"Feel" is a song by British singer-songwriter

Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, launching a solo career in 1996. His debut studio album, ''Life thru a Lens'', was re ...

. It was released on 2 December 2002 as the lead single from his fifth studio album, ''

Escapology Escapology is the practice of escaping from restraints or other traps. Escapologists (also classified as escape artists) escape from handcuffs, straitjackets, cages, coffins, steel boxes, barrels, bags, burning buildings, fish-tanks, and ...

'' (2002). The song became an international hit, peaking at number one in the Czech Republic, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, and Romania and reaching the top five in several other countries, including Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. In the United States, it reached number 28 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Adult Top 40 The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Syste ...

Background

"Feel" was written by

and

Guy Chambers Guy Antony Chambers (born 12 January 1963) is an English songwriter, musician and record producer, best known for his work with Robbie Williams. Education Chambers attended Quarry Bank Comprehensive School sixth form in Liverpool. From 18, ...

. According to Williams, most of the vocals are from the original demo recording from 1999, as he felt unsatisfied with the re-recorded vocals. He commented, "I just couldn't sing it as well as I did on that day."

Chart performance

In the United Kingdom, "Feel" peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart, spending four weeks inside the top 10. The song topped the charts in Hungary, Italy, Portugal, and the Netherlands. It was also successful in Canada, where it reached the top 10 and spent a total of 20 weeks on the chart. It was the most played song in Europe in 2003. Despite Williams' major success in most of the world, "Feel" failed to reach the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. "Feel" has sold 625,000 copies in the UK as of September 2022.

Music video

The video was directed by Vaughan Arnell and shows Williams in a cowboy-like lifestyle. It gained some attention in the United States thanks to

Daryl Hannah Daryl Hannah (born December 3, 1960) is an American actress and environmental activist. She made her film debut in Brian De Palma's supernatural horror film ''The Fury (1978 film), The Fury'' (1978). She has starred in various films across the ...

's appearance as Williams' love interest. There were two versions of the same video, one shot in black and white and the other in colour and was filmed in Sundre,

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

, Canada.

Track listings

* UK, Canadian, and Australian CD single # "Feel" (album version) – 4:22 # "Nobody Someday" (demo version) – 2:53 # "You're History" – 4:44 # Photo gallery and video clips * UK cassette single # "Feel" (album version) – 4:22 # "Nobody Someday" (demo version) – 2:53 # "You're History" – 4:44 * UK DVD single # "Feel" (video) – 4:22 # "You're History" (audio) – 4:44 # "Nobody Someday" (demo version; audio) – 2:53 # 3× video clips * European CD single # "Feel" (album version) – 4:22 # "Nobody Someday" (demo version) – 2:53

Credits and personnel

Credits are taken from the ''

'' album booklet. Recording * Recorded in Los Angeles and London * Mixed at

The Record Plant The Record Plant was a recording studio established in New York City in 1968 and last operating in Los Angeles, California. Known for innovations in the recording artists' workspace, it produced highly influential albums, including the New York ...

(Los Angeles) * Mastered at Marcussen Mastering (Los Angeles) Personnel *

– writing, lead vocals *

– writing, bass synthesizer, production, arrangement, orchestral arrangement *

Gary Nuttall Gary Nuttall is an English musician and vocalist, best known for his long-time affiliation with Robbie Williams, spanning from 1997 to the present day. Solo In 2007, Nuttall released his first solo album, ''Dated Bedroom Ditties.'' Discograph ...

– backing vocals, picky guitar * Zenia Santini – backing vocals * Anne Skates – directing (gospel choir) * Fil Eisler – slide guitars * Neil Taylor – slide guitars *

Phil Spalding Philip Trevor Spalding (19 November 1957 – 5 February 2023) was an English bass player. He was best known as a session musician and player of Fender Precision Bass guitars. He played and appeared with performing artists such as Mike Oldfiel ...

– bass * Andy Wallace – piano * Dave Clayton – synthesizers *

Jeremy Stacey Jeremy Stacey (born 27 September 1963) is a British drummer and keyboard player. His early works included the 1990s band The Lemon Trees (with twin brother Paul Stacey on guitars, Guy Chambers and others) and Denzil (band), Denzil. He has also ...

– drums * Jony Rockstar – drum loops * Richard Flack – drum loops, engineering, programming * The London Session Orchestra – orchestra *

Gavyn Wright Gavyn Wright is a British violinist and orchestra leader with the London Session Orchestra and Penguin Cafe Orchestra. He is best known for his orchestral arrangements on pop productions (including Elton John, Simply Red, Bush, Mecano, ...

–

concertmaster The concertmaster (from the German language, German ''Konzertmeister''), first chair (U.S.) or leader (UK) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (clarinet or oboe in a concert band). After the Conducting, conductor, the concertma ...

Nick Ingman Nicholas Ingman (born 29 April 1948) is an English arranger, composer and conductor in the commercial music field. His collaborators include Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Björk, and the British X-factor. Born and educated in London, Ingman move ...

– orchestral arrangement * Sally Herbert – orchestral arrangement * Steve Price – orchestral engineering * Tom Jenkins – assistant orchestral engineering * Isobel Griffiths – orchestral contracting * Jim Brumby – programming, additional engineering *

Steve Power Steve Power (born in Liverpool) is an English record producer best known for his work with Robbie Williams. He has produced and mixed for a wide variety of artists over the years, including Blur, Busted, Andrea Bocelli, Feeder, Joe Cocker,Pe ...

– production, mixing * J.D. Andrew – assistant mixing * Steve Marcussen – mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Film version

For the 2024 autobiographical film '' Better Man'', Williams trades vocals with Carter J. Murphy, who provides his voice as a child.

Cover versions

After the release of "Feel", contestant Ricky Ord sang the song in the 2003 second season of ''

Deutschland sucht den Superstar ''Deutschland sucht den Superstar'' (''DSDS''; "Germany is looking for the Superstar") is a German reality talent show. Part of the ''Idol'' franchise, it was created by British media mogul Simon Fuller as a spin-off from the British show ''P ...

'' for the theme "My Pop Idol", being one of the first contestants eliminated. In season 8 in 2011, contestant

Ardian Bujupi Ardian Bujupi (; born 27 April 1991) is a German-Albanian singer and songwriter. Born in Kosovo, he moved to Germany at a young age and he has been living there ever since. He gained recognition in German speaking Europe, German-speaking Europe ...

sang the song for the theme "English v. German". In 2016, contestants of the tenth season of '' X Factor Italy'' sang a medley of "Feel" and "

Angels An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

", before being joined by Williams himself to sing his single " Party Like a Russian".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Feel (Robbie Williams Song) 2002 singles 2002 songs Black-and-white music videos Chrysalis Records singles Dutch Top 40 number-one singles Music videos directed by Vaughan Arnell Number-one singles in the Czech Republic Number-one singles in Italy Number-one singles in Poland Number-one singles in Portugal Number-one singles in Romania Robbie Williams songs Song recordings produced by Guy Chambers Song recordings produced by Steve Power Songs written by Guy Chambers Songs written by Robbie Williams Songs about suicide Songs about depression Songs about loneliness Virgin Records singles Pop ballads