In the Air Tonight
Encyclopedia
"In the Air Tonight" is a song by Phil Collins
that first appeared on his 1981 album Face Value. It was recorded in 1979 and was the first single of Collins' solo career, and remains one of his best-known hits. The music video
, directed by Stuart Orme, was released in 1981.
theme. Released in January 1981 in the UK, the single was an instant hit, quickly climbing to Number 2 in the Singles Chart
. It was also an international hit, reaching the top 20 on the Billboard Chart in the summer of 1981, peaking at #19.
Collins wrote this about the anger he felt after divorcing his first wife Andrea in 1979. He explained on a BBC Radio 2
documentary in 1997 that he took a couple of years out of Genesis because of his devastation.
"In the Air Tonight" remains, alone among Collins' solo oeuvre, a popular selection on many classic rock
radio stations. It is the song most often associated with Collins' solo career, and he has performed versions of it at many events, notably at Live Aid
, where he played the song on the same calendar day in both Philadelphia and London. He also performed the song at The Secret Policeman's Ball, Collins' first live performance as a solo artist.
The lyrics of the song take the form of a dark monologue directed towards an unnamed person:
Musically the song consists of a series of ominous chords played over a simple drum machine
pattern (the Roland CR-78
Disco-2 pattern, plus some programming); processed electric guitar
sounds and vocoded
vocals on key words add additional atmosphere. The mood is one of restrained anger until the final chorus when an explosive burst of drums releases the musical tension, and the instrumentation builds to a thundering final chorus.
Collins wrote the song in the wake of a failing relationship with his then-wife. Collins has described obtaining the drum machine specifically to deal with these personal issues through songwriting, telling Mix
magazine: "I had to start writing some of this music that was inside me." Collins improvised the lyrics during a songwriting session in the studio: "I was just fooling around. I got these chords that I liked, so I turned the mic on and started singing. The lyrics you hear are what I wrote spontaneously. That frightens me a bit, but I'm quite proud of the fact that I sang 99.9 percent of those lyrics spontaneously."
The song's popularity in the 1980s increased after a nearly complete recording of it was featured in the pilot episode of the American television show Miami Vice
("Brother's Keeper"), thus becoming one of the first pop/rock songs to be featured as part of a TV program in this manner. The resurgence in the popularity of the track resulted in it almost reaching the Billboard Hot 100 again, reaching number 102 on the "Bubbling Under" chart in 1984. On the heels of this successful merging of media, Collins became associated with the show; other Collins tracks including "Take Me Home
" were later featured and Collins himself also acted in an episode, "Phil the Shill".
The means by which Collins attained the drum sound on this recording was long a source of mystery. The exact process was, as happens so often, a result of serendipity: an unintended use of studio technology giving unexpectedly useful results.
In this case, the Solid State Logic
4000 mixing board had a "reverse talk-back" circuit (labeled on the board as "Listen Mic"). Normal "talkback" is a button that the mixing engineer has to press in order to talk to the recording musicians (the recording and the mixing parts of a studio are, otherwise, completely sonically isolated). Reverse talkback is a circuit (also button-activated) for the engineer to listen to musicians in the studio. In order to compensate for sound level differences — people can be close to the reverse talkback microphone or far off — this circuit has a compressor
on it, which minimizes the differences between loud and soft sounds. While recording "Intruder" for his ex-bandmate Peter Gabriel
's solo album
, at some point Collins started playing the drums while the reverse talkback was activated. Engineer Hugh Padgham
and his friend Jeffrey were amazed at the sound achieved. Overnight, they rewired the board so that the reverse talkback could be recorded in a more formal manner. Later models of the SSL 4000 allowed the listen mic to be recorded with the touch of a button.
When recording engineer Hugh Padgham
was brought in to help develop Collins' demos that would become Face Value they recreated the "Intruder" sound using the reverse talkback microphone as well as heavily compressed and gated ambient mics. Hugh Padgham continued working with Genesis
for Abacab
later in 1981 and the same technique (generally referred to as gated reverb
) was used, and the powerful drum sound has become synonymous with later Genesis projects and Collins' solo career ever since.
The original single version of "In the Air Tonight" features extra drums that play underneath the song until the signature drum crash appears. These were added at the suggestion of Atlantic Records head Ahmet Ertegun
. In 2007, Collins wrote: "Ahmet came down to the final mix in the cutting room in New York (. . .) The drums don't come in until the end but Ahmet didn't know that at this point, because on the demo the drums hadn't come in at all; it was only drum machine all the way. And he was saying, 'Where's the down beat, where's the backbeat?' I said, 'The drums come in in a minute.' 'Yeah, you know that and I know that, but the kids don't know that; you've got to put the drums on earlier.' So we added some drums to the mix and put it out as a single."
In an interview with the magazine SFX, Life on Mars
and Ashes to Ashes
creator Matthew Graham
highlighted the significance of the drum sound when he discussed the use of the song in the Ashes to Ashes series finale: he originally intended to have the whole track play over a climactic scene on a farm where Alex Drake
(Keeley Hawes
) discovers the body of fellow protagonist Gene Hunt
(Phillip Glenister), but he chose to fade the song out before that, after he realised that the audience would be "desperately waiting for the 'duh-dum-duh-dum-duh-dum'" and wouldn't "care about Alex or Gene or a scarecrow or anything else".
has arisen around "In the Air Tonight" according to which the lyrics are based on a real drowning incident that Collins witnessed. Various, increasingly embroidered variations on the legend emerged over time, with the stories often culminating in Collins singling out the guilty party while singing the song at a concert. Collins has denied all such stories; he commented on the legends about the song in a BBC World Service
interview:
The urban legend is referenced in the song "Stan
" by Eminem
. The reference is contained in the following lyrics:
The song gained additional life in the mid-to-late 1980s when the brewer Anheuser-Busch
adopted it for an ad campaign promoting Michelob beer, along with night-related songs by Collins' peers Steve Winwood
and Eric Clapton
.
