Robbie slays young ones at Slane

The EGO landed in Slane Castle on Saturday night, and 80,000 eager fans welcomed his arrival with a deafening show of young lung power. If Robbie Williams didn't have a big head before he went on stage at 8.30 p.m., the fervent screams of his Irish fans would have inflated it to the size of the TnaG balloon which hovered over the castle earlier that evening.

The former Take That singer, however, admitted that he was feeling nervous as he prepared to give the biggest performance of his career.

Saturday night's show at Slane Castle was televised live on Sky 1 and on the Web. It was also being filmed for release on DVD next Christmas. Williams, whose career almost crashed to earth a couple of years ago in a haze of drinking and drug-taking, was under pressure to get it right on the night. Two days before Saturday's gig, Williams and his band performed the entire show in front of a handful of stagehands and Castle staff, a full dress rehearsal for the big one.

When the final support act, The Stereophonics, finished their set on Saturday evening, it was still bright and nearly cloudless in Slane. By the time Williams burst on stage to the strains of Also Sprach Zarathustra, darkness had descended on the Castle, the stage lights went up, and the greatest rock 'n' roll show of 1999 got under way.

Opening with the crowd-rousing Let Me Entertain You, Williams leaped, lunged and legged it around the big stage, doing cartwheels and somersaults and giving the cameramen a run for their money.

Among the guests at Slane Castle were U2 guitarist the Edge, U2 manager Paul Mc Guinness, Dundalk pop stars the Corrs, and designer John Rocha. Northern Secretary Mo Mowlam, a close friend of the Mount Charles family, caused the biggest buzz when she arrived at Slane for the second year in a row. Lord Mount Charles and his wife, Iona Mount Charles, were delighted that Slane 1999 ran smoothly and uneventfully.

For the thousands who trekked in to see Robbie Williams, however, the day was anything but uneventful.

After the concert, the fans faced a long, slow traffic crawl. Williams and his entourage, however, were whisked by limousine back to Dublin, where a party was held at the Merrion Hotel.