"I'm f*** all without you... if you keep turning up,…

"I'm f*** all without you... if you keep turning up, then I will": Robbie Williams at AO Arena Manchester, reviewed

"I'm Robbie f****n Williams" he tells Manchester as he takes to the stage for the first of three nights at the AO Arena.

The man needs no introduction. Judging by the average age of most of us concert goers, we've all witnessed the ups and downs of the lad from Stoke-on-Trent who hit the bigtime with boyband Take That.

It's a career spanning more than three decades he tells us, as he promises to take us on a journey of his '32 year musical odyssey'.

Kicking off the show with one of his lesser known tracks Hey Wow Yeah Yeah, it's not the best choice to get the crowd going, but there's still a buzz about his arrival in the city where he first found fame at the tender age of 16.

The big hits are next up though - Let Me Entertain You firing us up for what promises to be a 'celebration of Robbie’s 25 years as a solo artist'.

Robbie Williams at Manchester’s AO Arena (Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)

Things have certainly changed during that time and many of us, myself included, have followed him every step of the way.

From his 'highest of highs to the lowest of lows' he talks openly about the battles he's faced with drink and drugs.

He jokes about much of it - the time he went on a wild one at Glastonbury with the Gallagher brothers among his favourite anecdotes - but we all know he's been to some dark places.

Now 22 years sober and married with four children, he's in a much better place and when he belts out Oasis' Don't Look Back in Anger you can tell he means every word.

He has nothing but love for his 'four brothers' from Take That - Mark, Gary, Howard and Jason - and tells us that one day they 'will ride again'. Let's hope so.

"If you keep turning up then I will," said the singer (Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)

But this tour, on the back of his new album XXV, shows that Robbie's solo career is as successful now as it ever was.

When you can still pack out an arena with 20,000 plus fans singing every word of songs from the late nineties, early noughties - like Strong, Come Undone and Feel - you know you're doing something right.

"I asked you at Knebworth to grow old with me and you are doing," he says, referring to his 2003 concert at Knebworth Park when he performed to a staggering 375,000 people, and he seems genuinely thankful for the following he's had over the years.

But that's the thing with Robbie, he is a true performer and when he's up there on stage he gives it his all. He might be a bit slower than in his boyband years - declaring 'I'm f*****' just three songs in as he wipes his head with a towel he struggles to part with - but he is 48.

Robbie on stage at the AO Arena (Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)

He looks good on it though and there aren't many men approaching the age of 50 who could pull off his outfit choice of golden top and trousers combo.

With women throwing bras on the stage and one getting him to sign her breast with a marker pen - presumably which she'll now get tattooed - I think it would be fair to say the Robster's still got it.

We may drool over him, but hearing him dedicate Love My Life to his wife and kids, most of his fans are just pleased that he finally seems to be in a happy place - and humble with it.

Click or swipe below for a full gallery of photos of Robbie in Manchester

Thanking us all, he says he would be 'f**k all' without us. "If you keep turning up then I will," he says.

I just hope he keeps that promise.