Exhausted Robbie Williams stops show after three songs due to ‘long Covid’

NZ Herald

19 Jun, 2023 08:15 PM3 mins to read

Robbie Williams had to pause his concert after three songs due to exhaustion. Photo / Youtube

Robbie Williams was not ready to rock at a recent show.

The Daily Mail has reported the Let Me Entertain You singer was performing at a Netherlands music festival over the weekend when he was forced to stop his show mid-song due to “long Covid”.

Asking his band to stop before the next song, the hit singer had just performed his third song of the night, a cover of the Wilson Pickett classic Land of 1000 Dances, and had to take a break before starting his fourth song of the night, Monsoon.

Addressing the crowd, the singer said, “No, stop stop,” adding, “I’m f***ed. I’m f***ed. It’s long Covid, I’ve got long Covid. It’s not my f***ing age, you f***ers.”

Robbie Williams continued his concert after a brief break. Photo / Getty Images

While the former Take That singer continued his concert and performed another 16 songs including Kids and Angels, this was the first time he has had to pause a concert to catch his breath due to Covid.

Williams has battled Covid twice since the pandemic began, the first time in April 2020 and the second in January 2021.

During his first battle with the virus, he told fans in a social media post, “The mental struggle has been the hardest bit about isolation, making sure we don’t slip into our own dark holes.”

He also said he was feeling “lethargic, tired and heavy” and spent three weeks isolating away from his family.

After recovering, the star relocated to the Swiss mountains, telling BBC then, “I’m somewhere in Switzerland up a mountain. I’m a bit neurotic and I thought, ‘Where can I place myself where it won’t get me?’ That’s social distancing in the extreme isn’t it?”

The star battled Covid the second time in 2021 during a family holiday on the Caribbean island of St Barts. The family completed their isolation period in their villa before they flew home.

Speaking to The Sun, a source said at the time, “Robbie’s been fairly sick. He’s confined to the villa where he is staying with his family. It’s not exactly the worst place in the world to be quarantined, although he cannot go to the beach. He will have to remain in quarantine for up to 14 days.”

Meanwhile, the singer told the Daily Star: “All is good. I’m fine. I’m good. I was good and I will be good.”

However, it appears he is continuing to battle with the fallout from the virus with the World Health Organisation (WHO) reporting long-Covid symptoms could include “fatigue, shortness of breath, cognitive dysfunction but also others and generally have an impact on everyday functioning”.