Cheap Love Song

About

Cheap Love Song appeared as a B-side to South of the Border and was co-written by Robbie Williams, Owen Morris, and Chris Abbott. The track leans heavily into Britpop production, loud guitars, upbeat tempo, and soaring vocals, reflecting Morris's background as a producer for Oasis and The Verve.

At its core, the song is about the endless search for genuine connection amid fleeting romance. Lines like “Same old crowds but different faces, it's love we lost but we're still chasing” reveal a blend of resignation and optimism, showing Williams' awareness of the cycle of fame and relationships that defined his early twenties.

Owen Morris brought his distinctive production sensibility to the session, layering the mix with the punchy wall-of-sound energy he'd helped pioneer on Definitely Maybe. The result is one of Williams' most sonically confident B-sides from the Life Thru a Lens period, full of sharp rhythm changes and melodic hooks.

I wanted it to sound like the records I loved at the time — big, noisy, emotional. It was about chasing something real in the middle of all that madness.Robbie Williams

Though Williams himself has joked about preferring Falling in Bed (Again) to this track, Cheap Love Song offers an interesting bridge between the rawness of his early singles and the refinement of his later albums. It showcases both his melodic instincts and his willingness to experiment with producers outside his core team of Chambers and Power.