In and Out of Love

About

In and Out of Love was written by Robbie Williams, Kelvin Andrews and Danny Spencer, and produced by Soul Mekanik. It was released in December 2007 as an exclusive download for long-standing members of Williams’s Inner Sanctum fan community. Later regarded as one of the hidden gems from the Rudebox sessions, the song captures the darker, more introspective side of the dance-inspired material he was creating at the time.

Built around a pulsing electronic groove, the track combines melancholy disco tones with Williams’s typically wry lyrics. He described it as “dark disco for free and for Christmas,” and likened its storytelling to the conversational style of Suggs from Madness. The verses detail an on-off relationship with lines such as “I can make no sense of the nonsense, said that thing that I said in bed,” while the chorus brings a touch of Pet Shop Boys-style melancholy with the refrain “In and out of love, just like anyone.”

“It’s dark disco for free and for Christmas. Danny and Kelvin brought the track in with the chorus, and I just added some words and a melody-ish for the verses.”Robbie Williams

Though never officially released on an album, In and Out of Love shows the creative chemistry between Williams and Soul Mekanik that fuelled much of Rudebox. Its bittersweet lyrics, rich synth layers and understated vocal performance reveal a more thoughtful, late-night aspect of his electronic experiments.