In 2006, it was used by Mountain Dew
in television commercials for its MDX
energy drink
.
Cadbury used the song in their 2007 Gorilla advertising campaign for its Dairy Milk
chocolate
bar. The commercial features a gorilla
playing the piece's famous drum sequence. After its premier week in September, the song reached number 14 in the UK singles chart
and number 9 in the UK Download Chart. The advertisement also helped the song re-enter the New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart at number 3 in July, 2008 and went to number 1 the following week staying there for two weeks, beating its original 1981 number 6 peak. The single was also certified Platinum with sales of over 15,000 copies. This advert was so popular, it won the awards for the Best Ad of the Year, at New Zealands Fair-Go Ad Awards. It was also subsequently parodied in a spoof ad by Wonderbra.
by many artists, including Shaquille O'Neal
in his song "Edge Of Night", Nas
in his song "One Mic
", and Tupac Shakur
on his tracks "Starin' Through My Rearview" and "Letter to the President". Other tracks which include samples of "In the Air Tonight" include DMX
's "I Can Feel It", Krayzie Bone
's "Silent Warrior", Joe Budden
's "Rest in Peace (In the Air)", Sean Kingston
's "Can You Feel It", Young Buck
's "New York City", and Lil Kim's "In the Air Tonite
".
The trademark drum roll was reused, but not directly sampled, in the song "Nicotine and Gravy" by Beck
.
Appearances in film include:
In addition to the famous usage in the pilot episode of Miami Vice, appearances in television include:
The song appears on the PlayStation Portable
and PlayStation 2
video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
soundtrack and on one of the game's music stations, "Emotion FM". It is also the title of a mission, which revolves around protecting Phil Collins; completion of the mission unlocks a CGI
cutscene of a Phil Collins concert where the song is played in full. Collins plays himself in the game, a first for Grand Theft Auto, and said cutscene features an animation of Collins singing and playing the drums to the song.
The song is also played during the warmups of many NFL teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and Indianapolis Colts. Ray Lewis
is an avid Phil Collins fan and is credited for the song's popularity as an NFL warmup anthem. The song has been played before some key games for the Chicago Bulls in the 2011 playoffs at the request of Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah. The song was also played in a Miami Heat
basketball game before introductions.
(catalogue 2292-57672-2)
Phil Collins
Philip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist....
that first appeared on his 1981 album Face Value. It was recorded in 1979 and was the first single of Collins' solo career, and remains one of his best-known hits. The music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
, directed by Stuart Orme, was released in 1981.
The song/recording
The recording is notable for its atmospheric production and macabreMacabre
In works of art, macabre is the quality of having a grim or ghastly atmosphere. Macabre works emphasize the details and symbols of death....
theme. Released in January 1981 in the UK, the single was an instant hit, quickly climbing to Number 2 in the Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. It was also an international hit, reaching the top 20 on the Billboard Chart in the summer of 1981, peaking at #19.
Collins wrote this about the anger he felt after divorcing his first wife Andrea in 1979. He explained on a BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
documentary in 1997 that he took a couple of years out of Genesis because of his devastation.
"In the Air Tonight" remains, alone among Collins' solo oeuvre, a popular selection on many classic rock
Classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...
radio stations. It is the song most often associated with Collins' solo career, and he has performed versions of it at many events, notably at Live Aid
Live Aid
Live Aid was a dual-venue concert that was held on 13 July 1985. The event was organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for relief of the ongoing Ethiopian famine. Billed as the "global jukebox", the event was held simultaneously in Wembley Stadium in London, England, United Kingdom ...
, where he played the song on the same calendar day in both Philadelphia and London. He also performed the song at The Secret Policeman's Ball, Collins' first live performance as a solo artist.
The lyrics of the song take the form of a dark monologue directed towards an unnamed person:
- I was there and I saw what you did
- Saw it with my own two eyes
- So you can wipe off that grin
- I know where you've been
- It's all been a pack of lies
Musically the song consists of a series of ominous chords played over a simple drum machine
Drum machine
A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...
pattern (the Roland CR-78
Roland CR-78
The Roland CompuRhythm CR-78 is a drum machine launched in 1978. Although primitive by today's standards, the CR-78 represented an important advance in drum machine technology at the time...
Disco-2 pattern, plus some programming); processed electric guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
sounds and vocoded
Vocoder
A vocoder is an analysis/synthesis system, mostly used for speech. In the encoder, the input is passed through a multiband filter, each band is passed through an envelope follower, and the control signals from the envelope followers are communicated to the decoder...
vocals on key words add additional atmosphere. The mood is one of restrained anger until the final chorus when an explosive burst of drums releases the musical tension, and the instrumentation builds to a thundering final chorus.
Collins wrote the song in the wake of a failing relationship with his then-wife. Collins has described obtaining the drum machine specifically to deal with these personal issues through songwriting, telling Mix
Mix (magazine)
Mix magazine is a periodical billing itself as "the world's leading magazine for the professional recording and sound production technology industry". The magazine is distributed in 94 countries....
magazine: "I had to start writing some of this music that was inside me." Collins improvised the lyrics during a songwriting session in the studio: "I was just fooling around. I got these chords that I liked, so I turned the mic on and started singing. The lyrics you hear are what I wrote spontaneously. That frightens me a bit, but I'm quite proud of the fact that I sang 99.9 percent of those lyrics spontaneously."
