Forty years ago today (February 18), Phil Collins released what became the most successful album of his career, No Jacket Required. No Jacket Required cemented the Genesis singer/drummer’s status as a solo pop-rock superstar, and became his first album to top the Billboard 200.
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Collins had begun establishing himself as a popular solo artist after releasing his debut album, Face Value, in 1981. In April 1984, Phil scored his first No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Against All Odds,” the theme song of the film of the same name.
No Jacket Required was Collins’ third solo album, following Face Value and Hello, I Must Be Going! (1982). The ballad “One More Night” was the single released from No Jacket Required. It topped the Hot 100 on March 30, the same day the album reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
No Jacket Required spent an impressive seven non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. It also topped the U.K. pop albums chart for five weeks in March and April of ’85.
“One More Night” spent two weeks atop the Hot 100 before being replaced by the star-studded “We Are the World” single.
About the Other Hit Singles from No Jacket Required
No Jacket Required yielded a second No. 1 hit on the Hot 100 with the follow-up to “One More Night,” the R&B-influenced pop earworm “Sussudio.” The song’s titled is a nonsense word Collins made up while working on the track in the studio.
“Sussudio” topped the Hot 100 on July 6, 1985, replacing Bryan Adams’ “Heaven.” It spent one week at No. 1 before being knocked from the top slot by Duran Duran’s James Bond theme song “A View to a Kill.”
Phil’s next single from the album was “Don’t Lose My Number,” a synth-driven pop-rock tune that also features improvised lyrics. The song, whose chorus lyrically echoes the 1974 Steely Dan hit “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number,” peaked at No. 4 on the Hot 100.
The fourth single released from No Jacket Required was “Take Me Home,” the track that closed the album. The anthemic pop-rock tune featured backing vocals by Sting, Peter Gabriel, and Helen Terry. Terry is perhaps best known for her prominent backup singing with Culture Club, particularly on that group’s 1983 hit “Church of the Poison Mind.”
“Take Me Home” reached No. 7 on the Hot 100.
Sting also contributed backing vocals to another song on No Jacket Required, “Long Long Way to Go.”
No Jacket Required Accolades and Legacy
Collins won three Grammy Awards in 1986 thanks to the album. No Jacket Required was honored with the Album of the Year, while Phil also took home the Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male and Producer of the Year prizes. Collins shared the latter trophy with the album’s co-producer, Hugh Padgham.
No Jacket Required went on to be certified 12-times platinum by the RIAA for sales of 12 million copies in the U.S. Worldwide, the album has sold more than 25 million copies. It’s by far Collins’ best-selling album, either solo or with Genesis.
In honor of No Jacket Required’s 40th anniversary, a special watch party featuring some of the classic music videos for the album’s hit singles has premiered on Collins’ official YouTube channel.
Collins Is Not a Fan of the Album
As successful as No Jacket Required, Collins actually has less-than-positive feelings about the album.
In a 2016 interview with Rolling Stone, Phil admitted that he doesn’t feel the album represents his best and most authentic work. In the article, he explained that many of the songs, including “Sussudio,” were influenced more by outside musicians.
“It’s from one of my least favorite records, No Jacket Required,” he noted. “At the time, I wasn’t being me. I’ve grown up a bit now and much prefer to play songs that are me.”
No Jacket Required Track List:
- “Sussudio”
- “Only You Know and I Know”
- “Long Long Way to Go”
- “I Don’t Wanna Know”
- “One More Night”
- “Don’t Lose My Number”
- “Who Said I Would”
- “Doesn’t Anybody Stay Together Anymore”
- “Inside Out”
- “Take Me Home”
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