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No Jacket Required by  Released18 February 1985RecordedMay–December 1984Studio, London and Old Croft, SurreyLength 50:27 (CD) 46:12 (vinyl)  (UK and Ireland)  (US and Canada)  (worldwide) Phil Collins  chronology
(1982)No Jacket Required
(1985)
(1987) from No Jacket Required ""
Released: 14 January 1985 (UK) ""
Released: April 1985 (UK) ""
Released: July 1985 (US) ""
Released: July 1985 (UK) Alternative cover 2016 reissue cover

No Jacket Required is the third solo studio album by English drummer and singer-songwriter . It was originally released on 18 February 1985 on  (UK and Ireland),  (US and Canada), and  (rest of the world). It features guest backing vocalists, including ,  and . Some of the songs, like "" and "", were based around improvisation. Other songs, like "Long Long Way to Go", had a political message. "", "Sussudio", "Don't Lose My Number" and "" were released as singles, with corresponding music videos. All four singles were top-ten hits on the  chart, with "Sussudio" and "One More Night" reaching number one. The three singles that were released in the UK all reached the top 20 on the UK charts. Many of the songs, including "Take Me Home" and "Long Long Way to Go", have been featured in episodes of  and , and "" was re-written and re-recorded for the episode "Phil the Shill". "We Said Hello Goodbye" was remixed for the film .

Upon its release, the album was received favourably by the majority of music critics and won three  including for  in . Stephen Holden of  wrote that Collins was "quietly revolutionising and expanding the role of the drums in pop record making".  reviewer  wrote that, "Like his '81 and '82 outings,  and , No Jacket Required is not an album that waits to be liked". Collins' most commercially successful solo album, it reached number one in several countries, including the US (where it was at the top of the charts for seven weeks), the UK and Canada. According to the , the album sold over twelve million copies in the US, and in the UK, it sold over two million copies, and was certified 6× Platinum. It was the , beaten to first place by ' . Worldwide, the album has sold over 25 million copies, making it . No Jacket Required was ranked No. 74 on the 's "Definitive 200" list. It was also among ten albums nominated for the best British album of the previous 30 years by the  in 2010, ultimately losing to  by .

Following the release of the album Collins embarked on the successful . At the end of that tour, Collins performed at both the London and Philadelphia  concerts on 13 July 1985. During the tour, Collins recorded the song "" with  for the movie , which was a number-one hit in the US and a top-ten hit in the UK. Remixes of six songs from the album were later included on the  compilation album, released in 1987.

Production and recording

Shortly after the completion of work on 's album  in mid 1984, Collins turned his attention to his third solo album. According to his 2016 autobiography Not Dead Yet, the sessions for what would become No Jacket Required was a conscious attempt to move to a more uptempo sound - "I have a notion of what I want to do: break out of this "love song" box that I've found myself in. I'll make a dance album. Or, at least, an album with a couple of uptempo tracks."

Some of the songs from the album emerged from Collins' improvisations with a , including the singles "" and "". Collins started singing "one more night" to an attempt of making a beat similar to , and improvised "sus-sussudio" in another. Collins tried to replace the lyric with another phrase but decided to keep that way, leading to lyrics about a schoolboy crush on a girl at his school. Another song created mostly through improvisation, "", was described by Collins as having been written mostly during the recordings for his first solo album, . Collins added that he does not fully understand the meaning of the lyrics, described by reviewer Stephen Holden of The New York Times as "vague, sketching the outlines of a melodrama but withholding the full story".

Other songs were written with a more personal message. "Long Long Way to Go" is often considered one of Collins' more popular songs never to be released as a single  and was at that point in his career his most political song. Former  lead vocalist  provided backing vocals for the song. Sting and Collins first met through , and would later perform together in . Collins was working on a song, and thought that Sting, having participated in Band Aid, would relate to it very easily. Collins asked Sting to help him provide vocals for this song, and Sting accepted.

"You know, I was very happily married to Jill, my present wife, when I wrote it, but I had been divorced, my manager was getting divorced, a couple of good friends were getting divorced, and I thought, What's going on? Doesn't anybody stay together any more? The song came from that."

