Lovelight

About

Love Light was originally written and recorded by British soul musician Lewis Taylor in 2003. Robbie Williams covered the song for Rudebox after discovering it on DJ Tom Middleton’s compilation The Trip. The track was produced by Mark Ronson and released as the album’s second single on 13 November 2006, reaching number eight in the UK and charting across Europe.

Williams said he was immediately drawn to Taylor’s original, calling it “a song I fell in love with instantly.” The version he recorded with Ronson transforms the laid-back groove of the original into an energetic, brass-driven dance track. The arrangement combines funk and neo-soul influences, while Williams performs the entire song in falsetto, his first sustained use of that vocal style since “Tripping.”

“I knew that Lewis Taylor had done such a great vocal that it would be really hard to replicate, but I think I did good singing.”Robbie Williams

Backing vocals were provided by N'Dea Davenport of the Brand New Heavies, whose soulful harmonies complement Williams’s high-pitched delivery. The accompanying video, directed by Jake Nava, shows Williams performing amid flashing lights in a stylised warehouse setting, mixing choreography with live-band energy.

Love Light remains one of the most acclaimed tracks from Rudebox, showcasing Williams’s versatility and his fruitful collaboration with Ronson at a time when the producer’s career was also ascending.