IT is nearly 40 years old, but Phil Collins’ debut single “In The Air Tonight” is rocketing back up the charts for a surprising reason.
It’s an oldie?
The track - which was the singer’s debut solo single - was released in January of 1981 and was an instant hit. It peaked at number two in the UK at a time when the posthumous release of John Lennon’s “Woman” held the top spot.
That drum solo?
Regarded as Collins’ signature track, the song is famous for its drum break toward the end, which has been described as “the sleekest, most melodramatic drum break in history”. Collins said that “nobody had ever heard anything like that” before, adding: “Frankly, drums were never that loud. But it was my album, and it worked. We were playing with psychological things. The audience is there going along with you, and then suddenly you knock them on the head with this thing, ‘Bvoom-bvoom!’”
What’s the song about?
Lyrics including, “Well, if you told me you were drowning, I would not lend a hand” and “I was there and I saw what you did, I saw it with my own two eyes” sparked an urban myth that Collins witnessed from afar a drowning incident where someone who was close enough to help the victim chose not do so.
However?
In reality, the 69-year-old London-born singer has said that the song was written as he went through a divorce and that “it’s the angry side or the bitter side of a separation”.
It’s back in the charts all these years on?
It’s rocketing up iTunes in the UK and the US, with numbers provided by music analytics firm Alpha Data showing it was the fourth biggest selling song of last week in the States, up from number 185 the week before, and it’s still rising in the top 20 in the UK.
What’s behind its return?
The surge in streaming and sales has been sparked by 22-year-old twins from Gary, Indiana. YouTubers Tim and Fred Williams’ record ‘First Time Hearing’ videos as they listen to music that is new to them, and “In the Air Tonight” - and in particular the drum break - blew them away. Their video has garnered 3.3 million views on YouTube so far, as well as many more million views on social media., with the twins exclaiming: “I ain’t never seen nobody drop a beat three minutes into a song!”
What’s Collins up to these days?
Collins’ health has been an issue over the years after nerve damage in his back sustained while performing left him unable to play the drums to his full ability. Last year, he toured the world with his “Still Not Dead Yet” tour, on which his teenage son played the drums.
Genesis?
The star, who was omnipresent in the 1980s, announced earlier this year that he had reunited with core Genesis members Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks to take the band back on the road in November and December. Due to the pandemic, the reunion tour has been postponed till next year, with The Last Domino taking place in April 2021, including gigs in Glasgow at the SSE Hydro on April 1 and 2.
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