Angels (Better Man)

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Angels provides the emotional core of Better Man and its soundtrack. Originally released in 1997 on Life Thru a Lens, the song is reinterpreted by Dan Romer with a sweeping orchestral arrangement that highlights its tenderness and universality. In the film, the piece soundtracks the sequence of Robbie’s grandmother’s death, intercut with his Top of the Pops performance, binding themes of loss, faith and resilience into a single cinematic crescendo.

The new recording preserves the famous piano motif but expands it into a choral and string-led composition that underlines the film’s spiritual tone. Adam Tucker’s vocal merges with Williams’s to create a seamless blend of innocence and maturity, while subtle tempo shifts enhance the sense of mourning and transcendence. Gracey’s editing weaves between stage performance and funeral procession, with Angels uniting the two worlds through sound and emotion.

Williams has said that the song’s meaning evolved over time, becoming more personal as he associated it with family and reflection. In the film, that transformation becomes literal, as the lyric “I sit and wait, does an angel contemplate my fate?” connects the public icon on stage with the private grandson at a graveside.

“I’ve sung Angels thousands of times, but this version felt different. It became about memory and gratitude, not just survival.”Robbie Williams

Elegant and devastating, Angels closes the emotional arc of Better Man. Its orchestral grandeur and cinematic context reaffirm the song’s place as Williams’s signature work—reborn here as a hymn to love, loss and endurance.