'I'm f**ked.' Robbie Williams performed a gig at the weekend. He had to stop after 4 songs.

‘Let me entertain you’... just right after I take a quick breather.

One of the most energetic and high-octane performers of our generation, Robbie Williams, wasn't his usual self this weekend when he stopped mid-song during an appearance at a festival. 

Looking exhausted and out of breath, the 49-year-old singer hunched over before asking his band to stop playing while on stage at the Pinkpop Festival in Netherlands.

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As he drew in deep breaths and rubbed his eye, he told the audience the reason behind his exhaustion was due to suffering from Long COVID. “No, stop, stop,” he said. “I’m f**ked. I’m f**ked. It’s Long COVID, I’ve got Long COVID. It’s not my f**king age, you f**kers.” 

Thankfully, after a quick breather, Williams found the strength to crack on, finishing his set. 

The former Take That singer has been very open about his journey with COVID-19, revealing that he contracted the virus twice - once in April 2020 and a second time in January 2021. 

During one of his bouts of COVID, he opened up to The Sun about how scary some of his symptoms were. "I could feel my body was getting lethargic and tired and heavy and I convinced myself I'd got coronavirus,” he said. “I never normally do it but I got down on my knees and prayed. I thought about my wife and family."

The second time around he contracted the virus while overseas on holidays with his wife, Ayda and their four children in St Barts. They ended up isolating for three weeks while recovering from COVID-19. 

While there are worse places in the world to be sick, it’s no wonder Williams has been reportedly hit with long COVID after battling the illness twice.

Long COVID has been spoken about widely over the past couple of years and as more research is released, we are learning more about the devastating ongoing health effects of this pandemic. 

According to the Australian Department of Health and Aged Care, the most common Long COVID symptoms include fatigue, shortness of breath and ‘brain fog’ lasting longer than four weeks-post contracting the virus. 

Apparently it can take up to three or four months to recover from Long COVID although as time goes on, although many have reported suffering for far longer without improvement. 

In September, 2022 Minister for Health and Aged Care, the Hon Mark Butler MP successfully lobbied for further research and reporting to be conducted in order to learn more about Long COVID. 

Listen to No Filter, On this episode. Tracey Spicer speaking about how she became one of the unlucky ones: a sufferer of the dreaded Long Covid. Post continues below.

As for Robbie Williams, while he's struggling, it seems he's not going to give up his day job anytime soon.

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