Robbie Williams has said he purchased Eric Morecambe’s glasses and pipe at auction as he has always seen the comedian as an “uncle of sorts” whose “spirit has been salve for my soul”.
The singer said he cried “happy, childlike tears” after winning the bidding war last month with a final offer of £20,000, far exceeding the £2,000 to £4,000 estimate.
The imitation tortoiseshell glasses by Metzler, said to be synonymous with Morecambe’s sharp wit and comedic persona, were sold alongside his Barling briar pipe and two black-and-white photographs of him with the spectacles.
A lifetime of showbiz memorabilia and personal items from the comic’s former home, Brachefield in Harpenden, Hertfordshire, went on sale in January, almost 10 months after the death of his widow Joan, aged 97, in March 2024.
In an Instagram post featuring photos of Williams using the glasses and pipe, he said he treated himself to the items ahead of his 51st birthday on Thursday and after undergoing months of press for his new semi-autobiographical film Better Man.
The Angels singer recalled appointing Mike, a member of his team who handles his digital presence, to be “chief bidder” as he was in Los Angeles about to board a plane as the auction got under way.
“As it happens, I got to watch the lot being auctioned live. My iPhone and Mike’s iPhone acting like walkie-talkies”, he wrote.
“’What should I do Ayd’s?’ I nervously kept asking my wife. ‘Keep bidding’ Ayda says with the steely determination of someone bursting through an electronics store door on Black Friday.
“‘Keep going Mike’ I say. This vignette of conversation would repeat itself several times over the next 10 minutes.”
He said their determination to secure the lot raised to a “primal competitive and irrational” level, with Williams apparently saying to his wife that they were now going through their children’s inheritance, which he said she dismissed.
Once he won the bidding war, Williams said he cried “happy, childlike tears”.
“You see, I guess we all need friends-we-never-meet from off the telly. Eric has always been mine. An uncle of sorts”, he wrote.
“To the very core of me, Eric Morecambe’s spirit has been salve for my soul. How Eric made me feel is how I want to make people feel. What a gift to be able to create such joy and have that joy be present just by thinking of them.”
He said he would consult the comic’s glasses when he had questions and hoped to “maybe get some answers”.
The singer added: “Eric, you were and are the very best of the very best. That sunshine you asked for, you gave to me”, before signing off the post with “Your Fan, Robert x”.
Hanson Auctioneers offered Morecambe’s belongings in 700 lots on January 10 and 11, more than 40 years after the comic died of a heart attack aged 58 in 1984.
Williams rose to fame in Take That alongside Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Mark Owen and Jason Orange before he left the group in 1995 in the middle of their Nobody Else world tour.
During their time together, the group became one of Britain’s biggest boy bands, evoking hysteria reminiscent of The Beatles and notching up a host of number one hits and selling millions of albums in the 1990s.
After tensions arose among the group, Williams went on to pursue a solo career, cementing his status as an entertainer and hitmaker with songs including Rock DJ and Angels.
His new film Better Man follows the singer’s childhood, time in Take That and solo career, while exploring the issues fame can bring.
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