—, stating his inspiration for the song "Doesn't Anybody Stay Together Anymore?",  interview, October 1986

"Doesn't Anybody Stay Together Anymore" is another song in which Collins was making a personal message. The song was made in response to everyone around him getting a divorce, including his manager, friends and himself years before. Collins later said that he sang this at ' 40th-birthday party, not knowing that the Prince's divorce from his wife, , would happen a short time later.  played this live on tour. In later years, Collins performed a re-arranged version of the song as a ballad as part of his , differing considerably from the original up-beat album version. The opening drum fill of the song would be later used on the Eric Clapton track "Hold On", on which Collins played drums and produced for Clapton's "" album a year later.

"" is another song in which the meaning was originally very vague. At first listening, it appears that the song is about going home, but this is not true. Collins has stated that the song lyrics refer to a patient in a mental institution, and that it is very much based on the novel . ,  and Sting all provide backing vocals. The music video (shot during the NJR tour) features Collins in multiple cities around the world, including , , , , , , , ,  (), , and  (). At the end of the music video, Collins arrives home and hears a woman (presumably his wife) from inside the house asking him where he has been. He replies by saying he has been to some of the cities mentioned above. The woman replies "You've been down at the pub, haven't you?", as Collins grins at the camera.

"We Said Hello Goodbye" appeared as a  to "Take Me Home" and "Don't Lose My Number" originally, and as an "extra track" on the CD release of the album. Producer  composed the beginning portion of the song. A remix of the song with additional guitars and without an orchestra was released the following year (1986) on the soundtrack for the movie, . This remixed version received some radio airplay around the time of the soundtrack's release (which coincided with the No Jacket Required period), though it did not chart. Collins has mused that the song is unfairly classed as a "second class citizen", stating that the song would have been looked at differently if it were added to the album. According to The New York Times reviewer Caryn James, the song is "a straightforward comment on leaving home".

"" was originally recorded during sessions for Collins' second solo album  in 1982. However, the song was not released until it appeared as the B-side to "Sussudio" in the UK, and as the B-side to "One More Night" in the United States. Collins has said that he has "no emotional attachment" to the song. Music by  inspired Collins to write the song "I Like the Way", which also did not appear on the album, originally appearing as the B-side to "One More Night" in the UK and "Sussudio" in the US. He called the song "dodgy" and has cited it among his least favourite songs.

Title and cover "I thought of different things to do. Like maybe going down there wearing the right kind of jacket and ordering a drink and just pouring it onto the floor and saying, 'Well, I've got a jacket on! You can't do anything to me.' Maybe I should smash a few photographs on the wall, a bit of the Robert Plant attitude. But I did nothing, of course. I just moaned about it."

—Phil Collins,  interview, October 1986

The album is named after an incident at  restaurant in , . Collins, entering the restaurant with former  lead vocalist , was denied admittance because he did not meet the restaurant's  of "jacket required" for dinner while Plant was allowed in. Collins was wearing a jacket and argued about it. The  argued that the jacket was not "proper". Collins said in an interview with  that he was, at that point, never so mad in his life.

After the incident, the drummer often appeared on shows such as  and , denouncing the restaurant and telling his story. The management of the restaurant later sent him a complimentary  and an apology letter, stating that he could come to the restaurant wearing whatever he wanted.

The cover image of No Jacket Required (a continuation of the 'facial close-up' theme begun with ) of Collins' face lit by red/orange light was to emphasise the "hot", up-tempo nature of the album. Collins stated in his autobiography Not Dead Yet, that  was sprayed onto his forehead during the photography session to give the illusion of perspiration. In the photography for the album's inner sleeve and subsequent publicity materials, Collins appeared to lampoon the incident by wearing a suit that was several sizes too big.

Release and commercial performance

No Jacket Required was released on 18 February 1985. The lead singles were "Sussudio" in the UK and "One More Night" in the US. Both songs had music videos that were shot at a London  owned by , featuring Collins playing both before and after the building closes.

In the first week of March, shortly after Collins won a  for "", the album debuted at the top spot of the  and 24th in the . It also got to tenth in the  and 15th in . By the end of the month, it had climbed to number one in America as well. Collins had become the 15th British artist to top both the album and single , as "One More Night" was leading the  that same week. The same thing was happening in the UK, where Collins' duet with , "", was the  number one. No Jacket Required was number one on the US charts for seven weeks, and on the British chart for five.

