Robbie deal makes him rich beyond his dreams

POP star Robbie Williams said yesterday that he'd signed a new deal with record label EMI that makes him "rich beyond my wildest dreams".

Williams would not comment on a report in Britain's Sun newspaper that the multi-album contract was worth £80 million (€127 million).

EMI representatives could not immediately be reached for comment.

The 28-year-old performer said: "My mum said it would be really uncouth of me to talk about money but I'm rich beyond my wildest dreams." Asked what he planned to do with the cash, he replied, "I'm going to count it all".

Williams, speaking at the west London offices of his management company, was joined by Tony Wadsworth, head of EMI in Britain. "We have heard the new album Escapology and it is undoubtedly his best album yet," Wadsworth said.

"I'm looking forward to getting out there and performing it. This is the first album I'm really proud of," Williams said.

Under the deal, EMI will take a cut of Williams's touring, merchandising and publishing. Most artists get just a small percentage of the profits on record sales. Performing live is often where the real money is to be made.

Publishing profits also help to fill the coffers and, as co-author of most of his songs, Williams has benefited from this. Some of this now looks likely to go to the label. Williams, who first found fame with boy band Take That, has sold nearly 10 million albums in Britain, each one having topped the charts. He has won 13 Brit Awards.

An EMI's big-money deal proved costly in the past. The company signed Mariah Carey in 2001 in a deal reported to be worth as much as $100m (€101m). The company dropped her in January with a $28m (€28.38m) payout, after her first disc for the company, Glitter, was a poor seller.