Robbie Williams confirms 15-date stadium tour

The Take That star wants to put on a tour of 'great magnitude while I still can'

Robbie Williams has reached Number 1 with "Candy" (PA)

Robbie Williams has announced a European stadium tour - to seal his place "in pop history".

Williams, 38, said it was "legacy time" and he was going to put on a tour of "great magnitude while I still can".

He said he had been "lethargic" with his last couple of albums but the birth of his daughter and his reunion with Take That had re-invigorated him.

"The rumours are true. I'm getting Robbie Williams back together again", the Angels star joked.

The tour - his first full tour for more than six years - kicks off in Manchester next June before travelling to Glasgow and London's Wembley Stadium.

X Factor star Olly Murs will be supporting Williams on the 15-date tour.

Speaking at a press conference in a London hotel, Williams said: "I'm buzzing. I'm ready to go. I haven't done a tour of this size since 2006.

"I believe that I'm at the place in my career where it's time to put my foot down and go 'This is what I do'. It's legacy time for me.

"I'm getting my handicap down in golf and all that business. I'm nearly 40, that's what I'm trying to say.

"I don't know how many times I will get given this opportunity... I want to go and seal my place in pop history."

He said he wanted to do a tour "of great magnitude while I still can" and "while people are still interested in seeing it".

"I've got a couple more (tours) left. I just want to put my stamp down... Say remember me... This is where I'm most at home on a good night," Williams said.

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He admitted: "The fact that 40 is looming plays more on my mind than it does anyone else's mind because pop stars cease to be pop stars at 40 and start to be old people singing, don't they?"

Williams said the tour did not mark the end of his reunion with Take That.

He said the warm reviews for this month's three-night residency at the O2 brought a "tear to my eye".

The Candy star said he would take new baby girl Theodora Rose on tour with him, which would result in him getting more sleep than he has on previous tours.

He said of his first tour as a father: "Perhaps I will be a bit more calm. She's a very, very calming presence. Already I feel that something cosmically has changed within me and I don't know what it is but I feel happier as a person and a bit more grounded as a person. That's happened naturally.

"She's coming with us, of course. It probably means I'll get more sleep because she's there, not less because she's there.

"She's rounding off my rough edges as the weeks progress in her life so far."

PA