Shame (Robbie Williams and Gary Barlow song)

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"Shame"
A double images of two men who are looking at each other while dancing with their female partners.
Single by Robbie Williams and Gary Barlow
from the album In and Out of Consciousness: Greatest Hits 1990–2010
B-side"The Queen"
Released27 August 2010 (2010-08-27)
Recorded2010
Studio
  • Metropolis Studios
    , London
  • Gateway Mastering, Portland
folk pop
Length3:59
LabelVirgin
Songwriter(s)
  • Gary Barlow
  • Robbie Williams
Producer(s)Trevor Horn
Robbie Williams singles chronology
"Morning Sun"
(2010) 		"Shame"
(2010) 		"Candy"
(2012)
Gary Barlow singles chronology
"Lie to Me"
(1999) 		"Shame"
(2010) 		"Sing"
(2012)
Music video
"Shame" on
YouTube

"Shame" is a song written and recorded by English singers Robbie Williams and Gary Barlow for Williams's second greatest hits compilation album, In and Out of Consciousness: Greatest Hits 1990–2010 (2010). Produced by Trevor Horn, it was released as the lead single from the album on 27 August 2010 in most countries worldwide and on 1 October in the United Kingdom. "Shame" marks the first time Williams and Barlow collaborated on a song together solely and the first time they worked together since Williams left Take That in 1995. It is a pop song with country and folk music influences; two reviewers noted that it contains an acoustic guitar part similar to the one of the Beatles' 1968 song, "Blackbird". The lyrical content revolves around singers' broken relationship and fixing things up.

"Shame" received generally favourable reviews from music critics who praised the song's sound, melody, and lyrical skills of the performers. It reached the top-ten in seven countries worldwide including Hungary, Netherlands, Italy and Denmark. In the singers' native United Kingdom, it peaked at number two on the

singles chart and was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), denoting shipments of over 200,000 copies in the country. The accompanying music video for the song was directed by Vaughan Arnell in Los Angeles and premiered on 26 August 2010. It features Williams and Barlow dancing and singing the song in a bar and fishing on a pond. Multiple critics linked the storyline and the pair's chemistry in the video to the 2005 film, Brokeback Mountain. To further promote "Shame", the pair performed it on multiple occasions including on the Help for Heroes concert and Strictly Come Dancing
.

Development and release

Although Take That reunited in 2005, Williams didn't join them until 2010, before leaving again

In July 1995, Williams announced that he was leaving Take That, a boy band in which both he and Barlow were members. Following Williams's departure, the group disbanded until 2005 when Take That announced their reunion.[1] In 2008, during the band's work on their fifth studio album, The Circus, Barlow and Williams met for the second time since the band reformed.[2] In 2010, in an interview on BBC Radio 1, Williams elaborated, "'It is one of those situations in life that could be very explosive and could go completely wrong. We had that big chat and the most amazing thing happened at the end of it. We both said sorry to each other and we both meant it and that was all we needed." Barlow added, "I spent the last 15 years thinking about what I was going to say."[2]

"Shame" was written by Barlow and Williams for Williams's second greatest hits album,

Metropolis Studios in London and the Gateway Mastering in Portland, Maine.[4]

"Shame" was released as the lead and only single from In and Out of Consciousness: Greatest Hits 1990–2010. It was made available for digital download via the iTunes Store on 27 August 2010 in some countries, including Australia,[5] Denmark,[6] Germany[7] and Italy.[8] In singers's native United Kingdom it was placed for digital purchase over a month later on 1 October.[9] On 4 October, Virgin Records released a CD single of "Shame" in the UK; apart from the title track, the single featured another song performed by Williams, titled "The Queen".[10]

Composition and lyrical interpretation

'Shame'
A sample of "Shame", a
electro
music influences that features a lyrical content revolving around singers's broken relationship and fixing things up.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

"Shame" is a

electro-tinged" chorus, reminiscent of the works of British producer Stuart Price.[13] Digital Spy's Mayer Nissim noted that "Shame" contains an acoustic guitar part which is similar to the one of "Blackbird", a 1968 song written by Paul McCartney and performed by The Beatles.[14]

The lyrical content of "Shame" revolves around "the breakdown in the relationship" that Williams and Barlow experienced after the former left Take That.

