Killing Me (Rehearsal Recording, Spring 1997)

About

Killing Me appears as a rehearsal recording on CD3 of the 25th anniversary edition of Life Thru a Lens. Captured in spring 1997, the recording documents the song during band rehearsals rather than a formal studio take, preserving the atmosphere of a working performance as Robbie Williams and his collaborators prepared material for recording and live use.

The song was written by Williams with Guy Chambers, whose partnership was by this stage central to the album’s development. The rehearsal recording is structurally very close to the finished album version, suggesting the song was already largely complete. The arrangement is straightforward and unembellished, allowing the focus to remain on vocal delivery and emotional weight.

Lyrically, Killing Me explores emotional dependence, exhaustion and the strain of a relationship that oscillates between comfort and pain. In rehearsal form, these themes feel especially direct. Williams’ vocal is raw and expressive, with audible imperfections that reinforce the song’s vulnerability and sense of urgency.

Musically, the performance has a live, almost intimate quality. The band plays with restraint, supporting rather than driving the vocal, and the lack of studio polish gives the recording an immediacy that contrasts with the more controlled album take. This version emphasises feeling over precision.