When Jaeki Hildisch, longtime tour manager for Robbie Williams, is enjoying some downtime with his family, you’d think his employer’s voice would be the last thing he’d want in his ear.
Overhearing Williams’s dulcet tones blasting out from the speakers in a public place should produce a negative reaction, a nasty reminder of the hard work looming on the horizon.
But no. Instead, Hildisch and his family have a happy ritual – they stop whatever they are doing and thank Robbie for the music.
“We have this saying at home,” he laughs. “When we go out with the kids and spend money, if we see a picture of Robbie or hear a song, we all stop and say, ‘Thank you Robbie’.”
That is all very well, but what about when he sits through yet another encore of Angels, Williams' most-performed song, with a play count of 365 on setlist.com – surely you might expect the 56-year-old German to be sick to the stomach. Or at least see the irony. "I can honestly say no," he says. "It's funny, we'll be sitting backstage in an ugly little corridor or cabin, and there'll still be people mumbling along to it. We look at each other and can't believe it – it's been that long, and we still like the song. "That's what's nice, we all like what he's doing and nobody is cynical about his music. Well, sometimes a bit."
This sounds like PR-speak – but I am pretty sure that is not the case at all. Hildisch does not mince words. He describes recent gigs in Eastern Europe as “challenging”, and talks openly about backstage egos.
When asked about other famous employers he has no such amusing anecdotes. The few words he will offer to describe recent tours with Morrissey, for example, speak volumes.
“The thing with Morrissey – he’s such an interesting, important artist,” he says. “But by being so... maybe you have to go about things in different ways”. I’m left to conclude that Hildisch, who has worked with Robbie since 2004, just really likes his boss. Why? What’s he really like? “I find him very polite, very friendly, very do-to-earth, he says. But then he adds: “That might sound a little slimy, too black and white. “Obviously he’s a complicated, interesting artist. But working with him, he’s very structured, he knows what he’s got and wants to make it happen.”
Still, he stops short of a full kiss-and-tell expose of life behind the scenes. Is there much backstage revelry? Do you all go out on the town after a gig? “The band still does – they are still in the 20s and have fun after the show,” he says. “Most of the crew are in their 40s, so not anymore.”
What about Robbie himself? “Robbie has calmed down a lot,” says Hildisch. “He’s a family man now, which seems to make him very happy. The motivation of family gets more important as you grow older.”
Originally from Berlin, Hildisch primarily worked with German acts before joining Robbie’s entourage. He jokes that “probably the only reason” he landed the gig was stereotypes about his homeland’s punctuality and efficiency.
The singer’s decision to rejoin Take That in 2010 – temporarily, as it turned out – might have scared those dependant on Williams’ solo tours for their livelihood. But like many of Williams’ team, Hildisch was invited to join the boyband’s 20th anniversary Progress Live tour, the first to feature all five members in 15 years.
“It felt like everybody was quite relieved they were back together – there were bad feelings about the way they left things,” he says. “It was a great thing to do. In England, it was the biggest tour ever held – it’s just pop music, but when you see the effect they had on people you realise just how important they were to the culture.”
There must have been some pretty big egos backstage on that tour, I suggest. Surprisingly Hildisch bites, saying it is just another occupational hazard. “Yes, that is actually true,” he concedes. “Ego is an interesting animal, it can make all sorts of things happen – it can make the most absurd idea transform into reality, which is great. And sometimes ego is a nasty little pit-bull that wants to fight. For me it’s really interesting working with artistic, ego-driven people.”
• Robbie Williams performs at Du Arena, Yas Island on Saturday. Tickets prices start at Dh395 from www.ticketmaster.ae