The song's popularity in the 1980s increased after a nearly complete recording of it was featured in the pilot episode of the American television show Miami Vice
Miami Vice
Miami Vice is an American television series produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series starred Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas as two Metro-Dade Police Department detectives working undercover in Miami. It ran for five seasons on NBC from 1984–1989...
("Brother's Keeper"), thus becoming one of the first pop/rock songs to be featured as part of a TV program in this manner. The resurgence in the popularity of the track resulted in it almost reaching the Billboard Hot 100 again, reaching number 102 on the "Bubbling Under" chart in 1984. On the heels of this successful merging of media, Collins became associated with the show; other Collins tracks including "Take Me Home
Take Me Home (Phil Collins song)
*US: Atlantic / 7-89472*Germany: WEA / 258 830-7*Japan: WEA / P2058-12" vinyl single:*UK: Virgin / VS777-12*UK: Virgin / VSM777-12...
" were later featured and Collins himself also acted in an episode, "Phil the Shill".
Drum sound
The means by which Collins attained the drum sound on this recording was long a source of mystery. The exact process was, as happens so often, a result of serendipity: an unintended use of studio technology giving unexpectedly useful results.
In this case, the Solid State Logic
Solid State Logic
Solid State Logic is a manufacturer of high-end mixing consoles and recording studio hardware headquartered in Begbroke, Oxfordshire, UK.- Company information :...
4000 mixing board had a "reverse talk-back" circuit (labeled on the board as "Listen Mic"). Normal "talkback" is a button that the mixing engineer has to press in order to talk to the recording musicians (the recording and the mixing parts of a studio are, otherwise, completely sonically isolated). Reverse talkback is a circuit (also button-activated) for the engineer to listen to musicians in the studio. In order to compensate for sound level differences — people can be close to the reverse talkback microphone or far off — this circuit has a compressor
Audio level compression
Dynamic range compression, also called DRC or simply compression reduces the volume of loud sounds or amplifies quiet sounds by narrowing or "compressing" an audio signal's dynamic range...
on it, which minimizes the differences between loud and soft sounds. While recording "Intruder" for his ex-bandmate Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
's solo album
Peter Gabriel (III)
Peter Gabriel is Peter Gabriel's third album. The album contains two of Gabriel's most famous songs, the U.K. Top 10 hit "Games Without Frontiers" and the political song "Biko", about the late anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko...
, at some point Collins started playing the drums while the reverse talkback was activated. Engineer Hugh Padgham
Hugh Padgham
Hugh Padgham is a British record producer. He has won many awards, including four Grammys, with Producer of the Year and Engineer of the Year. A 1992 poll in Mix magazine voted him one of the world's Top Ten Most Influential Producers....
and his friend Jeffrey were amazed at the sound achieved. Overnight, they rewired the board so that the reverse talkback could be recorded in a more formal manner. Later models of the SSL 4000 allowed the listen mic to be recorded with the touch of a button.
When recording engineer Hugh Padgham
Hugh Padgham
Hugh Padgham is a British record producer. He has won many awards, including four Grammys, with Producer of the Year and Engineer of the Year. A 1992 poll in Mix magazine voted him one of the world's Top Ten Most Influential Producers....
was brought in to help develop Collins' demos that would become Face Value they recreated the "Intruder" sound using the reverse talkback microphone as well as heavily compressed and gated ambient mics. Hugh Padgham continued working with Genesis
Genesis (band)
Genesis are an English rock band that formed in 1967. The band currently comprises the longest-tenured members Tony Banks , Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins . Past members Peter Gabriel , Steve Hackett and Anthony Phillips , also played major roles in the band in its early years...
for Abacab
Abacab
Abacab, released in 1981, is the 11th studio album by British band Genesis. It reached No.1 in the UK, where it remained in the charts for 27 weeks.-Background and recording:...
later in 1981 and the same technique (generally referred to as gated reverb
Gated reverb
Gated reverb is an audio processing technique that is applied to recordings of drums to make the drums sound powerful and "punchy," while keeping the overall mix clean and transparent-sounding...
) was used, and the powerful drum sound has become synonymous with later Genesis projects and Collins' solo career ever since.
The original single version of "In the Air Tonight" features extra drums that play underneath the song until the signature drum crash appears. These were added at the suggestion of Atlantic Records head Ahmet Ertegun
Ahmet Ertegun
Ahmet Ertegün was a Turkish American musician and businessman, best known as the founder and president of Atlantic Records. He also wrote classic blues and pop songs and served as Chairman of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and museum...
. In 2007, Collins wrote: "Ahmet came down to the final mix in the cutting room in New York (. . .) The drums don't come in until the end but Ahmet didn't know that at this point, because on the demo the drums hadn't come in at all; it was only drum machine all the way. And he was saying, 'Where's the down beat, where's the backbeat?' I said, 'The drums come in in a minute.' 'Yeah, you know that and I know that, but the kids don't know that; you've got to put the drums on earlier.' So we added some drums to the mix and put it out as a single."
In an interview with the magazine SFX, Life on Mars
Life on Mars (TV series)
Life on Mars is a British television series broadcast on BBC One between January 2006 and April 2007. The series combines elements of science fiction and police procedural....
and Ashes to Ashes
Ashes to Ashes (TV series)
Ashes to Ashes is a British science fiction and police procedural drama television series, serving as the sequel to Life on Mars.The series began airing on BBC One in February 2008. A second series began broadcasting in April 2009...
creator Matthew Graham
Matthew Graham
Matthew Graham is a British television writer, and the co-creator of the BBC/Kudos Film and Television science fiction series Life on Mars, which debuted in 2006 on BBC One and has received international critical acclaim....
highlighted the significance of the drum sound when he discussed the use of the song in the Ashes to Ashes series finale: he originally intended to have the whole track play over a climactic scene on a farm where Alex Drake
Alex Drake
DI Alexandra "Alex" Drake is a fictional character in BBC One's science fiction/police procedural drama, Ashes to Ashes. The character is portrayed by Keeley Hawes and as a child by Lucy Cole.-Character history:...
