"Millennium" is a song by the English singer

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 ...

, released as the first single from his second studio album, ''

I've Been Expecting You ''I've Been Expecting You'' is the second studio album by the English singer Robbie Williams. It was released on 26 October 1998 through Chrysalis Records. The album spawned five singles, including lead single "Millennium", which became William ...

'', on 7 September 1998. "Millennium" interpolates " You Only Live Twice", the

Nancy Sinatra Nancy Sandra Sinatra (born June 8, 1940) is an American singer, actress, film producer and author. She is the elder daughter of Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra ( Barbato) and is known for her 1965 signature hit " These Boots Are Made for Walki ...

theme from the 1967 James Bond film. "Millennium" was Williams's first solo single to top the UK singles chart and received extensive airplay in the United States and Canada, where it was the lead single from Williams' 1999 compilation album '' The Ego Has Landed''.

Recording and composing

The song that would become "Millennium" started being written in 1997.

and producer

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, ...

were at Blah Street Studios in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

, where Williams expressed the idea to do something based on

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

. From that start, Chambers decided that he would sample " You Only Live Twice" by

from the 1967 Bond film of the same name, which featuring what he considered an "iconic intro" that "grabs you straight away", and that Williams wanted the addition of a hip-hop beat, which was achieved by speeding up the sample. Chambers then created a simple

bassline Bassline (also known as a bass line or bass part) is the term used in many styles of music, such as blues, jazz, funk, Dub music, dub and electronic music, electronic, traditional music, traditional, and classical music, for the low-pitched P ...

for the verses. When Williams' lyrics were mostly done, Chambers felt it lacked "an obvious title for the track", and suggested "Millennium" for being "both strong and topical", because as Chambers said in a retrospective review, "There was a lot of talk about the millennium back then, it’s a bit like the '

Brexit Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...

' word now". Then Chambers asked for a "

football chant A football chant or terrace chant is a form of vocalisation performed by supporters of association football, typically during football matches. Football chanting is an expression of collective identity, most often used by fans to express their ...

", which only had a melody before Williams came up with "come and have a go if you think you're hard enough' a phrase used by

Melanie C Melanie Jayne Chisholm (born 12 January 1974), commonly known as Melanie C or Mel C, is an English singer and songwriter. She rose to fame in the mid-1990s as a member of the pop group the Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Sporty Spice. W ...

during the

1997 Brit Awards Brit Awards 1997 was the 17th edition of the Brit Awards, an annual pop music awards ceremony in the United Kingdom. It was organised by the British Phonographic Industry and took place on 24 February 1997 at Earls Court Exhibition Centre in Lo ...

directed at

Liam Gallagher William John Paul Gallagher (born 21 September 1972) is an English singer and songwriter. He is the lead singer and co-founder of the rock band Oasis (band), Oasis and fronted the rock band Beady Eye from 2010 to 2014, before starting a succes ...

who Williams was also feuding with. The whole writing process took about four hours, and Chambers described "Millennium" as "the simplest song Robbie and I have ever written - only two chords. And it's written in D flat major, which is very unusual in

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom.S. Frith, W. Straw, and J. Street, eds, ''iarchive:cambridgecompani00frit, The Cambridge Companion to Pop ...

." Once co-producer

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 ...

heard the demo they found potential for a single given it showed a different sound from Williams' debut album ''

Life thru a Lens ''Life Thru A Lens'' is the debut solo album by English singer-songwriter Robbie Williams following his departure from Take That. Released on 29 September 1997 through Chrysalis Records, the album is influenced by Britpop, a departure from the p ...

''. As Power explained: "It had the more programming-based feel that we wanted to introduce on the second album in order to get away from the guitar-based feel of the first album, and it already had the chorus hook, the Bond theme sample, on the demo version, which I remember mixing before last Christmas."

