Robbie Williams needs to take a five-year break, according to his former manager.
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The Angels singer was ordered this week to pay Take That creator Nigel Martin-Smith UKP500,000 after attacking him on his Rudebox album and Martin-Smith has claimed Robbie is a shadow of the star he once was.
He said: “Rob should have five years off as he can’t swim against the tide of popularity. He needs to take some time off and stop loving himself so much.”
Martin-Smith – who assembled the boy band in 1990 – also claimed Robbie should step out of the limelight to let Take That, who recently reformed without him, have their moment in the spotlight.
He said: “He’s on the wane and Take That are on the up. Robbie should let the boys have their time in the sun.”
In his song, The 90s, Robbie accused Martin-Smith of stealing money from Take That’s tour payments and sang about gouging the 49-year-old music mogul’s eyes out. The track was eventually removed from 2006’s Rudebox when Martin-Smith launched legal action.
Despite his court victory, Martin-Smith insisted he never wanted money from Robbie and just wanted him to apologise.
He said: “I never wanted any money off him, it wasn’t about that. This could have been settled a long time ago, but he wouldn’t apologise. He refused point blank to meet me or read any letters that I sent him to resolve.”
The pair have already had dealings in court. In 1997, Nigel sued Robbie for breach of contract after he left Take That.