(Keeley Hawes
Keeley Hawes
Keeley Hawes is an English actress and model, known for many television roles. She is best known for her roles as Zoe Reynolds in Spooks and Alex Drake in Ashes to Ashes and Lady Agnes in the remake of Upstairs, Downstairs...
) discovers the body of fellow protagonist Gene Hunt
Gene Hunt
DCI Gene Hunt is a fictional character in BBC One's science fiction/police procedural drama Life on Mars and its sequel, Ashes to Ashes. The character is portrayed by Philip Glenister in both Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes, whereas in the American version he is portrayed by Harvey Keitel.The...
(Phillip Glenister), but he chose to fade the song out before that, after he realised that the audience would be "desperately waiting for the 'duh-dum-duh-dum-duh-dum'" and wouldn't "care about Alex or Gene or a scarecrow or anything else".
Urban legend
An urban legendUrban legend
An urban legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend, is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true...
has arisen around "In the Air Tonight" according to which the lyrics are based on a real drowning incident that Collins witnessed. Various, increasingly embroidered variations on the legend emerged over time, with the stories often culminating in Collins singling out the guilty party while singing the song at a concert. Collins has denied all such stories; he commented on the legends about the song in a BBC World Service
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is the world's largest international broadcaster, broadcasting in 27 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays...
interview:
The urban legend is referenced in the song "Stan
Stan (song)
"Stan" is the third single from The Marshall Mathers LP, by rapper Eminem featuring Dido. It peaked at number one in the United Kingdom and Australia. It is also included on Curtain Call: The Hits, performed with Eminem and Dido as well track 17 on Curtain Call: The Hits as a live Performance from...
" by Eminem
Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III , better known by his stage name Eminem or his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter and actor. Eminem's popularity brought his group project, D12, to mainstream recognition...
. The reference is contained in the following lyrics:
- You know the song by Phil Collins, "In the Air of the Night" [sic]
- About that guy who coulda saved that other guy from drowning
- But didn't, then Phil saw it all, then at a show he found him?
Use in advertising
The song has been licensed repeatedly for use in television advertisements for various products; in several cases these uses led to a measurable resurgence in popularity for the song.The song gained additional life in the mid-to-late 1980s when the brewer Anheuser-Busch
Anheuser-Busch
Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. , is an American brewing company. The company operates 12 breweries in the United States and 18 in other countries. It was, until December 2009, also one of America's largest theme park operators; operating ten theme parks across the United States through the...
adopted it for an ad campaign promoting Michelob beer, along with night-related songs by Collins' peers Steve Winwood
Steve Winwood
Stephen Lawrence "Steve" Winwood is an English international recording artist whose career spans nearly 50 years. He is a songwriter and a musician whose genres include soul music , R&B, rock, blues-rock, pop-rock, and jazz...
and Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
.
In 2006, it was used by Mountain Dew
Mountain Dew
Mountain Dew is a citrus-flavored carbonated soft drink brand produced and owned by PepsiCo. The original formula was invented in the 1940s by Tennessee beverage bottlers Barney and Ally Hartman and was first marketed in Marion, VA, Knoxville and Johnson City, Tennessee. A revised formula was...
in television commercials for its MDX
Mountain Dew MDX
Mountain Dew MDX was an energy drink manufactured and distributed by PepsiCo under the Mountain Dew brand. It was introduced in 2005 as PepsiCo's second attempt to market an energy soda. Josta, the first energy drink introduced by a major soft drink company from 1995 to 1999. "Power Pack" is the...
energy drink
Energy drink
Energy drinks are beverages whose producers advertise that they "boost energy." These advertisements usually do not emphasize energy derived from the sugar and caffeine they contain but rather increased energy release due to a variety of stimulants and vitamins....
.
Cadbury used the song in their 2007 Gorilla advertising campaign for its Dairy Milk
Dairy Milk
Dairy Milk is a brand of milk chocolate currently manufactured by Cadbury; except in the United States where it is made by The Hershey Company. It was introduced in the United Kingdom in 1905 and now consists of a number of products...
chocolate
Chocolate
Chocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC...
bar. The commercial features a gorilla
Gorilla
Gorillas are the largest extant species of primates. They are ground-dwelling, predominantly herbivorous apes that inhabit the forests of central Africa. Gorillas are divided into two species and either four or five subspecies...
playing the piece's famous drum sequence. After its premier week in September, the song reached number 14 in the UK singles chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
and number 9 in the UK Download Chart. The advertisement also helped the song re-enter the New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart at number 3 in July, 2008 and went to number 1 the following week staying there for two weeks, beating its original 1981 number 6 peak. The single was also certified Platinum with sales of over 15,000 copies. This advert was so popular, it won the awards for the Best Ad of the Year, at New Zealands Fair-Go Ad Awards. It was also subsequently parodied in a spoof ad by Wonderbra.
Sampling of the song
The song has been sampledSampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
by many artists, including Shaquille O'Neal
Shaquille O'Neal
Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal , nicknamed "Shaq" , is a former American professional basketball player. Standing tall and weighing , he was one of the heaviest players ever to play in the NBA...
in his song "Edge Of Night", Nas
Nas
Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, who performs under the name Nas , formerly Nasty Nas, is an American rapper and actor. He is regarded as one of the most important figures in hip hop and one of the most skilled and influential rappers of all-time...
in his song "One Mic
One Mic
"One Mic" is a song by American hip hop rapper Nas, released April 16, 2002 on Columbia Records and distributed through Ill Will Records in the United States. It was issued as the third single from his fifth studio album, Stillmatic . The song samples a portion of Phil Collins's "In The Air Tonight"...
