As Robbie Williams belted out his smash hit Angels, hundreds of revellers swayed and sang along. So lavishly lit and impeccably produced was Williams’ performance that he could have been on one of his sold-out arena tours. But this was no normal pop concert. This was St Petersburg in the spring of 2018, and the British singer was playing at a private party to celebrate the 25th anniversary of MegaFon, the Russian mobile phone company controlled by oligarch Alisher Usmanov.
Former Arsenal shareholder Usmanov was this month sanctioned by the UK government for being, in their words, “associated with individuals within the Government of Russia who are involved in destabilising and threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine”.
Williams is said to have played numerous private gigs in Russia or for Russians over the years. In 2014, he is reported to have performed in Moscow for an audience that included members of Vladimir Putin’s inner circle, while in 2016 he was reportedly paid £1.6 million for singing at the wedding of the daughter of oil magnate Rashid Sardarov. (He has performed very publicly too: in 2018 he played at the opening ceremony of the FIFA World Cup in Moscow.)
But the former Take That singer is far from alone. Elton John, Mariah Carey, Deep Purple, Christina Aguilera and the late Whitney Houston are among those to have played at private events for member of Russia’s elite either at home or abroad (not of all of whom, it should be said, are facing sanctioned for links to the Russian state).
Such shows have always been an accepted and lucrative side-hustle from the day job of being a pop star. Top musicians can command million-dollar fees for playing just a handful of songs. Their travel and accommodation are paid for. Entertaining rich Russians on the side provides a tidy revenue stream for relatively little work: a namecheck and a smile from the stage are followed by an actual cheque and, quite probably, an even broader smile. Hosts have bought the perception of closeness to stardom, while the stars have swollen their bank accounts for an easy gig.
