother”; and on his left and right wrists are the words “Jack” and “Farrel”, with two small hearts, in memory of his grandfather. His grandmother was also memorialized. Robbie had a decorative “B” tatted behind his ear in remembrance of his grandma Betty.
When Robbie became a father in 2012, he obviously had to commemorate the moment on his body. Out of love for his daughter Teddy, there’s now a little teddy bear sticking out on his left arm, with a “T” on its belly. In reference to the birth, Robbie said: “I’m not sure how else I’ve changed, but I’ve given up smoking; so Teddy has probably saved my life in more ways than one.”
It’s not only Robbie’s family that gets real estate on his body. On his left wrist is the number “1023”. The numbers stand for the initials of his best friend Jonathan Wilkes. The “J” is the 10th letter of the alphabet and the “W” is the 23rd. In turn, Jonathan has “1823” on his thigh.
Music tattoos
Music obviously is a huge part of Robbie’s life. Even though he jumped ship twice on Take That (the second time being in 2010 after a brief reunion), he is still very fond of the band. So, on his right forearm, we also see the group’s logo.
Tatted on his lower back is a sheet-music excerpt of the tune “All you need is love” by The Beatles.
One of his most striking tattoos is the lion head on his right shoulder. Below it are the words “Born to be mild” (instead of “Born to be wild”), and just above it, it says: “Elvis, grant me serenity.”
Robbie’s life vision
Like so many people, Robbie has many tattoos that reflect his vision of life and his personality and roots. On his left arm, we see a rather large Maori tribal tattoo. The Maori are the indigenous people of New Zealand. The wavy pattern of the tattoo symbolizes the twists and turns that life can take.
On Robbie’s stomach, there are two swallows. They stand for freedom and loyalty. Above those, on his chest, we see the slogan “Chacun a son goût“, which roughly translates to: “to each his own.” This was the most painful tattoo by far. Every 15 minutes, the tattoo artist would have to stop because Robbie couldn’t take it anymore.
Robbie also wanted to honor his roots. He did so with the coat of arms of the town of Burslem (where he grew up) on his left forearm and the Stafford knot on his right hand.
Temporary Robbie tattoos?
Robbie Williams is an icon. So, many fans are hyped about getting a tattoo just like one of his. Tattoo For A Week offers a whole array of temporary Robbie tattoos, which even include the lion head, the “All you need is love” tattoo and the Maori tattoo. Check out the full gamut of what we have to offer here!
