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IN-DEPTH SONG HOME COVER VERSIONS YOUR VIEWS "In the Air Tonight" Phil Collins Phil Collins' dramatic debut single soared to number 2 in the UK charts in 1981, launching his career as a solo singer and songwriter. It hit the top ten a second time around in 1988 thus ensuring its position as one of the definitive pop tunes of the decade. Following a lengthy tour with Genesis and the subsequent break-up of his first marriage, Collins had retreated to his home studio and thrown himself into songwriting. The result was platinum-selling album, Face Value and a brace of hits including "In The Air Tonight". "I brought out the cassette and played it and he was genuinely excited by it." Hear Phil Collins talk about how he and rec exec Ahmet Ertegun hatched "In the Air Tonight" Audio help Collins once performed his hit on Top Of The Pops with a workbench and a pot of paint next to him on the stage, leading to speculation that the song was intended as a sideswipe at his ex-wife who'd had a relationship with a decorator. But Collins has put this down to coincidence. "The drum machine had to be put on something so we thought we'll get a tea chest. In between takes, a pot of paint arrived." Hear Phil Collins explain how that pot of paint got there Audio help The dramatic drums at the climax of the song sound quite artificial, but they were not produced by a drum machine, but by Phil on his drum kit. Producer Hugh Padgham used a technique called gated-reverb to produce Phil Collins's trademark drum sound. Usually, drums continue to reverberate after they've been hit. In this case, this reverberation is cut short – it extends beyond the end of that first drum sound (stick hitting skin) but then it abruptly stops. "In The Air Tonight" captured the synthesized pop sound of the 80s and was used in the first episode of one of the decade's signature TV shows, Miami Vice. It was remixed and re-released it in 1988 and it went back to #4 in the UK charts. Recommended Reading Phil Collins: The Definitive Biography. Ray Coleman. Published 1997, Simon & Schuster. It's the drum sound in particular that's amazing Stuart Maconie Listen to Stuart Maconie on "In The Air Tonight" READ MORE COMMENTS... Make a comment Your Name and Town/City: Your Message: Songwriting tips Get to grips with the art of writing lyrics in the Songwriting Guides Test your knowledge Have a go at the "In the Air Tonight" quiz! Newsletter sign-up Sign up for updates on new songs, documentaries and live events Like this song? Try these... Cry Me A River Julie London DON'T MISS Doves Special guests on Dermot's show this week What's on Radio 2 Documentaries Find out more about current and forthcoming documentaries on Radio 2.

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