Two thousand Robbie Williams fans packed the London Astoria on Saturday night to watch their idol.

In the small, intimate venue Williams wooed the crowd with a collection of old hits and tracks from his new album, Intensive Care, due to be released on October 24.

It was the second of three warm-up gigs before its official launch at the Velodrom in Berlin, Germany, on October 9. Williams performed in Paris on Thursday and will perform again in Amsterdam on Wednesday.

Chants of "Robbie, Robbie", reverberated around the venue before Williams, dressed in blue jeans, black leather jacket and blue T-shirt with a sparkling motif, came on stage.

The sound as he entered the stage was deafening. The audience was a sea of arms and mobile phones held aloft by fans to take photos of their idol.

The first track, Ghosts, a song from his new album, met with a mixed reception, though when Williams teased the largely female crowd with lyrics like "I'm taking you home", they roared with approval.

Next Williams and his six-strong band launched into his smash hit "Feel" and the crowd burst into song.

His song Angels brought a similarly rapturous reception. He said afterwards: "I'm feeling very lucky because in my life I get so many moments when I think 'oh my god, how do you take this' and that was another one of those moments. It is not the first time I have sung that song, but when I see all your faces looking at me it's really great. I want to thank you for being part of this moment."

Later Williams singled out fan Tracy Dowling, 44, in the upper tier describing how he had just made a "connection" with her. For Ms Dowling, of Crystal Palace, it was all too much: "I love you, I love you," she said before bursting into tears.

During his 90-minute set, Williams played three more tracks from his new album, including Sin Sin Sin, and Tripping, due to be released on Monday, which Williams insists was inspired by The Clash. Neither Sin Sin Sin nor Tripping wowed the crowds like Feel or Angel, but fan Natalie Collins, 24, insisted Williams had not lost his touch, saying: "I loved it, it's brilliant."