Trident Studios Trident Studios was a British recording facility, located at 17 St Anne's Court in London's Soho district between 1968 and 1981. It was constructed in 1967 by Norman Sheffield, drummer of the 1960s group the Hunters, and his brother Barry ...

in London was used for the majority of the recordings, including drums, bass and samples for the backing track, and the backing vocals, which included three female session singers and male vocals by Williams' guitarist

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 ...

. Williams' vocals were done at Jacobs Studios in

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

. Williams suggested using a sample only accompanied by a

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

beat. Guy Chambers found a beat by speeding the sample up. The record label,

Chrysalis Records Chrysalis Records () is a British independent record label that was founded in 1968. The name is both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders' names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis. It started as the Ell ...

, discovered that a new recording would cost only one tenth of the licensing fee that would be required to sample "You Only Live Twice", so they asked for a new string section that still acted as a recognisable

pastiche A pastiche () is a work of visual art, literature, theatre, music, or architecture that imitates the style or character of the work of one or more other artists. Unlike parody, pastiche pays homage to the work it imitates, rather than mocking ...

of the song.

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 ...

arranged the orchestra, which according to Power "was in the wrong key for 'Millennium', although we did want it to sound like the original sample in the choruses and we did refer to John Barry's

original score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cue (theatrical), cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the ...

for that", and conducted a 26-piece string section, plus harp and four

French horn The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most o ...

s, at

Angel Recording Studios Angel Recording Studios Limited (also referred to as Angel Studios) is a British recording studio based in the eponymous recording and mixing complex in Islington, London. The company was incorporated by James Warren Sylvester de Wolfe on 5 Dec ...

Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...

to the programmed backing track, with a guide vocal over the top. Power said the song used most of the 48 tracks offered by the multitrack tape: "We had about six tracks of backing vocals, and nine tracks for the strings. Then there were the programmed tracks; and when you get into programming, you'll layer about four kick drums to tape! For speed, and to keep the creative flow going, we put them all down to separate tracks rather than spend time deciding which one we wanted loudest when recording. So we had a lot of independent outs from the programmed backing track onto separate multitrack channels, like the programmed percussion and sampled noises. Then there were the unused scratching tracks, and the live percussion - all in all, I think we filled maybe 36 or 38 tracks in total."

Chart performance

The song became Williams' first number-one single in the United Kingdom, shipping over 400,000 copies and being certified

platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...

by the

British Phonographic Industry BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited, trading as British Phonographic Industry (BPI), is the British recorded music industry's trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards; is home to the Mercury Prize; co-owns the Official Charts C ...

(BPI). The song also became an international success; it managed to break into the Top 40 around the world. It also became Williams' first song to chart inside the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 when it was released in 1999. While neither "Millennium" nor "

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 ...

" (the song chosen as his second single in the United States) charted in the top 40 of the Hot 100, it did chart at number 20 on the

Mainstream Top 40 Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/contemporary hit radio, CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by Billboard (magazine), ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played o ...

chart.

Music video

The

tongue-in-cheek Tongue-in-cheek is an idiom that describes a humorous or sarcastic statement expressed in a serious manner. History The phrase originally expressed contempt, but by 1842 had acquired its modern meaning. Early users of the phrase include Sir Walte ...

video for "Millennium", directed by Vaughan Arnell, features Williams parodying

, complete with

dinner jacket Black tie is a semi-formal wear, semi-formal Western dress code for evening events, originating in British and North American conventions for clothing, attire in the 19th century. In British English, the dress code is often referred to synecdoc ...

and references to Bond films like '' Thunderball'' and '' From Russia with Love''. The video was filmed at

Pinewood Studios Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London. The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to t ...

, home to most Bond productions. During the video, Williams travels in an aeroplane and fails to fly a futuristic

jet pack A jet pack, rocket belt, rocket pack or flight pack is a device worn as a backpack which uses jets to propel the wearer through the air. The concept has been present in science fiction for almost a century and the first working experimental d ...