Stuff.co.nz commented that the lines, "I don't recall the reasons why, I must have meant them at the time, is this the sound of sweet surrender?" were the two "patch[ing] things up" and a "happy ending".[16]

Critical reception

"Shame" received generally favourable reviews from

CBBC described it as a "really sweet" and "meaningful" song that has "cheeky" sense of humour and words that can make the listener happy.[11] USA Today's Jerry Shriver noted that "Shame" confirms Williams as a "former boy wonder" who "is in no danger of losing his mojo".[18] Katie Boucher of The National called the single "a bouncy reconciliatory duet" with a sound more similar to Take That, rather than Williams's solo material.[19]

In a less enthusiastic review, Scott Causer of Contactmusic.com stated, "the song is a cheesy paean to their past. To their credit they don't pretend it's anything other than that."[20] MusicOMH's Nic Oliver called the collaboration "wooden musically", but noted that Williams succeeds to "turn in wry, self-deprecating lyric that bodes well for his mature years".[21]

Commercial performance

On 10 October 2010, "Shame" debuted and peaked at number two on the

Danish Singles Chart on 10 September, before peaking at number nine the next week.[31] It also peaked at number nine in Israel.[32]

On 15 October, "Shame" debuted and peaked at number 11 on the

Australian Singles Chart and only peaked at number 62 for one week.[38] "Shame" was least successful in Slovakia and Japan where it peaked at number 65[39] and number 91 respectively.[40]

Music video

The performance of Williams and Barlow in the video was heavily compared to the roles of actors Heath Ledger (left) and Jake Gyllenhaal (right) in the 2005 film, Brokeback Mountain.

The music video for "Shame" was directed by Vaughan Arnell. It was shot on 21 and 22 February 2010[41] in Los Angeles, whilst the scenes in the mountains were done in Malibu.[42] It premiered on 26 August 2010 on Williams's official website[2] and on YouTube. On 1 October 2010, it was made available for digital download via the iTunes Store.[43]

The video begins with Williams waiting for his laundry to be done in a store, before getting out for a walk. Meanwhile, Barlow is standing on the other side of the street. As the song starts the two of them start walking towards their cars whilst looking at each other. When they get inside, the scenes are intercut with the two of them dancing with their female partners. Later in the video, they are shown sitting at a bar having a drink whilst singing the lyrics. As the second chorus starts, Williams and Barlow are at a pond, fishing and laughing. Scenes of them looking at each other secretly are also shown. In the middle of the bridge they start taking their shirts off. Shortly, they are shown climbing up a cliff. After they get to the top they want to jump, however, they realise it is too high and instead hug each other and walk away.

Critics heavily compared the storyline of the music video to that of the 2005 film, Brokeback Mountain. Birmingham Mail's Luke Beardsworth described it as a "lighthearted parody" of the film and according to him the visual depicts Williams and Barlow as young cowboys who are in love secretly.[15] Cragg noted that the video features "the two men gaze lovingly into each other's eyes, strip to the waist and fall in love all over again."[13]

Live performances

Williams and Barlow performed "Shame" for the first time on 12 September 2010 at the

series eight of the Strictly Come Dancing. A Metro newspaper critic reviewed the performance and wrote, "the pair, wearing matching black suits, spent much of the early stages of their performance sitting on stools and gazing into each other’s eyes as they sung the duet."[45] On 7 October, Williams and Barlow were chatting at the BBC Radio 1 where they gave a performance of the song.[46] The singers were guests at the Paul O'Grady Live chat show and also performed the single on 8 October.[47] Three days after, on 11 October, they gave a rendition of the track on the morning television programme, Daybreak.[48] On 18 November the pair performed the song on the German reality TV programme, Popstars: Girls forever.[49] Barlow included "Shame" on the set list of his 2014 tour, Since I Saw You Last, where he performed a solo acoustic version of the song.[50]

Formats and track listing

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of In and Out of Consciousness: Greatest Hits 1990–2010.[4] Locations

  • Mastering at
    Metropolis Studios
    , London; Gateway Mastering, Portland, Maine

Personnel

  • Robbie Williams – vocals, writing
  • Gary Barlow – vocals, writing
  • Trevor Horn – production
  • Graham Archer – engineering
  • Tim Weidner – engineering, mixing
  • Dave Miles – additional engineering

