Party Like a Russian

"Party Like a Russian" is a song by British singer-songwriter Robbie Williams, released as the lead single from his eleventh studio album The Heavy Entertainment Show (2016). The single was released in the United Kingdom on 30 September 2016. The song was written by Robbie Williams, Guy Chambers and Chris Heath. The chorus of the song samples Sergei Prokofiev's Montagues and Capulets.^[1]

"Party Like a Russian"
Single by Robbie Williams
from the album The Heavy Entertainment Show
Released	30 September 2016
Recorded	June – July 2015
Length	3:02
Label	Columbia
Songwriter(s)	Robert Williams Guy Chambers Sergei Prokofiev Chris Heath
Producer(s)	Guy Chambers Richard Flack
Robbie Williams singles chronology
"The Days" (2014) "Party Like a Russian" (2016) "Love My Life" (2016)
Music video
"Party Like a Russian" on YouTube

Background and lyrics

An email that surfaced due to the Surkov leaks revealed that Russian businessman Roman Abramovich hired Williams to headline a New Year's dinner for President Putin's inner circle. The party took place in Moscow in 2014 and appears to have been the inspiration for "Party Like a Russian".^[2]

The lyrics to the song deal with Russian oligarchs who funnel enormous sums of money overseas, to the detriment of the Russian people, with much of it going to ridiculous yachts and other excesses. Williams starts the song with "It takes a certain kind of man with a certain reputation, to alleviate the cash from a whole entire nation, take my loose change and build my own space station." Later, commenting on his yacht, he sings "It takes half the Western world just to keep the ship afloat".

He also sings, "Ain't no refutin' or disputin' – I'm a modern Rasputin."^[3] Williams dismissed speculation that the song was an oblique criticism of Vladimir Putin, writing on Twitter that "this song is definitely not about Mr Putin",^[4] and elsewhere observing that "Russians are ridiculously good partiers".^[5][3][6]

Music video

The music video for the song satirizes the hedonistic parties of the Russian elites. It drew criticism for its portrayal of Russian culture.^[3][5]

Charts

Chart (2016)	Peak position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[7]	39
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[8]	18
CIS Airplay (TopHit)[9]	181
France (SNEP)[10]	66
Germany (GfK)[11]	72
Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)[12]	12
Hungary (Single Top 40)[13]	30
Italy (FIMI)[14]	42
Scotland (OCC)[15]	19
Slovakia (Rádio Top 100)[16]	38
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[17]	45
UK Singles (OCC)[18]	68
UK Singles Downloads (OCC)[19]	23

References

1. "Robbie Williams's 'Party Like a Russian' – Discover the Sample Source". WhoSampled. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
2. Tucker, Maxim (28 October 2016). "Email leak reveals Robbie entertained top Putin aide". The Sunday Times.
3. Kashin, Oleg (5 October 2016). "Russians outraged by 'crude stereotyping' in Robbie Williams video". The Guardian.
4. Williams, Robbie [@robbiewilliams] (30 September 2016). "I love you Dan but this song is definitely not about Mr Putin x" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
5. Hume, Tim; Burrows, Emma (5 October 2016). "Robbie Williams accused of stereotyping Russians in new single". CNN.
6. Natalia Antonova (2016-10-06). "Robbie Williams is right – Russians sure do know how to party". The Guardian.
7. "Robbie Williams – Party Like a Russian" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
8. "Robbie Williams – Party Like a Russian" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
9. Robbie Williams — Party Like a Russian. TopHit. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
10. "Le Top de la semaine : Top Singles Téléchargés – SNEP (Week 46, 2016)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
11. "Robbie Williams – Party Like a Russian" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
12. "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Rádiós Top 40 játszási lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
13. "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
14. "Classifica settimanale WK 46" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
15. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
16. "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201642 into search. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
17. "Robbie Williams – Party Like a Russian". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
18. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
19. "Official Singles Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 October 2016.