. He is also seen flirting with girls in an over-the-top manner and caricaturing the facial expressions of

Sean Connery Sir Thomas Sean Connery (25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to Portrayal of James Bond in film, portray the fictional British secret agent James Bond (literary character), James Bond in motion pic ...

. He is seen in a boat, clearly a studio model, against an obviously projected background characteristic of 1960s Bond films. During the end of the video, Williams drives away in an

economy car Economy car is a term mostly used in the United States for cars designed for low-cost purchase and operation. Typical economy cars are small (compact car, compact or subcompact car, subcompact), lightweight, and inexpensive to both produce and p ...

, a

Bond Bug The Bond Bug is a small British two-seat, three-wheeled automobile which was designed by Tom Karen of Ogle Design for Bond Cars, who built it from 1970 to 1974, initially at Bond Cars Ltd factory, but subsequently at Reliant's Tamworth facto ...

, instead of 007's

Aston Martin DB5 The Aston Martin DB5 is a British grand tourer (GT) produced by Aston Martin and designed by Italian coachbuilder Carrozzeria Touring, Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera. Originally produced from 1963 to 1965, the DB5 was an evolution of the final ...

, which later drives past him while he is having car trouble. Lorraine Pascale appears in the video as a '

Bond Girl A Bond girl is a character who is a love interest, female companion or (occasionally) an adversary of James Bond in a novel, film, or video game. Bond girls occasionally have names that are double entendres or sexual puns, such as Plenty O' ...

'. At the 1999 Brit Awards, "Millennium" won the award for British Video of the Year. The video was edited by Jake Sebastian Wynne, a Director, Editor and Filmmaker based in the UK

Track listings

UK CD1 # "Millennium" – 4:06 # "Love Cheat" (demo version) – 3:46 # "Rome Munich Rome" (demo version) – 3:05 UK CD2 and cassette single # "Millennium" – 4:06 # " Lazy Days" (original version) – 4:29 # "

" (live) – 5:38 European CD single # "Millennium" – 4:06 # "Angels" (live) – 5:38 Australian and Japanese CD single # "Millennium" – 4:06 # "Angels" (live) – 5:38 # "Rome Munich Rome" (demo version) – 3:05 # "Love Cheat" (demo version) – 3:46

Credits and personnel

Credits are lifted from the ''

'' album booklet. Studio * Mastered at Metropolis Mastering (London, England) Personnel *

– writing, vocals *

– writing, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass synth, keyboards, production, arrangement *

Leslie Bricusse Leslie Bricusse OBE (; 29 January 1931 – 19 October 2021) was a British composer, lyricist, and playwright who worked on theatre musicals and wrote theme music for films. He was best known for writing the music and lyrics for the films '' D ...

– writing * John Barry – writing *

– background vocals *

Claudia Fontaine Claudia Fontaine (26 August 1960 – 13 March 2018) was a backing vocalist from Peckham, London. Career During the 1980s, Fontaine and fellow backing vocalist Caron Wheeler (and later, third member Naomi Thompson) were known as Afrodiziak. S ...

– background vocals * Beverley Skeete – background vocals * Nicole Patterson – background vocals *

Chris Sharrock Chris Sharrock (born 30 May 1964) is an English drummer, hailing from Bebington, Cheshire (now Merseyside), England. He has been a member of the Icicle Works, the La's, the Wild Swans, World Party, the Lightning Seeds, Robbie Williams's liv ...

– drums * Andy Duncan – percussion * 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, ...

– orchestra leader *

– orchestral arrangement * Steve Power – production, recording, mixing, programming * Steve McNichol – programming * Steve Price – orchestral engineering * Tony Cousins – mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1998 songs 1998 singles Robbie Williams songs Capitol Records singles Chrysalis Records singles Music videos directed by Vaughan Arnell Number-one singles in Scotland Song recordings produced by Guy Chambers Song recordings produced by Steve Power Songs with music by John Barry (composer) Songs written by Guy Chambers Songs written by Leslie Bricusse Songs written by Robbie Williams UK singles chart number-one singles Turn of the third millennium