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Within the cinematic interpretation of Robbie Williams’ life, there are two voice talents that have proved pivotal in enhancing the authenticity within the musical renditions of this film. To be more precise, musician Adam Tucker, based in King’s Lynn, Norfolk, lent his voice to singing for Williams himself, while West End actress Kayleigh McKnight sang vocals for the role of Nicole Appleton.
Tucker began when his friends said his voice was identical to Williams’, which led him to submit some recordings to the producers of the film. He dedicated himself to around 200 hours of re-recording Williams’ songs from May 2023 to August 2024. Tucker says that he prepared recording sessions to capture the spirit and dance steps of the musical sequences of the film. Tucker believes that almost 90% of the music played in the film is his voice.
The uniqueness of the film in its presentation of Williams as a CGI chimpanzee, with the voice and performance of Jonno Davies, complicates the filmmaking further. To capture the movements of Williams’ mouth, cameras were placed on Tucker to accurately record the CGI character’s lips to serve the realization of Tucker’s lip-sync with his singing voice.
McKnight’s contribution was more brief but just as effective. She was approached to audition by a friend, and she recorded herself singing “She’s The One” in her home, which led to a studio session that lasted about two days. Her version was used for a duet scene between Williams and Appleton’s characters, with McKnight stating that the filmmakers did not ask her to sound like Appleton’s original version, thus allowing her to interpret the song anew.
Tucker and McKnight have both mentioned surrealism to their contributions and a pride. Tucker said that ironically, he has finally gone on to get chart success without people knowing it is him, “Millions of people have heard me sing but only a small percentage of them know they’ve actually heard me sing.” McKnight says it was like being on “The Masked Singer” and the audience enjoys it, while she is enjoying her anonymity.
Their work hasn't only given biopic Williams in a new perspective but has equally drawn attention towards the forgotten artistic skills of session musicians and background vocalists-the very contributors giving authenticity and more emotional depth in musical films. As Better Man continues to entertain the globe at large, there stand two such voices of Tucker and McKnight and they stand testament that this is only possible by collaborations that form what this film.
