Robbie Williams to headline Radio 2 Live with 56-piece BBC Concert Orchestra
Robbie Williams will be performing a headline show as part of Radio 2 Live in Leeds next month.
The Staffordshire-born singer will top the bill on Sunday (September 18th) accompanied by a 56-piece BBC Concert Orchestra.
The event will take place at the city's Temple Newsam Park on the weekend of 17 September. Those also in the line up include, Geogre Ezra, Kaiser Chiefs and Nile Rodgers and Chic.
In a statement, the 'Let me Entertain You' singer said: "I’m thrilled to be performing at Radio 2 Live at Leeds with my band and the legendary BBC Concert Orchestra in September.
"I’m really looking forward to seeing you all in Leeds."
Williams' former Take That bandmate Mark Owen will also be in the lineup, delivering a solo show on the main stage earlier that way.
Howard Donald meanwhile, will be joining Radio 2 presenters to perform a set in the Radio 2 Live DJ Tent.
The concert comes just months after the singer returned for a 'homecoming' charity concert in Vale Park, Staffordshire, in June - which was originally delayed due to the pandemic.
What is Robbie William's connection to Staffordshire?
Robbie Williams was born on 13 February 1974 in Stoke-on-Trent.
He attended St Margaret Ward Catholic School in Tunstall. He was awarded freedom of the city in 2014.
In an interview he once said: "Stoke-on-Trent made me.
"My heart, my humour, it’s all from Stoke. Cut me and it’s through me like a stick of rock."
His parents ran a pub called the Red Lion in Burslem before his father became the licensee at the Port Vale FC Social Club.
Why did Robbie Williams leave Take That?
Williams joined Take That in 1990, aged 16 after his mother spotted an ad in a newspaper advertising for members for a new boy band.
Despite the group's success, tensions began to escalate over time and in 1995, he decided he wanted to quit, but interviews never really cleared up whether he had been pushed out or was quitting the band of his own free will.
He felt being in a band was constricting and had stopped giving input and stopped doing what he was told by the group's management.
He launched his solo career in 1996 with a cover of George Michael's "Freedom" which reached No.2 in the UK Singles Chart.