British singer Robbie Williams has not less than 14 tattoos on his body. The count changes according to how you group the tattoos together. Aside from music, body ink has really been one of his obsessions. He’s got tattoos of different sorts and designs almost covering his whole body.
On his right upper thigh is a Pagan Celtic Cross which was done while he was still part of the pop group Take That. As he described in one of his interviews, he’s got the devil inside him and that cross tattoo is meant to protect him from such inner demons.
Located on his left shoulder is a big Maori tribal design in a partial sleeve from his shoulder to halfway down his biceps. The design is exquisitely detailed with rounded waves as signs of the twists and turns in life. One of the sources says that the Maori tribal tattoo was done by a famous Dutch tattoo artist, Henk Schiffmacher, while another source says that it was done by Te Ranginu Netana in New Zealand. The Maori tattoo is believed to represent Williams’ life.
Williams’ right arm is designed with a face of a lion with inscriptions above and below it. The tattoo is a representation of a young male lion, the universally accepted symbol of power, with detailed features. “Elvis, grant me serenity”, are the words inscribed above it, while “Born to be mild”, are found underneath. Just like the cross, the lion tattoo is also for protection.
Another tattoo found in Robbie Williams’ body is the Eye of Horus, the ancient Egyptian falcon god, also called the “all-seeing eye”. Williams had this tattoo done at the back of his neck in 2004 as a shield from evil spirits and for good luck.
Also believed for protection is what Robbie calls the “Christian.” It was done in New Zealand in July 2000. The “Christian” is a rendering of the crucifixion – Jesus Christ on the cross with Mary and some angels.
In May 2003, Robbie had a pair of swallows tattooed on his abdomen. These tattoos are a symbol for freedom and loyalty and probably an expression of Williams’ love for these abstract ideas.
Under his left arm, Robbie Williams has a Crest tattoo, a tattoo of the coat of arms of the town of Burslem. Burslem is known as the Mother Town, and one of the six towns that form the current city of Stroke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, in the Midlands of England. It is the place where Robbie and his family moved to after he was born.
On Robbie’s lower back is the musical score for the chorus of the famous Beatles classic, “All You Need Is Love.”
Aside from the above-mentioned pictorial tattoos, Robbie also has word tattoos all over his body.