Following his departure as Daily Mirror editor over the Iraq abuse photo row, Piers is still arguably the best-known national newspaper editor since his good friend Kelvin MacKenzie edited the Sun in the 1980s. He became editor of the News of the World aged just 28 - the youngest national newspaper editor for more than fifty years and in just two years he was headhunted to edit the Daily Mirror...

This is by no means a ghosted autobiography, it is in fact much more raw rock documentary than memoir and reveals a man who is mischievous and enjoying life, as well as one who is bemused and trapped by the celebrity card life has dealt him. The book examines the very nature of our obsession with success and celebrity. Chris is excellent on the increasingly malign celebrity culture that infects Britain today. ‘It is as though we, as a society, have become addicted to fame, and hate the subject and substance of our addiction,’ he writes, adding: ‘To be famous in the 21st century is to be pelted with little lies, day after day.’ All in all Feel is a groundbreaking, original and well-written book.

The story begins in early 2002 when Robbie has just moved to LA, saying he wants a year off. In August, Chris joins Robbie’s entourage of bodyguards, assistants and friends, as the final songs of the Escapology album are being recorded in Los Angeles, at first as an occasional backgammon partner, then to interview him for the Telegraph magazine and finally to write this book. He sticks to his subject like a limpet for the next 18 months as the album is promoted around the world. EMI pays a reported £80m for a new contract, Robbie parts from Guy Chambers, his long-time collaborator and tries half-heartedly to “break” America. He drifts creatively for a while, before finding a new song-writing partner in Stephen Duffy, who seems to possess the requisite talent and patience for the job.

It’s all there, the inside story that the fans have guessed at and the tabloids have done their best to invent. Yes, the famous photos with Rachel Hunter were staged. No, Rob isn’t gay. Yes, he has been taking antidepressants. No, the Guy split wasn’t about exclusivity.

Chris observes, asks all the right questions, stands back and leaves any criticism of his subject implied but his ultimate loyalty is clear: he is annoyed by negative album reviews, exercised about the shameless, misrepresentations of the tabloids and is infuriated by an ill-informed attack by former culture minister Kim Howells.

It is the literary equivalent of a reality television show in which Robbie is both cameraman and sound engineer. To his great credit, he is an unobtrusive yet perceptive narrator.

What you don’t get is the standard stuff of biography. What Chris offers instead of the traditional scissors and paste cuttings job is a riveting account of just what it involves, and feels like, to be as famous as Robbie Williams – and a compelling warts-and-all portrait of the star himself.

In 1991, Chris lent his measured, deadpan style to an account of the Pet Shop Boys’ first tour. He was invited to join the group on their 1989 Japanese tour. The book that resulted – Literally – remains one of the most enjoyable books on pop to date. The book tells of the evolution of the group, introduces contemporaries and gives them the opportunity to recite their views. This earlier book is the template for Chris’s access-all-areas tour of Robbie’s world. The unmediated access Heath was given is virtually unheard of these days, and at times the book feels bracingly antique like a 400-page Rolling Stone article from 1973 but with jokes.

THE INSPIRATION FOR 'FEEL'

Chris says he became involved in the project in ‘a random way’. He had interviewed Robbie a number of times since Take That, when he was commissioned in 2002 by The Daily Telegraph’s Saturday magazine to write another profile of the singer during promotion of his album, Escapology.

The pair ended up spending a lot of time together for this article and Robbie felt that between them, he and Chris, a friend and respected music journalist, would write the very best and most honest book. So, Chris stuck around with the tacit agreement that he would eventually write a book. This agreement gradually morphed from a vague idea into a concrete project.

Chris was granted unusual access – not only to recording studios and backstage at concerts but also to Robbie’s homes in both London and LA and his hotel suites while on tour. He was around when the star woke up, usually in the afternoon, and still around when Robbie finally got to sleep again in the not so early hours of the following morning; notebook in hand, tape-recorder whirring. In all Chris and Robbie spent nearly two years working on the book. Intimacy is guaranteed – so much so that Chris says reading the book will be ‘like you are in the room with him standing only two feet away’.

Chris admits fascination with celebrity, and was attracted to the idea of writing a real-time account of fame. ‘Quite a lot of celebrities spend 10 or 20 years being famous and then 10 or 20 years doing worthwhile things. It is then that they start to reflect on their fame and maybe tell the truth about the time when people were most fascinated with them,’ he explains. ‘This is a different kind of book, because with this it is as if you are there, observing all the details of what is happening and the sheer randomness of fame.’

Many people will question whether a book endorsed by an icon – and his management – and written by a friend can ever be more than a heavily edited version of events. ‘Yes,’ says Chris, ‘though it depends on the celebrity.’ He says that when is came to editing the book Robbie, ‘spent two weeks going through the rough manuscripts, which is always the crunch time. There is always the danger that to the celebrity it sounds like a lot of fun to have a book written about them, but then when it appears it is y’know, “Whoah!” That is just not Rob though.’

Also, friendship between journalist and subject is a notoriously tricky area to negotiate. For hardened hacks the story always comes first even at the expense of intimacy. Friendship involves compromise and sacrifice, even if it means losing a scoop. Chris says that he never faced this dilemma, because of Robbie’s willingness to push the boundaries. ‘One of the reasons I was comfortable with doing this was that I knew that where Rob would draw the line at what he is comfortable with me writing about is so much further on than from where other celebrities would draw the line’.

Robbie Williams, himself, is the most successful British pop star of his generation. He has sold more than 32 million albums, 17 million of them at home. In 2003, 375,000 people attended his record three-night live stint at Knebworth. The film of this event became the biggest-selling music DVD ever, and has sold five times as many as its nearest rivals. In January, Robbie’s song Angels was nominated for a new award that has been introduced to discover the nation’s all time favourite British single in celebration of the Brits’ 25th anniversary. It is one of 5 songs listed for the award. The winner of the Brits 25 - Best Song Award will be announced at this year’s awards ceremony on Wednesday 9th February. The same day as Feel is featured on Richard & Judy.

According to Chris, with Robbie what you see is truly what you get. ‘He hardly gives any interviews, because he doesn’t enjoy it, by and large, but the truth of it is that when he does do something, his instinct is to be open and honest; he’s of the point of view that he doesn’t have anything in particular to hide, so why not tell the truth?’

They are a group of about twenty but on average only 10 to 12 come at a certain point. They are an amalgamation of two groups who meet different days. They are quite a young group and the ages range from 25 to 55 years old.They read a huge variety of different books and they usually vote from a shortlist of about five for their next months read. They recently read “A Million Little Pieces” by James Frey.

Here's what they thought...

“If you want to be famous you need to read this book.”

“Whether you like Robbie or not you’ll feel empathy towards him by the end.”

“It’s surprisingly honest and you will change your opinions on Robbie Williams after reading this.”

“It’s a disjointed linear narrative that gives great insight into Robbie’s personality.”

“This book goes a long way to give Robbie Williams a credible voice.”

“The author gives an interesting insight into the world of modern celebrity.”

“An interesting read into how Chris Heath portrays Robbie Williams and his honest opinion and he tells it like it is.”

The members on the day of filming were: Richard Hanley, Rachelle Beaumont, Edna Ridge, Neil Wood, Ian Boffin, Rebecca Hoggett, Lisa Jones, Matt Steer, Nicola Withey.

Find out more about the books published by Ebury (Random House) from their website >>here
 

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