British singer Robbie Williams

Fans of Robbie Williams may have to wait for his new album for some more time, for his ex-manager has filed a writ petition against him over the inclusion of a song he believes is defamatory, casting doubts as to whether his new album will release on time.

Nigel Martin-Smith has reportedly filed a writ petition against Williams and his record label Chrysalis in the High Court, demanding 300,000 pounds in damages over a track on his forthcoming Rudebox CD.

Nigel is said to have made this move after the singer did not pay a heed to his demand to not release a song in the album called ‘The 90s’, the lyrics of which, he believes, are highly defamatory to him and are untrue.

Since the album is scheduled to be out on October 23, Williams’ lawyers will have to move quickly to avoid its release from being delayed.

A procedural judge will hear the initial stages of the action against Chrysalis Records, while his colleague will take up the early stages of the claim against Robbie.

The hearing is expected to last for weeks or even months, and this has become a cause of worry for Robbie’s record label, which has already shelled out a lot of money on the international marketing campaign to promote the album.

“The major problem is that thousands of pounds have already been spent on an international marketing campaign to promote the album. From the record label’s point of view the album has to come out on time,” the Sun quoted an insider as saying.