In the Air Tonight

"In the Air Tonight"
Handwriting font variant of the standard artwork, also used for the parent album Face Value
Single by Phil Collins
from the album Face Value
B-side"The Roof Is Leaking"
Written1980
Released9 January 1981[1]
StudioTownhouse (London)
Genre
Length
  • 5:34 (album version)
  • 4:59 (single edit)
Label
Songwriter(s)Phil Collins
Producer(s)
Phil Collins singles chronology
"In the Air Tonight"
(1981) 		"I Missed Again"
(1981)
"Separate Lives"
(1985)
"In the Air Tonight"
(1988)
"A Groovy Kind of Love"
(1988)
"You Touch My Heart"
(2005)
"In the Air Tonight"
(2007)
"(Love Is Like a) Heatwave"
(2010)
Music video
"In the Air Tonight" on YouTube

"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 January 1981. It was selected as the second single from the album in the US and Canada after "I Missed Again".

Collins co-produced "In the Air Tonight" with Hugh Padgham, who became a frequent collaborator in the following years. It reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart behind the posthumous release of John Lennon's "Woman".[5] It reached No. 1 in Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and Sweden, No. 2 in Canada, and the top 10 in Australia, New Zealand, and several other European territories. It reached No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, and reached No. 2 on the Rock Tracks Chart, later certified gold by the RIAA, representing 500,000 copies sold. The song's music video, directed by Stuart Orme, received heavy play on MTV when the new cable music video channel launched in August 1981.

"In the Air Tonight" remains one of Collins' best-known hits, often cited as his signature song, and is especially famous for its drum break towards the end, which has been described as "the sleekest, most melodramatic drum break in history" and one of the "101 Greatest Drumming Moments".[6][7] In 2006, the song was ranked at number 35 in VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of the 80s".[8] In 2021, it was listed at No. 291 in Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".[9]

  1. ^ "BPI".
  2. ^ Mills, Gary (26 May 2010). "No Flak Jacket Required: In Defence Of Phil Collins". The Quietus. Archived from the original on 1 November 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2015. the single's place in 1981 at the vanguard of experimental pop
  3. ^ Gruss, Mike (11 July 2007). "I've been Waiting for a theme song all my life". The Virginian-Pilot. Daily Break section, p. E1. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 11 August 2013. ... Phil Collins' 1981 soft-rock classic 'In the Air Tonight.'(subscription required)
  4. ^ Breihan, Tom (15 June 2020). "The Number Ones: John Cougar's "Jack And Diane". Stereogum. Retrieved 22 July 2023. Mellencamp loved "In The Air Tonight," the haunted 1981 synth-rock masterpiece from Genesis drummer Phil Collins.
  5. ^ "Official Charts > Phil Collins". The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  6. ^ "The 20 Best Drummers of All Time". LA Weekly. Los Angeles. 11 November 2014. Archived from the original on 12 January 2015. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  7. ^ "101 Greatest Drumming Moments". Rhythm. 12 April 2016. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  8. ^ "Rock on the Net: VH1: 100 Greatest Songs of the 80's: 1-50". Rockonthenet.com. Archived from the original on 19 November 2019. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  9. ^ "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. 15 September 2021. Archived from the original on 15 September 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2022.