The hitmaker, 51, has never been afraid to speak his mind and now the pop legend has confessed he pulled the plug on his album release after realising he'd be going up against Taylor Swift.

The singer tells BBC Radio 1 he is determined to claim a record 16th British number one album.

Singer Robbie Williams opens up about Taylor Swift during the smallest show of his career which ended at 1am, as well as his wife Ayda and Oasis

Robbie Williams has always been a much bigger deal in the UK than in the US, but even overseas, he has to navigate his career around the obstacle that is Taylor Swift like anyone else. As Billboard reports, the veteran British pop star played his smallest-ever ticketed show Thursday night at the 600-capacity London club Camden’s Dingwalls. He used the intimate underplay to perform his debut album Life Thru A Lens in full, after which he played songs from his upcoming album Britpop. During the gig, Williams revealed that the show was originally scheduled to coincide with the release of the new LP, but he pushed back the release date to February to avoid competing with Taylor Swift’s new album The Life Of A Showgirl.

Robbie Williams admitted he delayed his new album 'Britpop' to avoid competition with Taylor Swift as he seeks a new U.K. albums chart record.