Robbie Williams has signed the biggest recording deal in British music history, making him one of the highest paid singers in the world.
The former double-glazing salesman from Stoke-on-Trent squeezed £80m out of his recording company, EMI, for his next six albums, the first of which, Escapology, he already has in the can. Two of the six are likely to be greatest hits compilations.
In typical cheeky chappie fashion, Williams, who began his rollercoaster career at 16 with the UK boy band Take That, said: "I'm rich beyond my wildest dreams."
Asked outside his manager's office in London whether the contract was really worth £80m, nearly twice the previous British record payout to Elton John, he quipped: "My mum said it would be really uncouth of me to talk about money . . . I'm going back now to count it all."
But the hard sell was not long in coming as Williams claimed his new album, released next month, was his best. "That's not just a bunch of hot air, it really is the best thing I've ever done. It's the first album I'm really proud of."
The deal leapfrogs him over the Rolling Stones, REM, Michael Jackson and his sister Janet - who signed to Virgin for $80m - but still leaves him well short of the £130m that U2 wrangled from Polydor.
Williams has yet to crack the US market, although he is huge almost everywhere else, selling more than 4m albums in Europe alone. Each of his solo albums has sold more than the last, and even his less than warmly received compilation of Frank Sinatra songs, Swing When You're Winning, got a triple platinum.
But clearly not everyone is a fan. EMI's share price closed 1.75p down at 167.75p yesterday following the announcement of the deal.
One snag is that Williams, who has lately based himself in Los Angeles, needs to win American hearts.
He is likely to get only a trifling £10m upfront as the spectre of Mariah Carey looms large for EMI; they signed her to a $70m five-album deal only to have to buy her out for $20m after her first CD on it, Glitter, flopped.