", and Tupac Shakur
Tupac Shakur
Tupac Amaru Shakur , known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor. Shakur has sold over 75 million albums worldwide as of 2007, making him one of the best-selling music artists in the world...
on his tracks "Starin' Through My Rearview" and "Letter to the President". Other tracks which include samples of "In the Air Tonight" include DMX
DMX (rapper)
Earl Simmons , better known by his stage name DMX, is a multiplatinum American rapper and actor who rose to fame in the late 1990s. His stage name pays tribute to the Oberheim DMX drum machine, an instrument he used when he made his own rap beats in the 80's...
's "I Can Feel It", Krayzie Bone
Krayzie Bone
Anthony Henderson better known as Krayzie Bone, is an American rapper and is a former member of the rap group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony.-Solo career:Krayzie Bone recorded his solo debut, Thug Mentality 1999, in 1998...
's "Silent Warrior", Joe Budden
Joe Budden
-Early life:Budden was born in Spanish Harlem, but lived in Queens until he was 12 and from there moved to Jersey City, New Jersey. He is one of five boys...
's "Rest in Peace (In the Air)", Sean Kingston
Sean Kingston
Sean Kingston is a Jamaican-American singer. He pursued a music career and debuted in 2007 with the album Sean Kingston.-Early life:...
's "Can You Feel It", Young Buck
Young Buck
David Darnell Brown , also known as Young Buck, is an American Southern rapper. Buck is a former member of the New York City Hip-Hop group G-Unit, also a former artist of G-Unit Records as of Nov 26, 2011...
's "New York City", and Lil Kim's "In the Air Tonite
In the Air Tonite
In the Air Tonite is the remix-version from "In the Air Tonight" was re-released in 2001 to promote the R&B/hip hop Collins tribute album Urban Renewal, the song is a duet between Collins and Lil' Kim. They did not work together for the video; scenes from the original video and new scenes...
".
The trademark drum roll was reused, but not directly sampled, in the song "Nicotine and Gravy" by Beck
Beck
Beck Hansen is an American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known by the stage name Beck...
.
Other pop culture references
"In the Air Tonight" has been widely used in films, television, and video games, often to create or emphasize an eerie or portentous mood; in some cases this usage is ironic or referential to previous uses of the song.Appearances in film include:
- The song plays during the train love scene in the 1983 movie Risky BusinessRisky BusinessRisky Business is a 1983 American teen comedy-drama film written by Paul Brickman in his directorial debut. It stars Tom Cruise and Rebecca De Mornay. The hit film launched Cruise to stardom.-Plot:...
. - A combat scene in Bravo Two ZeroBravo Two Zero (film)Bravo Two Zero is a 1999 two hour television miniseries , based on the book of the same name by Andy McNab. The film covers real life events - from the perspective of Andy McNab, patrol commander of Bravo Two Zero, a British SAS patrol , tasked to find Iraqi Scud missile launchers during the Gulf...
. - An appearance in the movie Big Trouble when a drunk security guard played by Andy RichterAndy RichterPaul Andrew "Andy" Richter is an American actor, writer, comedian, and late night talk show announcer. He is best known for his role as the sidekick of Conan O'Brien on each of the host's programs: Late Night and The Tonight Show on NBC, and Conan on TBS...
stalks a group of teens he finds suspicious. - The scene in The New GuyThe New GuyThe New Guy is a 2002 American teen comedy directed by Ed Decter. The film tells the story of high school loser Dizzy Gillespie Harrison. Dizzy is an unpopular, high school band geek going through a hellish senior year...
when Dizzy Harrison, pretending to be Gil Harris, walks away in slow motion after unknowingly setting the school's statue on fire. - The melody of the song persists throughout the film Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film For Theaters. It is also referenced multiple times in the dialogue.
- In American PsychoAmerican PsychoAmerican Psycho is a psychological thriller and satirical novel by Bret Easton Ellis, published in 1991. The story is told in the first person by the protagonist, serial killer and Manhattan businessman Patrick Bateman. The book's graphic violence and sexual content generated a great deal of...
, Patrick BatemanPatrick BatemanPatrick Bateman is a fictional character, the antihero and narrator of the novel American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis, and its film adaptation. He has also briefly appeared in other Ellis novels.-Biography and profile:...
mentions the song as being more commercial and therefore more satisfying, in a narrower way, than Phil Collins' work with GenesisGenesis (band)Genesis are an English rock band that formed in 1967. The band currently comprises the longest-tenured members Tony Banks , Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins . Past members Peter Gabriel , Steve Hackett and Anthony Phillips , also played major roles in the band in its early years...
. - The song is also featured in the film Paid in FullPaid in Full (film)Paid in Full is a 2002 American criminal drama film that was produced by Roc-A-Fella Films and directed by Charles Stone III. It takes place in Harlem just before the Crack Epidemic that hit during the 1980s. The title of the film is taken from the 1987 album by Eric B. and Rakim."Paid in Full" is...
starring Wood HarrisWood HarrisSherwin David "Wood" Harris is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles as drug kingpin Avon Barksdale on the HBO television drama The Wire, and as high-school football player Julius Campbell in the 2000 motion picture Remember the Titans.-Life and career:Harris was born in...
and Mehki Phifer. - The song is in The HangoverThe Hangover (film)The Hangover is a 2009 American comedy film directed by Todd Phillips and written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore. The film stars Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Heather Graham, Justin Bartha and Jeffrey Tambor...
