The questionable origins of of Robbie Williams biggest hit

Better Man: Robbie Williams biopic teased in trailer

Robbie Williams new bopic Better Man charts his journey from boyband star with Take That to acclaimed solo singer, songwriter and entertainer.

One of the most pivotal moments in his transition to respected solo artist from boyband star was the release of the song Angels in December 1997. It was his fifth solo offering and his previous single South Of The Border had failed to reach the top ten and he was on the verge of being written off as being famous for being famous.

Angels changed all of that. It was a massive hit and remains a perrenial favourite. It is the best selling single of Robbie's entire solo career and was the 34th-bestselling UK single of the 1990s. It was voted the best song of the previous 25 years at the 2005 Brit Awards, and in 2005, the British voted it the song they most wanted played at their funeral.

It also gave Robbie his biggest US hit when it reached 53 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. It has been covered by artists as diverse as Jessica Simpson, David Archuleta, Beverley Knight, All Angels, Declan Galbraith and Josh Groban.

Despite this massive success the songs providence remains something Robbie won't address. Officially it was compose by Robbie and his long term writing partner Guy Chambers. It is generally acknowledged the song is based on an earlier version written by Dubliner Ray Heffernan but he has been more or less erased from Robbie's version of events.

Robbie Williams biopic Better Man sees him portrayed as a chimpanzee (Image: Getty)

Ray was paid £7,500 for the song and has never been acknowledged as a composer on the track. In a 2011 interview with the Irish Independent Ray admitted: "For a long time, I was angry about this."

He recalled meeting Robbie during Christmas 1996 and says they "clicked talking about music"."We didn't waste any time, starting that night. I got the guitar out in my mum's house and played him this song I had been working on called Angels. I had the first verse, some of the chorus and some of the second verse.

"Later in the week, we ended up going into a studio in Temple Bar and doing a demo of Angels...and Robbie's people later offered me £7,500 if I signed a waiver which renounced any rights I had to the song. I took advice and ended up signing."

Admitting he thought it would be an album track and not the massive hit it became he said: "For a long time, I was angry about this, but as you get older you see things differently..."

However in 2021 Ray was less understanding when Robbie insisted he had written the song himself and branded Ray a "fantasist. During an interview about the writing of the song on the Gary Barlow podcast, Robbie claimed he wrote the song and failed to acknowledge Ray's role later labelling him a "fantasist" in the comments section.

Robbie Williams pursued a solo career after leaving Take That (Image: Getty)

Describing how he came up with it Robbie said: "I was off my head basically, the record company has spent a lot of money signing me. I made a big song and dance about leaving Take That and wanted to do my own thing, and I hadn’t done anything.I thought I’d better get down to it, figure out my voice, and whether I can actually do this. I was at my sister’s house in the garden with a pen and paper and I thought, right then, I’d better come up with something..(so I wrote) 'I sit and wait'...

Ray told the Irish Sun: "I have the legal documents to prove it. So I am not making this up. You could certainly call me a dreamer in life but not a fantasist. I have never lied about this story, and every part of it is true."

When Robbie released his eponymous Netflix documentary last year the subject reared it's head again with Ray claiming he just wants "acknowledgement" in another Irish Independent interview.

“At the time Robbie was so desperate to be considered a songwriter [rather than a ‘front man’] that, to recognise me would have been [removing] the centre pole to his whole circus — and I think he feared it could all fall apart.” He said Robbie is “clinging to pride” when “it’s clearly not making him happy. I think there is healing in this for Robbie Williams too.

“When Josh Groban covered Angels on his album, he credited me. It’s my family name. And that’s what the young kid in me really wants — acknowledgment. It’s not about the millions,” he insisted.