Been wondering why pop singer Robbie Williams has disappeared from public view over the last couple of years? Apparently, he’s taken time off from showbiz to become an alien hunter.

An article in the Guardian today paints a portrait of Williams, sporting a new beard, as a man searching for big and unconventional truths. The singer, accompanied by actress girlfriend Ayda Field, jets across America, attending UFO conferences, such as the one in Laughlin, Nevada, and talks directly to the “experiencers”. One woman claimed her son was being regularly abducted by aliens, while surgeon Roger Leir boasted of removing alien implants from human victims.

Williams’ mother was a tarot card fortune teller and he always felt a little shut out from that side of her life. Perhaps this is his way of trying to reconnect.

I have to commend Williams for publicly admitting to an interest in UFOs. Most celebs who do so are mocked as nutters, although fear of ridicule didn’t stop either Jimmy Carter or Ronald Reagan from claiming to have seen one.

No major candidate in this year’s presidential race has yet expressed a view on UFOs, although fringe candidate Dennis Kucinich did so and was mocked for it. Hillary did at least attend the same UFO conference as Williams, but refused to say anything.

Check out this site for more on UFOs.