5 Phil Collins Songs From ‘No Jacket Required’ That Every 80s Fan Should Hear

In 1985, Phil Collins changed lives when he released his third studio album, No Jacket Required. Within a few decades, the project had become one of the bestselling albums of all time, having sold over 25 million copies worldwide. Here are five of the best songs, in my opinion, from No Jacket Required.

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“Sussudio”

Released as one of the singles for No Jacket Required, “Sussudio” is upbeat, fun, and still one of Collins’ biggest songs.

As he told VH1 Storytellers, Collins tried to find a name other than “Sussudio”, but nothing hit quite like it.

“So I kinda knew I had to find something else for that word,” he explained. “Then I went back and tried to find another word that scanned as well as ‘sussudio,’ and I couldn’t find one, so I went back to ‘sussudio.’”

“Don’t Lose My Number”

As with many of Collins’ songs, the lyrics to “Don’t Lose My Number” were improvised. The song makes it seem as though Billy’s character is a fugitive whom Collins is just trying to stay in touch with. However, Collins has admitted that it doesn’t really have any particular meaning.

“Take Me Home”

This song was inspired by a book by Ken Kesey called One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Apparently, it’s about a patient from a mental institution. This might ruin the song a little bit for some listeners, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that the melody in this one is just infectious.

“Only You Know and I Know”

This song might sound like it’s made for a dance-off, but “Only You Know And I Know” is actually surprisingly introspective. Phil Collins opens with the lines, “You know, we really only wanna hear / The things we like to say,” which sets the tone for the entire song.

Collins gets honest in the chorus, basically admitting that no one really knows what we’re thinking except ourselves. This is why it’s important to be honest with each other.

“Doesn’t Anybody Stay Together Anymore?”

This song sounds like it’s about exactly what it is about—divorce. At the time, Phil Collins had gone through his first divorce with Andrea Bertorelli and had just remarried to Jill Tavelman in 1984.

Collins explained to The Mail On Sunday: “All my friends were breaking up with their partners – suddenly it seemed no one wanted to run the distance and work it out. Contrary to what people may think, I tried very hard to work things out with the women who left me. I never took it lying down!”

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