No Jacket Required: When Phil Collins Switched Up His Style

Finding new inspiration

No Jacket Required also saw Phil Collins find new inspiration in the form of improvisation. The UK chart-topper Sussudio was built from scratch in the studio, as was Don’t Lose My Number, which wasn’t released as a single in the US but hit No.4 in the UK. Collins himself says he can’t pin down the song’s exact meaning; instead, he chose to improvise his lyrics in order to create a raw sense of poetry.

Despite this vagueness, Don’t Lose My Number retains a powerful ability to evoke personal feelings for each listener, who can fill in their own specifics. It also inspired one of Phil Collins’ most creative music videos, in which he finds himself at the whim of different directors’ ideas and ends up parodying other videos then receiving airplay on MTV, among them David Lee Roth’s California Girls and The Cars’ You Might Think, along with Hollywood genre movies like samurai films and Westerns.

Keeping fans guessing

Released as the album’s final single, Take Me Home continues to keep fans guessing: some believe it takes inspiration from George Orwell’s dystopian novel, 1984, while others say it was inspired by Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, and follows the story of a man in a psychiatric hospital. Either way, its rhythmic melodies are enchanting and hypnotic. Despite falling slightly under the radar upon its initial release (it went Top 10 in the UK, but stalled inside the Top 20 in the US), Take Me home has become a beloved fan favourite that’s now considered up there with the best Phil Collins songs, while the singer has performed it throughout all his tours since No Jacket Required’s release.

Also growing in stature over the years is We Said Goodbye, initially released as a B-side to Take Me Home, but given a wider audience following expanded editions of No Jacket Required. Opening with an incredibly emotional string arrangement before the piano and vocals come in, it’s sees Collins channelling Elton John and Cat Stevens for one of the most stripped-back songs of his career.

Elsewhere on No Jacket Required, Who Said I Would tricks the listener into thinking they’re about to hear another slow balled, before its opening Steve Reich-esque rhythms jump headfirst into a chaotic, upbeat big-band song filled with more trumpets and pounding drums. Lyrically, it finds Collins at his wittiest, recounting a tongue-in-cheek debate between a couple. Inside Out, meanwhile, sees Collins deliver a commanding vocal over gigantic power chords, resulting in another arena-friendly anthem from a man who has written plenty of them.

Hitting another level

Released on 18 February 1985, No Jacket Required took Phil Collins’ career to another level, its move into a pop-oriented sound furthering his mainstream appeal. Topping both the US and UK charts, and winning three Grammy Awards in 1986 (including Album Of The Year), it has since reached diamond status in the US and gone six-times platinum in the UK.

After undertaking a massive global tour in support of the album, Collins crowned his achievements with two performances at Live Aid, for which he flew by Concorde from London to Philadelphia, appearing at both Wembley Stadium and John F Kennedy Stadium. A bona fide star on both sides of the Atlantic, he may no longer have required a jacket, but Phil Collins was certainly in vogue.

Fashions change, but Phil Collins remains a legend. Check out our best Phil Collins songs of all time.