Robbie Williams (born February 13, 1974 in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire) is a British pop singer. Originally a member of boy band Take That, he split from the group in the late 1990s and launched a solo career. This following a highly publicized battle with drugs and alcohol during which he put on nearly 40 pounds (20 kg) and was often seen in public poorly dressed, dirty and unshaven.