PHIL COLLINS - IN THE AIR TONIGHT

Publicació: 9 de gener de 1981

Llistes: EUA: #19  Regne Unit: #2

"In The Air Tonight" és el single debut en solitari del bateria i cantautor anglès Phil Collins. Va ser llançat com el senzill principal de l'àlbum de debut "Face Value".

"In The Air Tonight" es va convertir en un mite urbà generalitzat. La història, que no és certa, és que Collins va veure com un home que violava la seva dona s'ofegava. Una altra versió diu que Collins va escriure la cançó sobre un home que va veure un altre ofegar-se. Una altra variació afirma que quan Collins era un nen petit, va presenciar com un home ofegava algú, però estava massa lluny per ajudar. Més tard, va contractar un detectiu privat per trobar l'home, li va enviar una entrada gratuïta per al seu concert on va estrenar la cançó amb el focus sobre l'home tot el temps. Aquestes històries (que repetim, no són certes) es van difondre de boca en boca, després a mitjans dels anys 90, quan les sales de xat i els taulers de missatges van començar a aparèixer a Internet on sovint eren un tema de debat. La llegenda urbana que envolta aquesta cançó se centra al voltant de la frase: "Si em diguessis que t'estàs ofegant, no et donaria la mà". Collins ha explicat que l'ofegament és simbòlic, que representa el dolor i la ràbia que sentia en aquell moment. La frase realment connectava com una reprovació, entrant al lèxic juntament amb dites com "No et donaria l'hora del dia" i "no si fossis l'última persona a la Terra". Parlant amb Rolling Stone el 2016, Collins va dir: "Aquesta cançó s'ha convertit en una pedra al meu coll, tot i que m'encanta". Va afegir que la majoria de la gent no té ni idea de què tracta la cançó, però això està bé. "M'agrada una mica el misteri", va dir.

Les cançons de downtempo com aquesta poques vegades presenten grans pauses de bateria, però la d'aquesta cançó és massiva, vigoritzant la pista al minut 3:40. Collins va dir a Uncut: "No vaig pensar l’arrenjament de bateria, el vaig fer en aquella presa en particular i aquesta és la que vam fer servir. No ens vam asseure allà pensant:" Oh noi, es quedaran amb la boca oberta quan escoltin això!' No va ser així".

"In The Air Tonight" va ser el primer senzill de Phil Collins com a artista solista; afirma que la va oferir com a cançó de Genesis, però que els seus companys la van rebutjar, dient que era "massa senzilla". Tony Banks de Genesis insisteix que Collins mai els va tocar la cançó.

Collins va tocar-la a Live Aid, el concert benèfic celebrat el 1985. Hi havia escenaris a Londres i Filadèlfia, i Collins, amb l'ajuda de les diferències horàries i un avió molt ràpid (el Concorde), va poder actuar a tots dos escenaris, interpretant-la a cadascun d’ells.

La cançó ha arribat a les llistes al Regne Unit en tres ocasions diferents. En el seu llançament original l'any 1981, va assolir el número 2. El 1988, una remescla del DJ i productor holandès Ben Liebrand va arribar al número 4. Finalment, el 2007, després que la cançó aparegués en un anunci de televisió de Cadbury's Dairy Milk, amb un goril·la que tocava una bateria, la cançó va arribar al número 14.

PHIL COLLINS - IN THE AIR TONIGHT

Released: January 9, 1981

Charted:  US: #19    UK: #2 

"In The Air Tonight"  is the debut solo single by English drummer and singer-songwriter Phil Collins. It was released as the lead single from Collins's debut solo album “Face Value”. 

"In The Air Tonight" became a pervasive urban myth. The story, which is not true, is that Collins watched as a man who raped his wife drowned. Another version has Collins writing the song about a man who watched another drown, and singing it to him at a concert. Yet another variation claims that when Collins was a young boy, he witnessed a man drowning someone, but was too far away to help. Later, he hired a private detective to find the man, sent him a free ticket to his concert, and premiered the song that night with the spotlight on the man the whole time. These stories (which we repeat, are not true) spread by word of mouth, then in the mid-'90s when chat rooms and message boards started showing up on the internet they were often a topic of debate. The urban legend surrounding this song centers around the line, "If you told me you were drowning, I would not lend a hand." Collins has explained that the drowning is symbolic, representing the pain and anger he was feeling at the time. The line really connected as a rebuke, entering the lexicon along with sayings like "I wouldn't give you the time of day" and "not if you were the last person on Earth." Speaking with Rolling Stone in 2016, Collins said, "This song has become a stone around my neck, though I do love it." He added that most people have no idea what the song is about, but that's OK. "I kind of like the mystery," he said.

Downtempo songs like this one rarely feature huge drum breaks, but the one in this song is massive, invigorating the track at the 3:40 mark. Collins told Uncut: "I didn't think about the drum fill, I just did it that particular take and that's the one we used. We didn't sit there thinking, 'Oh boy, their mouths are going to be dropping when they hear this!' It was nothing like that."

"In The Air Tonight" was Phil Collins' first single as a solo artist; he claims that he offered it up as a Genesis song, but that his bandmates rejected it, saying it was "too simple". Tony Banks of Genesis insists that Collins never played them the song.

Collins played this at Live Aid, a benefit concert for famine relief held in 1985. There were stages in London and Philadelphia, and Collins, with the aid of time zone differences and a very fast airplane (the Concorde), was able to perform at both. He played this in both sets.

The song has charted in the UK on three different occasions. On its original release in 1981 it peaked at #2. In 1988 a re-mix by Dutch DJ and producer Ben Liebrand got to #4. Finally in 2007 after the song was featured in a TV advert for Cadbury's Dairy Milk, featuring a drumming gorilla, the song reached #14.