, where the three protagonists are ambushed in their hotel suite by Mike TysonMike TysonMichael Gerard "Mike" Tyson is a retired American boxer. Tyson is a former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and holds the record as the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles, he was 20 years, 4 months and 22 days old...
and his bodyguard after the disappearance of Tyson's pet tiger. As the tension builds, Tyson stops all conversation and says "This is my favorite part". Then, after the drum solo, he knocks out Zach GalifianakisZach GalifianakisZachary Knight "Zach" Galifianakis is an American stand-up comedian and actor known for his numerous film and television appearances including his own Comedy Central Presents special...
' character.
In addition to the famous usage in the pilot episode of Miami Vice, appearances in television include:
- Days of Our LivesDays of our LivesDays of our Lives is a long running daytime soap opera broadcast on the NBC television network. It is one of the longest-running scripted television programs in the world, airing nearly every weekday in the United States since November 8, 1965. It has since been syndicated to many countries around...
actually had a tangential relationship with Miami Vice in the '80s, with one episode of the soap opera set in Miami included walk-ons by detectives Calebrese and Switek. Days attempted to emulate some of the feel of Miami Vice in some of its more adventurous and sensual storylines: "In the Air Tonight" was played during a scene featuring a particularly dangerous rendezvous between Chris KositchekChris KositchekChristopher Kositchek nicknamed Chris, is a former resident of the fictional town of Salem on the soap opera Days of our Lives. He was portrayed by Josh Taylor from 1977 until 1987. Josh currently plays the role of Roman Brady on Days.-Biography:...
and Savannah Wilder. - The song is used at the end of the first season finale episode of Tru CallingTru CallingTru Calling is an American television supernatural drama series that premiered on Fox Network on October 30, 2003. It ran for two seasons before being canceled....
- "Two Weddings and a Funeral". - The song is featured in the pilot episode of FastlaneFastlane (TV series)Fastlane is an American action/crime drama series that was broadcast on Fox from 2002 to 2003. On August 14, 2005 G4 began rebroadcasting the complete series. After finishing its initial run on the network, Fastlane stopped airing on G4...
. - The song is referenced in the Family GuyFamily GuyFamily Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
episode "PetergeistPetergeist"Petergeist" is an episode from season four of Fox animated series Family Guy. Peter decides to build a multiplex to top Joe's new home theater, but comes across an Indian skull in his backyard and desecrates it...
", where Stewie sings it when he is captured by the TV people and his voice has the effect of Phil Collins when he is singing the song. - The song is played in the opening title sequence for the television show CarpoolersCarpoolersCarpoolers is an American single-camera comedy series, which ran on ABC from October 2, 2007 to March 4, 2008. The show was created by Bruce McCulloch, who also executive produced alongside Justin Falvey, Darryl Frank, David Miner, Marsh McCall, Joe Russo and Anthony Russo . Joe and Anthony Russo...
in which four men drive in silence, listening to the song, before simultaneously air-drumming the signature drum crash and then returning to deadpan silence. - The song is briefly played in the television show Criminal MindsCriminal MindsCriminal Minds is an American police procedural drama that premiered September 22, 2005, on CBS. The series follows a team of profilers from the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit based in Quantico, Virginia. The BAU is part of the FBI National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime...
, in the first episode of the first season, "Extreme Agressor". It played while the murderer assaulted his victim in a car. - The song is often covered by singer Lights during her live shows.
- The song is an introduction to CharmedCharmedCharmed is an American television series that originally aired from October 7, 1998, until May 21, 2006, on the now defunct The WB Television Network. The series was created in 1998 by writer Constance M...
in the first season, for the episode "The Witch Is Back", and was performed by Holly McNarlandHolly McNarlandHolly McNarland is a Canadian musician, singer and songwriter.She collaborated with Matthew Good on the song "Flight Recorder From Viking 7" from the album Loser Anthems as well as on the song "Pony Boy" from Matthew Good's greatest hits package In a Coma...
. - The song is used twice in the popular BBC science-fiction/police drama series Ashes to AshesAshes to Ashes (TV series)Ashes to Ashes is a British science fiction and police procedural drama television series, serving as the sequel to Life on Mars.The series began airing on BBC One in February 2008. A second series began broadcasting in April 2009...
. The first time is in episode 2 of series 2, when Gene Hunt is contacting his predecessor. The second time is in the series finale of series 3, and the series as a whole, when Alex Drake heads north to find out the truth about the world she inhabits. - The extended version of the song is used at the beginning of the third episode, "Damned If You Do", in season 7 of CSI: NYCSI: NYCSI: NY is an American police procedural television series that premiered on September 22, 2004, on CBS. The show follows the investigations of a team of NYPD forensic scientists and police officers as they unveil the circumstances behind mysterious and unusual deaths as well as other crimes...
. - The song is featured on the british teen drama SkinsSkins (TV series)Skins is a BAFTA award-winning British teen drama that follows a group of teenagers in Bristol, South West England, through the two years of college. The controversial plot line explores issues such as dysfunctional families, mental illness , adolescent sexuality, substance abuse and death...
on the episode "Katie and Emily" in 2009.
The song appears on the PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
and PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories is a 2006 sandbox-style action video game developed by Rockstar Leeds in association with Rockstar North. It was published by Rockstar Games for the PlayStation Portable in late 2006 and later for the PlayStation 2 in March 2007. The game is the eighth...
soundtrack and on one of the game's music stations, "Emotion FM". It is also the title of a mission, which revolves around protecting Phil Collins; completion of the mission unlocks a CGI
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
cutscene of a Phil Collins concert where the song is played in full. Collins plays himself in the game, a first for Grand Theft Auto, and said cutscene features an animation of Collins singing and playing the drums to the song.
