Angels (Robbie Williams song)

Williams said he wrote "Angels" with Chambers about his aunt and uncle, while Heffernan said he wrote the first version in 1996 and finished it with Williams. Williams confirmed that he recorded a demo with Heffernan but said he rewrote the song significantly with Chambers. To avoid a lawsuit, Williams bought the song rights from Heffernan before it was released. Vaughan Arnell directed its music video, which was shot in black and white.


"Angels" is Williams's best-selling single, and the 34th-bestselling UK single of the 1990s. It was voted the best song of the previous 25 years at the 2005 Brit Awards, and in 2005 Britons voted it the song they most wanted played at their funeral. It has been covered by artists including Jessica Simpson, David Archuleta, Beverley Knight, All Angels, Declan Galbraith and Josh Groban. It was recorded in Spanish (as "Ángel") by the Mexican singers Yuridia and Marco Moré, in Italian (as "Un Angelo") by Patrizio Buanne and in Brazilian Portuguese (as "Um Anjo") by KLB. Williams also recorded a Spanish version.

Writing[edit]

In 2011, Robbie Williams said he wrote "Angels" with his collaborator Guy Chambers in 25 minutes about his aunt and uncle. By his account, he and Chambers were sitting outside a cafe watching a water fountain, which inspired them to write the chorus.^[1] In 2016, Williams said: "It was the first of our songs that we wrote together. We could tell and hoped and prayed that we got something incredibly special."^[2] Williams expressed irritation that some assumed Chambers was the sole author.^[3]


The Irish singer-songwriter Ray Heffernan said he wrote the first version of "Angels" in Paris in 1996, after his partner had a miscarriage.^[4] According to Heffernan, he met Williams in a pub by chance in Dublin, and later played him, with his guitar, an incomplete version of his song. Heffernan said in 2010: "I had the first verse, some of the chorus and some of the second verse." That week the two recorded a studio demo.^[5] Williams confirmed that he had recorded a demo with Heffernan but said he rewrote the song significantly with Chambers.^[6]


Before the song's release, Heffernan accepted an offer from Williams's management to buy the rights for £7,500.^[5] He is thanked in the UK CD2 single liner notes.^[7] Williams said: "We could have gone to court, and it all would have been down to whether what way the judge wakes up that day out of bed ... So I gave him some money, and he went away."^[6] In 2011, Heffernan said: "For a long time, I was angry about this, but as you get older you see things differently ... The 'Angels' connection has opened doors to publishing companies and earned me a few quid."^[5]

Music video[edit]

The music video for "Angels" was directed by Vaughan Arnell,^[24] and filmed at Saunton Sands. Filmed largely from the air, Williams walks around a beach, stares at the sky, kicks a football and rides a motorbike with a woman while a helicopter flies around them.^[25]