Supreme

Album: Sing When You're Winning (2000)
Charted: 4
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song is about the pursuit of love. Despite having been in multiple relationships throughout his life, Robbie Williams laments he still hasn't found "a love supreme," with the former Take That member sighing in the song's opening verse: "All the best women are married. All the handsome men are gay."

    Williams' love life was the subject of intense scrutiny in the British press at the time. In the late '90s he broke off an engagement to All Saints member Nicole Appleton, who subsequently went on to marry Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher. Williams, meanwhile, was linked to the likes of Australian actress Nicole Kidman and New Zealand model Rachel Hunter before settling down to marry American actress Ayda Field in August 2010.
  • "Supreme" samples the strings from Gloria Gaynor's 1978 hit "I Will Survive." According to Williams, he came up with the idea to use the sample while celebrating New Year's Eve in Switzerland. "I was in this town square for 12 o'clock, and the fireworks go off, and it was wonderful, and I was sober, and it was the best New Year I've ever had," he said. "I'm in the middle of this square, watching them all go mad to that stringline, and I go, 'I'm having that, that's going in a song.'"
  • The music video for "Supreme" is a tribute to the British Formula One racing driver Jackie Stewart. Williams portrays Bob Williams, a fictitious rival driver competing alongside Stewart in the 1969 World Championship. Directed by Vaughan Arnell, the video includes stock footage of Stewart with Williams digitally inserted into a number of scenes. Following several heated battles, Williams ultimately ends up losing the title to Stewart after suffering from a bout of diarrhea and getting locked inside his trailer prior to the final race.
  • Williams recorded the song in swing style for his 2013 album Swings Both Ways, his second swing album, following 2001's Swing When You're Winning.
  • "Supreme" was the third single released from Williams' third album, Sing When You're Winning. The song peaked at #4 in the UK. Williams also recorded several international-language versions, with the French translation of the song peaking at #12 in France.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Angelo Moore of Fishbone

Angelo Moore of FishboneSongwriter Interviews

Fishbone has always enjoyed much more acclaim than popularity - Angelo might know why.

Alan Merrill of The Arrows

Alan Merrill of The ArrowsSongwriter Interviews

In her days with The Runaways, Joan Jett saw The Arrows perform "I Love Rock And Roll," which Alan Merrill co-wrote - that story and much more from this glam rock pioneer.

Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty

Rob Thomas of Matchbox TwentySongwriter Interviews

Rob Thomas on his Social Distance Sessions, co-starring with a camel, and his friendship with Carlos Santana.

Rufus Wainwright

Rufus WainwrightSongwriter Interviews

Rufus Wainwright on "Hallelujah," his album Unfollow The Rules, and getting into his "lyric trance" on 12-hour walks.

Classic Metal

Classic MetalFact or Fiction

Ozzy, Guns N' Roses, Judas Priest and even Michael Bolton show up in this Classic Metal quiz.

Ian Anderson: "The delight in making music is that you don't have a formula"

Ian Anderson: "The delight in making music is that you don't have a formula"Songwriter Interviews

Ian talks about his 3 or 4 blatant attempts to write a pop song, and also the ones he most connected with, including "Locomotive Breath."