The song is also played during the warmups of many NFL teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and Indianapolis Colts. Ray Lewis
Ray Lewis
Ray Lewis is a professional American football player.Ray Lewis may also refer to:* Ray Lewis , former English association football referee* Ray Lewis , Canadian track-and-field athlete...
is an avid Phil Collins fan and is credited for the song's popularity as an NFL warmup anthem. The song has been played before some key games for the Chicago Bulls in the 2011 playoffs at the request of Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah. The song was also played in a Miami Heat
Miami Heat
The Miami Heat is a professional basketball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. The team is a member of the Southeast Division in the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . They play their home games at American Airlines Arena in Downtown Miami...
basketball game before introductions.
- The boxer Jermaine Taylor used "in the air tonight" as his introductory song before his upset victory of Bernard Hopkins VS. Jermaine Taylor I
UK and US single
- "In the Air Tonight" 4:57
- Phil CollinsPhil CollinsPhilip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist....
: Roland CR-78Roland CR-78The Roland CompuRhythm CR-78 is a drum machine launched in 1978. Although primitive by today's standards, the CR-78 represented an important advance in drum machine technology at the time...
, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, ProphetSequential Circuits Prophet 5The Prophet-5 is an analog synthesizer that was manufactured by Sequential Circuits in San Jose, California between 1977 and 1984. The Prophet-5 was groundbreaking in that it was one of the first analog synthesizers to implement patch memory, a feature which stored user settings of every parameter...
, RhodesRhodes pianoThe Rhodes piano is an electro-mechanical piano, invented by Harold Rhodes during the fifties and later manufactured in a number of models, first in collaboration with Fender and after 1965 by CBS....
, VocoderVocoderA vocoder is an analysis/synthesis system, mostly used for speech. In the encoder, the input is passed through a multiband filter, each band is passed through an envelope follower, and the control signals from the envelope followers are communicated to the decoder... - John GiblinJohn GiblinJohn Giblin is an internationally renowned session bassist who has worked with the following artists:*Eric Clapton, Sting, Mark Knopfler, Phil Collins * Peter Gabriel...
: BassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Daryl StuermerDaryl StuermerDaryl Mark Stuermer is an American musician who plays guitar and bass for Genesis during live shows, and lead guitar for Phil Collins during most of his solo tours and albums.-Biography:...
: GuitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - ShankarShankarShankar or Shamkar is a Sanskrit noun, and means "Beneficent" or "Giver of Bliss". It generally refers to a Hindu descriptions of one of the chief gods, Lord Shiva.It may also refer to:-People:...
: Violins
- Phil Collins
- "The Roof Is Leaking" 3:36
- Phil CollinsPhil CollinsPhilip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist....
: PianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, Vocal - Daryl StuermerDaryl StuermerDaryl Mark Stuermer is an American musician who plays guitar and bass for Genesis during live shows, and lead guitar for Phil Collins during most of his solo tours and albums.-Biography:...
: BanjoBanjoIn the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new... - Joe Partridge: Slide GuitarSlide guitarSlide guitar or bottleneck guitar is a particular method or technique for playing the guitar. The term slide refers to the motion of the slide against the strings, while bottleneck refers to the original material of choice for such slides: the necks of glass bottles...
aka Eric ClaptonEric ClaptonEric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
credited as Eric- A demo track for "In the Air Tonight" also appeared on the "If Leaving Me Is EasyIf Leaving Me Is Easy"If Leaving Me Is Easy" is a song by Phil Collins from his 1981 album Face Value. Released as the third single from the album, it reached #17 in the UK, but was never released as a single in the United States. It is notable mainly for Collins' high falsetto lyrics in its chorus.-Involvement of Eric...
" single.
- A demo track for "In the Air Tonight" also appeared on the "If Leaving Me Is Easy
- Phil Collins
Japan CD single (1988)
- "In the Air Tonight" (Extended)
- "In the Air Tonight" ('88 Remix)
- "In the Air Tonight" (Home Demo)
Germany CD single (1990)
- "In the Air Tonight" (Extended Version) 7:33 (Additional production by Ben Liebrand)
- "In the Air Tonight" ('88 Remix) 5:07 (Remixed by Phil Collins & Hugh Padgham)
- "I Missed Again" 3:42
(catalogue 2292-57672-2)
Charts
| Chart (1981) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian ARIA Singles Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
3 |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 1 |
| Canadian RPM Top Singles | 2 |
| Dutch Top 40 | 1 |
| German Singles Chart | 1 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 2 |
| New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart | 6 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 1 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 1 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
2 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
19 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks | 2 |
| Chart (1988) | Peak position |
| Dutch Singles Chart | 17 |
| German Singles Chart | 3 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
4 |
| Chart (2007) | Peak position |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
14 |
| Chart (2008) | Peak position |
| New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart | 1 |
Other versions
- Rapper Cuban LinkCuban LinkFelix Delgado , better known by his stage name Cuban Link, is a Cuban rapper.-Biography:Delgado was born in Havana, Cuba in 1974. He and his family emigrated to the United States in 1980 and settled in the Morrisania section of the South Bronx neighborhood of New York City...
along with fellow former Terror SquadTerror Squad (group)Terror Squad is an American hip hop collective that was first established in 1998. Based in The Bronx borough of New York City, the members of Terror Squad collectively debuted on a song in member Fat Joe's album Don Cartagena...
members, Remy MaRemy MaReminisce Smith , better known by her stage name Remy Ma, formerly known as Remy Martin, is a Grammy nominated American rapper and former member of Fat Joe's rap crew, Terror Squad...
and Triple Seis, reinterpreted the song in the track "Moment of Truth" as a diss track towards Fat JoeFat JoeJoseph Antonio Cartagena , better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper, CEO of Terror Squad Entertainment, and member of musical groups D.I.T.C. and Terror Squad....