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for "Shame"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Italy (FIMI)[28] Gold 15,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[25] Silver 200,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release history and formats for "Shame"
Country Date Format Label
Australia[5] 27 August 2010 Digital download Virgin
Austria[62]
Denmark[6]
Germany[7]
Italy[8]
Netherlands[63]
New Zealand[64]
United Kingdom[9][10] 1 October 2010
4 October 2010 CD single

References

  1. The Huffington Post
    . United Kingdom. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  2. ^ a b c d "Gary Barlow and Robbie Williams describe relief at ending feud". The Daily Telegraph. 26 August 2010. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  3. ^ "Gary and Robbie are back". BBC Radio 1. 26 August 2010. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  4. ^ a b In and Out of Consciousness: Greatest Hits 1990–2010 (liner notes). Robbie Williams. Virgin Records. 2010. 5099990783593.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  5. ^ a b c "Music – Shame – Single by Robbie Williams & Gary Barlow". iTunes Store (AU). Retrieved 10 December 2015.
  6. ^ a b "Shame – Single by Robbie Williams & Gary Barlow". iTunes Store (DK). Retrieved 10 December 2015.
  7. ^ a b "Shame – Single von Robbie Williams & Gary Barlow" (in German). iTunes Store (DE). Retrieved 10 December 2015.
  8. ^ a b "Shame – Single di Robbie Williams & Gary Barlow" (in Italian). iTunes Store (IT). Retrieved 10 December 2015.
  9. ^ a b c "Music – Shame – Single by Robbie Williams & Gary Barlow". iTunes Store (GB). Retrieved 10 December 2015.
  10. ^ a b c "Shame:Music". Amazon UK. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
  11. ^
    CBBC
    . 8 February 2011. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  12. ^ a b "Robbie Williams – Shame Sheet Music (Digital Download)". Musicnotes.com. Faber Music. 28 September 2010. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  13. ^ a b Cragg, Michael (26 August 2010). "New music: Robbie Williams feat Gary Barlow – Shame". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  14. ^ a b c Nissim, Mayer (6 October 2010). "Robbie Williams & Gary Barlow: 'Shame'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  15. ^ a b Beardsworth, Luke (27 June 2014). "Something Beautiful: The 16 best-ever Robbie Williams songs". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  16. Stuff.co.nz
    . 4 November 2015. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  17. ^ Egan, Sean. "Robbie Williams In and Out of Consciousness: Greatest Hits 1990-2010 Review". BBC Music. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  18. ^ Shriver, Jerry (15 November 2010). "Listen Up: Weekend Plugs". USA Today. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  19. ^ Boucher, Katie (27 October 2010). "In and Out of Consciousness: Greatest Hits 1990 - 2010". The National. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  20. ^ Causer, Scott (11 October 2010). "Review of In And Out Of Consciousness The Greatest Hits 1990-2010 Album by Robbie Williams". Contactmusic.com. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  21. ^ Oliver, Nic (3 August 2010). "Spotlight: Robbie Williams – In And Out Of Consciousness: Greatest Hits 1990-2010". MusicOMH. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
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  28. ^ a b "Italian single certifications – Robbie Williams and Gary Barlow – Shame" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  29. ^ a b "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Rádiós Top 40 játszási lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
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  32. ^ a b "Media Forest Week 42, 2010". Israeli Airplay Chart. Media Forest. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
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  37. ^ a b "Robbie Williams and Gary Barlow – Shame" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  38. ^ a b "The ARIA Report: Issue 1072 (Week Commencing 13 September 2010)" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 October 2010. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
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  42. Idolator
    . Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  43. ^ "Shame on iTunes". iTunes Store (US). October 2010. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  44. ^ "Robbie Williams and Gary Barlow reunite for heroes concert". BBC. 12 September 2010. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
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  50. ^ Since You Saw Him Last (DVD, Blu-ray Disc). Polydor Records. 2014.
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  61. ^ "End of Year 2010" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
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  63. ^ "Shame – Single van Robbie Williams & Gary Barlow" (in Dutch). iTunes Store (NL). Retrieved 10 December 2015.
  64. ^ "Music – Shame –- Single by Robbie Williams & Gary Barlow" (in German). iTunes Store (NZ). Retrieved 10 December 2015.

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