"Sussudio" was the first track to be released as a single in the UK, and the second to be released in the US. In the UK the song reached number 12 on the UK charts. In the US, the song entered frequent rotation on  in May, and by 6 July, both the single and the album had reached number one on their respective US Billboard charts. "One More Night" was Collins's second US number-one single, following "Against All Odds", and was his fourth single to reach the top ten in the UK, peaking at number four on the singles chart. Its B-side in the UK was "I Like the Way", while the US version featured "The Man with the Horn".

Meanwhile, "Don't Lose My Number", a single that Collins only released in the US, peaked at number four on the  charts during late September 1985, and the B-side of the single was "We Said Hello Goodbye". Collins had difficulty conceptualising a plot for the corresponding music video. He decided to create a gag video based on this difficulty. In the video, he talks to clients and directors, all giving him crazy conceptual ideas. Collins parodies several other videos, including those by , , , , and The Police. The singer also filmed parodies of , , and  movies.

"Take Me Home", the final single released from the album, is often considered to be one of Collins's most well-known songs, and has been a part of all of his tours since . It reached number seven on the US Billboard charts, and number 19 on the UK charts. The song was not slated for a single release, but the label decided to do so after it became an airplay hit on several US radio stations who decided to play the track. "Take Me Home" also got a video where Collins sung in various locations around the world.

One song from the album would not reach chart success until it was released later. "" was not released as a single from this album. However, a live version was released as a single from the  album in the US, reaching number 73 on the Billboard Hot 100. A music video of the original version was filmed, for the No Jacket Required home video. It featured Collins playing the song in a concert. Some of the songs that were not released as singles still charted on Billboard charts. "Inside Out" went to number nine on the  chart. "The Man with the Horn", though not released as a single (nor was it included on the album), charted at number 38 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks.

No Jacket Required remains Collins's highest-selling album, having sold over 12 million copies as of 2001 in the US, where it was certified  status. Twenty years after its release, No Jacket Required remains among the 50  in the US. In the UK, the album was certified 6× platinum, selling over 1.8 million copies. It has also sold over 20 million copies worldwide. A video produced by  in 1986 was also released, and included the four original music videos of the four released singles, and a live performance of "Who Said I Would". Alternate versions of six songs from No Jacket Required were included on the  , released in January 1988.

Critical reception Professional ratingsReview scoresSourceRatingThe Daily VaultAC

The reception for the album was mostly positive. Geoff Orens of , in a retrospective review, said that while some of the songs are "dated", the album contains "standout tracks". He describes "Long Long Way to Go" as "one of Collins' most effective ballads", and "Take Me Home" as "pulsating". Orens went on to say "It's not a completely satisfying recording, but it is the best example of one of the most dominating and influential styles of the 1980s." Lori E. Pike of the  said that "Collins' recipe of tense vocals spiced with saucy horns and splashy electro-jitterbugging synthesisers often leaves little room for real feeling to squeeze through. When he slows down and lets his smoldering moodiness take over, the effect is magical.".

 of  said that the album was "refreshing", and that Collins was "adept" at setting a suspenseful or menacing mood. Holden described "Only You Know and I Know" as an "angry love song" that had some sampling of "Motown"-style music mixed in. "In 'One More Night', Mr. Collins's recent number-one hit, a ticking snare drum injects a whisper of lurking fear into a song that suggests a sweeter, tenderer reprise of 'Against All Odds'", says Holden. Holden concluded by saying "On the surface, No Jacket Required, is an album bursting with soulful hooks and bright peppy tunes. But beneath its shiny exterior, Mr. Collins's drums and his voice carry on a disjunctive, enigmatic dialogue between heart and mind, obsession and repression."

"His effortless graft of bright white-R&B bounce to quirky, unexpected melodies is instinctively commercial but never feels overly contrived."

—, Rolling Stone review, 9 May 1985

 reviewer  said "Phil Collins' sudden transformation from the balding bantam drummer for a prosperous British  group into a mainstream pop heartthrob might seem one of the Eighties' most improbable success stories. But judging from the sly craft and warm, low-key humour of his solo records and his successful productions for Philip Bailey and Frida, Collins' newfound fame was inevitable."  of the Los Angeles Times originally disliked the song "One More Night", but later praised the song, saying that "Collins' soulful but polite vocal style is also capable of capturing the pain of going through yet one more night without her."  writer Lennox Samuels said that "No Jacket Required (Atlantic) is what fans have come to expect from Phil Collins—lots of horns and syncopation, heavy rhythm."

