“No Jacket Required” at 40

1985 was a big year. Aside from “We Are the World”, the debut of Wrestlemania, and me buying my third pair of leg warmers, it was also the year that Phil Collins released No Jacket Required, his third solo album. Recently, Phil has dealt with many health issues that have limited his ability to play music, at one point having to tape the drumsticks to his hands. That’s a long way from his mid-80s success, so let’s rewind and celebrate the fortieth anniversary of No Jacket Required and take a look at just how big Phil and that album were when it was released.

It was recorded in 1984 and released on February 18, 1985. The first single in the U.S. was “One More Night,” followed by “Sussudio.” The album would sell 4 million copies by the end of 1985 and reach over 12 million sold by 2001. At the 1986 Grammy Awards, Phil would win Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male and Album of the Year, and he toured the world in support of the album from February until July.

While this might sound impressive enough, it must be placed into a timeline of what else was going on in his career. Because the bigger picture reveals the astounding amount of success Phil was enjoying.

The stratospheric rise would start with the release of the hit single “Against All Odds” in February 1984, which Phil wrote and sang for the film of the same name. The song would hit number one on Billboard’s Hot 100, be nominated for an Academy Award, and win the Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Performance. 1984 would also see Phil release “Easy Lover”, a duet with Philip Bailey that would rise to number 2 on Billboard’s Hot 100. He would end 1984 by adding his vocals to “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”, a charity song recorded for Ethiopian famine relief.

Then, 1985 would bring No Jacket Required, two performances at Live Aid (London and Philadelphia), and a #1 duet with Marilyn Martin called “Separate Lives” for the film White Nights.

He would be part of the release of Genesis’s Invisible Touch in June 1986, which would sell 6 million copies in the U.S. and be the band’s most successful album. I can’t think of another solo artist who amassed that much success in such a short period.

Phil had been a part of Genesis since 1970. He released his first solo album, Face Value, in 1981, which featured the air-drumming classic, “In The Air Tonight.” That album would hit number 7 on the U.S. album charts and be followed by Hello, I Must Be Going! in 1982, which hit number 8. Neither of these previous solo efforts would hit the heights of No Jacket Required.

If you listen to No Jacket Required today, I would argue that, although it has a distinct 80’s sound to it, the album holds up. This is remarkable considering the album contains a song written about a patient in a mental institution (“Take Me Home”).

There’s another song with a nonsensical title (“Sussudio,” the sound inspired by Prince, the name from his daughter’s horse), and a third which Phil has stated even he doesn’t know what it’s about (“Don’t Lose My Number”). But the up-tempo music provides a driving push that gets you dancing. The fourth single from the album, “One More Night,” is a ballad that highlights Phil’s voice.

No Jacket Required was the push that Phil Collins needed as his solo career was ramping up and set him apart from his Genesis bandmates. It was the album to have in 1985, back when buying albums was something we all did.

-Robert Matvan

Photo: Getty Images