United Kingdom, Feb. 10 -- Robbie Williams cried "happy tears" after buying Eric Morecambe's glasses and pipe.

The 'Angels' hitmaker - who turns 51 on 13 February - has revealed he was the mystery bidder who splashed out £20,000 at an auction last month to win the comedy legend's Metzler specs in imitation tortoiseshell, a Barling briar pipe and two photos of the late star, and explained he always viewed Eric as "an uncle of sorts" who he aspired to be like.

The lot had been expected to sell for around £2,000- £4,000 but as the price rose, Robbie urged his proxy to "keep bidding".

Sharing a selfie on Instagram with him wearing the glasses and clutching the pipe, the former Take That star wrote: "So I treated myself to a ...