Can Robbie Williams escape drugs demons to save his career?

By Thomas Burmeister Feb 14, 2007, 16:39 GMT

British singer Robbie Williams EPA/MARCO MESINA

London - Robbie Williams' mother is well acquainted with what he is going through in a rehab clinic in Arizona. Jan Williams, 56, is after all a counsellor for drug addicts, and she is restraining her natural impulse to rush to his side.

'I am not going out to visit Robbie yet. Rehab is all about being on your own. But once he gets better I will be over there like a shot,' she told The Sun newspaper.

After the initial shock, friends and relatives of the 33-year-old popstar have expressed relief that he has entered rehab. Many had been alarmed by dark hints of suicide coming from the suspected manic depressive.

He tends to liken himself to the famous drummer of The Who, Keith Moon, who died of a drug overdose.

Moon gets a mention in Robbie's Good Doctor on the 2006 album Rudebox, along with the words: 'I've got all these demons, And I can't stop 'em. To tell you the truth, Doc, I might have a problem.'

Robbie has taken up the battle to kick his drug demons, apparently in the exclusive Meadows Clinic in Wickenberg.

The popstar's addiction was revealed in detail in Britain's Wednesday press. Apart from a fistful of Seroxat, an antidepressant, there is the astonishing revelation that he consumes 30 double espressos a day.

The 60 cigarettes seem by contrast a minor habit, alongside 20 Red Bull energy drinks.

It came as small surprise that he was lying awake until 5 a.m. on this cocktail, before dropping off into an exhausted, although brief, sleep.

Friends report how during the day he was clearly under the influence of psychotropic drugs and painkillers.

The Daily Mirror said it had once taken three hours of ringing the bell before he came to the door of his Los Angeles home.

Apart from the obvious health concerns, Robbie fans are beginning to wonder whether he can kickstart his career.

Lack of success in the charts in recent months could be having as devastating an effect on his psyche as the chemicals he is swallowing.

The Rudebox album was such a disappointment that two heads of department responsible for its production got fired by the record company concerned.

The Manchester star so accustomed to success must also have mixed feelings at the successful link-up of his old band Take That, whose reunion tour was a blockbuster.

Gary Barlow, Mark Owen, Jason Orange and Howard Donald secured a Number One with the single Patience last year, as they did with the album Beautiful World.

Robbie had abandoned the group in the summer of 1995 after conflict over his lifestyle.

As the Sun headlined: 'Take That... And That... And That.' It predicted that Robbie's musical career could be at an end.

That may be premature. The Meadows Clinic has helped other stars to recovery.

Kate Moss checked in there in November 2005, after being snapped snorting cocaine at a party. There were predictions then that her modelling career was over, as companies cancelled contracts and hoardings with her image came down.

A few months later the British model was back - and earning much more than before.