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Newcastle Herald
Newcastle Herald
Simon McCarthy

With love, from Robbie Williams: one Newcastle family's special moment

Emily Fuller of Newcastle, Julieanne Welsh of Penrith and Petina Pert of Magnetic Island at Allianz Stadium on Thursday night to see Robbie Williams, right, in concert.

Emily Fuller doesn't concert lightly. She has form.

She has seen countless live shows - her favourite band, Hanson, she has seen as many as 50 times. She has camped out, travelled, and waited in line for hours just to see her favourite artists. Live music is Emily's extreme sport, and she has the form of a practised athlete.

Emily Koop of Bathurst, Emily Fuller of Newcastle, Julieanne Welsh of Penrith and Petina Pert Magnetic Island at Allianz Stadium on Thursday night to see Robbie Williams in concert.

Emily woke up at 4.45am on Thursday morning and jumped in the car bound for Sydney. Along the way, she picked up a friend who she has followed online for years (the pair had never met in person, but they were both concertgoers of that particular ilk). They arrived in Sydney by 7am, ready to line up at Allianz Stadium.

Robbie Williams, who is on his XXV Australian Tour, wasn't due on stage until about 8.30pm that night, but Emily is a practised concert fan. She readily admits her methods are extreme, but in this instance, they paid off big.

Emily has seen Robbie in concert seven times now, and each one the dedication levelled up. She has had small interactions before, like the time she took a sign with a reference to his recent memoir. She lined and managed to get into the front row in time for Robbie to notice her sign and give her a thumbs up.

Last year, she travelled to Melbourne for a one-night-only performance that lined up with the star filming his biopic. But Thursday night at Sydney has raised the bar to a new level.

Picture the scene: After waiting in line for hours, Emily has met and made friends with a handful of similarly dedicated fans.

"You immediately have something in common with the people who are lining up with you," Emily said, "If they're lining up at 7am, they really love the artist as well. You immediately bond."

When the gates finally opened, the small band of new friends manage to wrangle their way to the most coveted spot in the room - right at the rail.

As the concert gets underway, the global pop star who has appeared on countless magazine covers, countless album covers and TV chat shows, music awards stages and music videos - actual Robbie Williams - is mere metres away belting out the songs you have heard countless times through the stereo.

And then it happens.

Actual Robbie Williams catches your eye and comes to the front of the stage, crouches down, and asks you to get your phone out because he has something to say.

"He had been speaking to a couple of fans on my right," Emily said, "He was asking if they had kids ... and they hadn't had kids yet, and he just put it out there and said 'are there any mummies and daddies in the audience?'

"Everyone's hands shot up, including mine, and he looked at me and asked if I was a mum ... I said I've got three. And he said 'You've got three kids?! Oh, you're looking good, babe!' "Thanks, Robbie ..."

He went on to ask how old they were, and their names, and then that he would like to record a message. As Emily raised her phone, and her picture appeared on the big screen, Robbie called out to Ollie, Benji and Harry at home (and Emily's husband Dan) before he dedicated Love My Life to the local family.

"It was surreal," Emily said, still on Cloud Nine on Friday afternoon, "It was a really nice experience and I'm just grateful to Rob for giving them the message. The boys have just gotten home from school and they asked how the Robbie concert was and I said, 'Good - Robbie sends his love'.

"They said, yeah, sure Mum. And I said, here, watch the video."

Then: "Most of the time [at concerts], it doesn't sound exactly like it does on the record when you see it live.

"But that's not why you go to concerts. You go to concerts for the connection.

"I've met some of my best friends and I've got friends all over the world, from going to concerts and talking to people in line. So, yeah, no regrets - I'd do it again in a heartbeat."

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