Robbie Williams promises free Irish concert

DUBLIN, June 10 (Reuters) British pop star Robbie Williams promised Irish fans a free concert after kicking off the summer leg of his world tour in Dublin with what he said was a disappointing performance yesterday.

The 32-year-old, who said he wished he'd opened his sell-out ''Close Encounter'' tour in a village hall rather than in front of 90,000 screaming fans, made the promise after a stunt at the end of the show failed to come off.

Williams was meant to descend on a gondola from a rig above the stage during his song ''Let Me Entertain You'' but the device didn't work and Williams was forced to rush back down to the stage.

After the song, Williams admitted what had happened and said he didn't feel he had performed as well as he could. His pledge to host a free gig was greeted with huge applause and cheers from an already animated audience packed into Dublin's Croke Park stadium.

''I'll be back before the end of the year,'' he said.

REUTERS KD RK0908