Life Thru a Lens

Life thru a Lens was the first solo album by English pop singer Robbie Williams after his former band Take That split. After trying to find his own sound during a harrowing period for him, recordings for the album began at London’s Maison Rouge studios in March of that year, shortly after his introduction to Guy Chambers.

The album was certified as 8x Platinum in the UK.

The album reached the number-one position on its 28th week inside the charts, the album remained forty weeks inside the British top ten albums and 218 weeks altogether, making the album the 58th best selling album in UK history with over 2.4 million sales. Despite the album’s success in Williams’ homeland, it failed to make a bigger impact in the international market, perhaps, the other territory where the album enjoyed similar success was Argentina, where the album reached the top ten in early 1998. It has sold over 4 million worldwide.

Writing for Melody Maker in October 1997, Robin Bresnark gave Life thru a Lens a very negative review; “There’s nothing here… sure, Robbie Williams is as fascinating a hapless goon as we’re ever likely to come across. But this album feels more like a press release than an album – and that’s not what I call music.”