5 Phil Collins Songs That Prove 1985 Was The Best Year Of His Career

Genesis front man Phil Collins hit a banner year in 1985 when his songs became inescapable. You could find his ear candy saturating the airwaves on radio stations, in music videos, and even at the movies, thanks to his stellar soundtrack contributions. Though he'd hit big in the early '80s with iconic songs like "In the Air Tonight," "I Don't Care Anymore," and his cover of "You Can't Hurry Love," 1985 proved to be the biggest of Collins' long and storied musical career. Added to his stellar Genesis work, it helped turn him into one of the most visible and successful pop stars of the entire decade.

Collins delivered a total of five top 5 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 that year, racking up three No. 1s in the span of nine months. It was a mix of slow tunes, power pop, and soulful jams that showed off all his tricks. If you were a music fan at the time and you weren't grooving to "Easy Lover" or "Don't Lose My Number," you were probably slow dancing to "One More Night" or bawling your eyes out to "Separate Lives." And there's no question you were scratching your head along with all the other listeners, wondering what "Sussudio" really meant as you sang along at top volume. It was wall-to-wall Phil Collins bangers and ballads and proved that this musical luminary could handle side gigs as a solo artist and a producer for other acts while keeping the beat for the band that provided his day job.

Sharp and brassy like a blast of soulful sunshine, "Easy Lover" was Collins' funky, upbeat duet with singer Philip Bailey, one of the longest-lasting members of Earth, Wind, and Fire. The combo of Phil & Philip created crossover magic at a time when both front men were establishing their own musical footprint. Bailey's falsetto proved to be an ideal foil for Collins' soulful delivery, creating a glossy interplay that sounded like spun gold. The single was from Bailey's solo album "Chinese Wall," which Collins produced, and presented a sound that was already familiar to fans of the Genesis drummer and singer. Bailey fans were shown a bit of what was possible when the singer was given the whole spotlight without being part of an ensemble.

This duet was an early-year success for Collins, dialing in a No. 2 firecracker of a hit in February 1985, just as he was preparing to release his own chart-topping tunes from a new solo record. For a world-renowned drummer of Collins' caliber, timing like that is just part of the gig. It would have been easy to include it on his own 1985 album, but there was plenty of material on his upcoming solo album to keep him flying high.

Simplified Phil Collins is powerful Phil Collins, as demonstrated by his masterful minimalist delivery on "One More Night." Unlike his Grammy-winning 1984 smash power ballad "Against All Odds (Take a Look at me Now)," written about Collins' first wife, this tender love song was a total soft sell, toning down his usual drum-based bombast to an electronic hush wrapped in shimmering layers of electric piano and soothing harmonies. The drawdown turned out to be a boss move and showed that Collins could sing quietly and still captivate with a simple tune where he asks for a little more time to make his feelings known. 

The relatability and subdued delivery tapped into emotions that resonated with listeners. This uncomplicated piece spent a sweet two weeks in the No. 1 spot in late March 1985. As the lead-off single from Collins' mega-successful "No Jacket Required" LP, it gave fans a taste of the singer's expanded canon and showed that his range had delicate dimensions waiting to be explored. Two top-five hits in two months would have been a big enough achievement for any artist. But the year was still young, and Collins had bigger tunes waiting in the pipe.

There's no chance of standing still when the funked-up horns and slamming drum programming of "Sussudio" get fired up. As Phil Collins explained on "VH1 Storytellers," the word "Sussudio" was gibberish, a nonsensical noise Collins made up as a placeholder while working out the music, something he fully intended to replace with a more suitable word somewhere down the line. But he left it as it was instead, and it became the name of the song inspired by a "school boy crush on this girl at school" — and the title of yet another No. 1 hit single for the performer. The song was ubiquitous in 1985, showing off a jaunty, energetic side to Collins' sound that lent a bright spot to radio playlists of the day. It also made for a fun mystery as fans did their best to work out the title's meaning before Collins revealed the truth.

"Sussudio" might as well have been code for "super success in the studio," given the song's popularity. Regardless of the word's definition, the song bounced all the way to No. 1 in July 1985 and added heat to Collins' summer. It showed the music world that even if listeners don't know what the title means, a song with a groove that grabs you and an enthusiastic performance by a chap as likable as Phil Collins is certified money in the bank.

Phil Collins tried his hand at dramatic storytelling in musical form with the urgent "Don't Lose My Number," a pulsating piece of action-laced songwriting that merged mood with a danceable beat and created a hit that peaked at No. 4. The edgy taleof a mysterious, misunderstood figure named Billy and the man who tried to help him evade an unseen danger, "Don't Lose My Number" ratcheted up the tension with Collins' trademark thunder drums and a crackling vocal performance that sold the looming drama. Think of this one as pulp fiction meets pop music, a melodic page-turner that propelled the listener and made us all wonder what Billy had done to be so hotly pursued.

The song was another "No Jacket Required" bombshell hit that helped Collins monopolize the pop scene throughout 1985, providing a mid-summer entry for his year-long chart dominance. And just when it seemed the album might finally run out of steam, Collins shifted gears with another new project that would send him soaring to the heights yet again.

Another heart-aching ballad that showed how sensitive Collins' delivery could be, "Separate Lives" was a scorching love song that served as the love theme from the 1985 film "White Nights." Collins shared vocals with Marilyn Martin this time, a singer best known for her backing vocals with artists like Stevie Nicks and Madonna. Her strong yet breaking voice helped add gravity and gave Collins an equal partner in pain to sing about the anguish of a dying romance.

The song was written by Stephen Bishop, a well-known songwriter who'd scored his own hits with "On and On" and "It Might Be You." The lyrics are an imagined conversation between him and actress Karen Allen of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" fame; the two had gone through a painful split. Bishop told Song Facts, "After we broke up, Karen called me at a hotel and she said, 'How are you? How are you doing?' I said, 'You have no right to ask that.' And that became the first line of the song."

That sort of confusing emotional trap also inspired the line from the chorus, "You have no right to ask me how I feel," a tear-jerking observation anyone who's been through a break-up can understand. With Martin's help, Collins took "Separate Lives" to the peak position, landing at No. 1 by the end of November. It capped off a pinnacle year for the multi-talented artist and proved that no matter how far you ran in 1985, a Phil Collins hit was bound to find you.