How Philip Bailey and Phil Collins Turned a Demo Into an 80s Smash

Has there ever been a better decade for duets than the 80s? We invited you to think back to the music of that decade. It won’t be too long before you recall some romantic duet featuring a powerhouse male singer joined by an equally potent belter on the female side.

But you likely won’t remember too many male-male duets that made an impact. Philip Bailey and Phil Collins didn’t let that stop them from hitting big in 1984 with the funky, strutting “Easy Lover”.

Two Phils for the Price of One

Philip Bailey and Phil Collins had a common denominator of sorts in the Phenix Horns, a brass ensemble that played with both Earth, Wind & Fire and Genesis, the respective groups for the two men. Crossing paths, the two men struck up a mutual respect and vowed to work together at some point.

That opportunity arose on Bailey’s 1984 album Chinese Wall. He tapped Collins to produce. At that point, Collins had already earned production credits for artists like Frida and Adam Ant, all while keeping busy with obligations pertaining to Genesis and his solo career.

At the tail end of the making of Chinese Wall, Collins listened to what had been completed. He was still concerned that there wasn’t a song that was a surefire contender for pop crossover status. The two men got together with bassist Nathan East to rectify that situation. “Easy Lover” was the end result.

Leave That Demo Be

Collins recalled to Rolling Stone how “Easy Lover” came together:

“So we just started having a jam one night, and went round and round and turned it into a verse and a chorus. We recorded it that night so we wouldn’t forget it. That song doesn’t sound like any particular era. It’s just fantastic.”

At the time they finished the track that evening, they thought it was just a demo. When they listened back to it, however, they decided that they couldn’t improve upon it. The duo filmed a comical video together to help the song get love at MTV, which didn’t always have the best record for playing the music of Black artists.

Even though Collins was about to release a single (“One More Night”) from his solo album No Jacket Required, he okayed “Easy Lover” to come out around the same time. He figured that the two songs were so dissimilar that they could coexist on radio playlists. And he was right. “Easy Lover” hit the No. 2 spot on the pop charts. (“One More Night” would make it all the way to No. 1).

Behind the Lyrics of “Easy Lover”

As befitting a song that was made up on the spot, “Easy Lover” doesn’t go too deep in its lyrical portrayal of the protagonist. Collins and Bailey, trading off on vocals, seem to either be singing to each other or to some unseen third party, warning about the girl who’ll “play around and leave you/Leave you and deceive you.”

The issue is that this girl comes on like she’s tame, only to flip the script on some poor sap when it’s too late for him to react. “You’d better forget it,” they explain. “You’ll never get it.” Eventually, they realize that only experience will teach the lesson: “Get out quick, ‘cause seeing is believing/It’s the only way/You’ll ever know.”

The early sessions for the Chinese Wall album were allegedly tense, as Bailey and Collins debated what kind of LP it should be. Luckily, they stuck it out. Otherwise, they would have missed out on Bailey’s biggest ever solo song and a he-said/he-said duet for the ages.

(Photo by Christian Rose/Roger Viollet via Getty Images)