Even those who were not normally fans of Collins' work liked the album. Michael R. Smith of The Daily Vault wrote "Anomaly or not, it is indeed the album that Phil deserves to be remembered for." Stephen Williams of  said that the album was "loaded with musical hooks and textured arrangements… it also lacks the tense edge that was part of Collins' work with Genesis." Keegan Hamilton of the  said that the album was "The 80's Dance Pop Special: A smooth synthesiser groove, with an order of keyboards, drum machines, and horns on the side," adding that "Sussudio" was the best track on the album, saying that it's "catchy gibberish." Hamilton says that "One More Night" was the worst song on the album, saying that "The album's introspective slow jam wallows in self-pity."

On the negative side, Marty Racine of the  said that "I Don't Wanna Know" and "Take Me Home" were the only songs to "rise above the crowd", and that Collins focused too much on his singing and less on his drumming, "which can be captivating". Racine also added that the album makes the listener feel a little "cold", but admired that the singer was "playing the game as well as anyone".

Writing an article in defence of Collins in 2010, Gary Mills of  described the album as "determined dross" which Collins did not deserve to have his career judged by. In 2013, music critic  of  was similarly scathing, saying the album had not stood the test of time and was "unlistenable to today", singling out "Sussudio" for particular criticism, arguing: "the production, the drum machine, the inane sincerity of the lyrics; there's no colder or more superficial sound in popular music, precisely because it takes itself so seriously." He also compared it unfavourably with the enduring appeal of Collins's 1980s contemporaries such as  and—in particular—the , saying the latter were "geniuses by comparison".

At the , Collins was nominated in five categories. The album won the award for , and Collins won . Collins shared the  award with co-producer of the album, . The home video No Jacket Required EP received a nomination for . In  the album received two  nominations for  and . At the  in  the album received two awards for  and , while co-producer Hugh Padgham was nominated for .

Influence and legacy

At the  in , the album was one of ten nominees for Brits Album of 30 Years in a poll of  listeners; the winner was  by . "Sussudio" is one of Collins' most famous songs and is referenced in many different media, including books, stand-up comedy acts and television shows. He has said that this is the song people most often sing to him when they spot him on the street. In the book and film adaptation of , the main character (Patrick Bateman) briefly discusses it, amongst other work by Collins. The synthesiser riff was heavily criticised for sounding too much like  1982 song "", a similarity that Collins does not deny, citing that he is a big fan of Prince's work.

Three songs recorded during the No Jacket Required sessions aired on episodes of the television show . "Take Me Home" appeared in "The Prodigal Son", the premiere of the . "Long Long Way to Go" was played in the closing scene of the Season 2 finale "Sons and Lovers", during the funeral for Ricardo Tubbs' girlfriend and son. "The Man with the Horn" was re-written for an episode of Vice in which Collins guest-starred as a con-artist who got in trouble with  distributors. The re-written version was titled "Life Is a Rat Race".

"Take Me Home" was the closing theme song for the 's television show,  for several years in the late 1980s. In 2003, the hip-hop group  based their song "" on this single. That version of the song featured the original song's chorus, and hit number 19 on the UK charts.

"Take Me Home" was also featured in the first episode of the second season of .

As years went on, Collins became unhappy with the album and grew to dislike it. In a 2016 interview with , he said in retrospect that it is among his least favourite records he had made: "At the time, I wasn't being me. I've grown up a bit now and much prefer to play songs that are me. I only play a bit part in that one."

Track listing

All lyrics are written by ; all music is composed by Collins, except where noted.

Side oneNo.TitleMusicLength1."" 4:232."Only You Know and I Know"Collins, 4:203."Long Long Way to Go" 4:204."I Don't Wanna Know"Collins, Stuermer4:125."" 4:51Side twoNo.TitleMusicLength6."" 4:467."" 4:018."Doesn't Anybody Stay Together Anymore"Collins, Stuermer4:189."Inside Out" 5:1410."" 5:51Total length:46:12