"Intensive Care" is the sixth studio album by English singer-songwriter Robbie Williams, released on October 24, 2005, in the United Kingdom. Produced by Stephen Duffy and Williams, it marked the first album not produced by longtime collaborator Guy Chambers. The album features four singles: "Tripping," "Make Me Pure," "Advertising Space," and "Sin Sin Sin." Like his previous albums, Intensive Care topped charts in multiple countries and was promoted through the Close Encounters Tour, which ran from April to December 2006.
After touring Latin America in late 2004 to promote his Greatest Hits album, Williams began working on Intensive Care, recording primarily in his Hollywood Hills bedroom. Co-written with Stephen Duffy over 24 months, the album was launched in Berlin on October 9, 2005, and broadcast globally in high-definition. The artwork, created by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely, was designed to depict Williams as a superhero, featuring symbols that Morrison claimed could activate a "Golden Age" if enough people interacted with the album.
Demos for Intensive Care started on June 12, 2003, with the duo recording throughout that summer. By March 2004, they had produced several demos, including tracks that would later appear on the album and his Greatest Hits compilation.
Upon its release, Intensive Care became a worldwide hit, reaching number one in the UK with 373,832 copies sold in its first week and topping charts in over twenty countries. It was the best-selling album in Europe by the end of 2005, with sales exceeding four million copies. Williams won the MTV Europe Music Award for 'Best Male' and set a Guinness World Record for selling 1.6 million tickets in a single day for his 2006 world tour. In January 2007, it was reported that the album had sold over five million copies in Europe, achieving 5× Platinum certification in both Europe and the UK. The album has sold approximately 6.2 million copies worldwide. Williams' Close Encounters Tour attracted more than 2.5 million attendees in its early stages.