. - Flatulist Mr. MethaneMr. MethanePaul Oldfield, born in Macclesfield, Cheshire, North West England, is better known by his stage name Mr. Methane. He is a British flatulist or "professional farter" who started performing in 1991; he briefly retired in 2006 but re-started in mid-2007; he claims to be the only performing...
recorded a version of the song with additional fart noises and alternate lyrics (describing the abdominal effects of eating hot curry). - A version of this song is on the GregorianGregorian (band)Gregorian is a German band headed by Frank Peterson that performs Gregorian chant-inspired versions of modern pop and rock songs. The band features both vocal harmony and instrumental accompaniment.- Band history :...
album Masters of Chant Chapter IIMasters of Chant Chapter IIMasters of Chant Chapter II is the third album by Gregorian.-Track listing:#"Moment of Peace" #"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face"...
. - Welsh rock band LostprophetsLostprophetsLostprophets is a Welsh rock band from Pontypridd, formed in 1997. Founded by vocalist Ian Watkins, bassist Mike Lewis, drummer Mike Chiplin and guitarist Lee Gaze, they were originally a side-project to hardcore punk band Public Disturbance. To date, Lostprophets have released four studio...
did a cover version. - Austrian band StahlhammerStahlhammerStahlhammer is a Neue Deutsche Härte band from Austria that formed in 1992. They incorporate elements from hardcore, groove metal, industrial metal and symphonic metal into their songs. The band has to this date produced six albums, where the majority of songs are in German...
covered the song in their 2006 album Opera NoirOpera NoirOpera Noir is the sixth studio album by Austrian heavy metal band Stahlhammer released on March 31, 2006. The album follows the "Stahlhammer tradition" with cover songs of David Bowie's "Heroes/Helden" and Phil Collins's "In The Air Tonight"....
. - A remake of the song appears on the NonpointNonpointNonpoint is an American nu metal band formed in 1997. The band consists of Elias Soriano and Rob Rivera . Currently they are signed to Razor & Tie and working on new a record which is expected to be released in Spring 2012....
album RecoilRecoil (album)Recoil is the third album released by the four-piece alternative metal music group, Nonpoint. It was their only release through Lava Records.The album debuted #115 on the Billboard 200 charts.-Track listing:# "The Same" – 2:58# "The Truth" – 4:02...
. This song was featured in the film Miami ViceMiami Vice (film)Miami Vice is a 2006 American crime drama film about two Miami police detectives, Crockett and Tubbs, who go undercover to fight drug trafficking operations. The film is a loose adaptation of the 1980s TV series of the same name, written, produced, and directed by Michael Mann...
(2006), and a video was made to promote the track using clips from the film. Nonpoint's version was also used in teasers for the fifth season of DexterDexter (TV series)Dexter is an American television drama series, which debuted on Showtime on October 1, 2006. The sixth season premiered on October 2, 2011. The series centers on Dexter Morgan , a bloodstain pattern analyst for the Miami Metro Police Department who moonlights as a serial killer...
in 2010. - R&BRhythm and bluesRhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
group Naturally 7Naturally 7Naturally 7 is an American music group with a distinct a cappella style they call "Vocal Play". They sing primarily R&B with extensive beat-boxing. Band members are Garfield Buckley, Rod Eldridge, Warren Thomas, Napoleon Cummings, Roger "N'glish" Thomas, Dwight Stewart, and Armand "Hops" Hutton....
performed the song on their 2006 album Ready II FlyReady II FlyThe fourth album by Naturally 7 released on Virgin Germany on September 30, 2006. The album peaked at number 67 in France.Ready II Fly debuted at number 14 on the Australian ARIA Charts as of June 13, 2008. This follows a successful tour of Australia as the supporting act of Michael Bublé.- Track...
. Their version, entitled "Feel It (In The Air Tonight)", has additional lyrics. - Axel Rudi PellAxel Rudi PellAxel Rudi Pell is a German guitar player, playing melodic heavy metal. He started off with the band Steeler before leaving to start his solo career in 1989 with the eponymous band Axel Rudi Pell...
covered the song for his solo CD, Diamonds UnlockedDiamonds UnlockedDiamonds Unlocked is the twelfth album by German guitarist Axel Rudi Pell. It is a cover album released in September/October 2007. The album consists of 10 cover tracks and 1 self-written introduction track...
, released on 1 October 2007. - Finnish symphonic metalSymphonic metalSymphonic metal is a term used to describe heavy metal music that has symphonic elements; that is, elements that are either borrowed from classical music or, as with progressive rock music, create a style reminiscent of it, e.g...
supergroupSupergroup (music)In the late 1960s, the term supergroup was coined to describe "a rock music group whose performers are already famous from having performed individually or in other groups"....
Northern KingsNorthern KingsNorthern Kings is a Finnish symphonic metal cover supergroup, made up of four musicians who have already become well known in their existing bands: Jarkko Ahola from Teräsbetoni, ex-Dreamtale, Marco Hietala from Nightwish and Tarot, Tony Kakko from Sonata Arctica and Juha-Pekka Leppäluoto from...
covered the song on their first album RebornReborn (Northern Kings album)-Northern Kings:*Marco Hietala - vocals*Tony Kakko - vocals*Jarkko Ahola - vocals*Juha-Pekka Leppäluoto - vocals-Musicians:*Two Finger Choir: Backing Vocals*Vili Ollila: Piano, Keyboards, Programming*Erkka Korhonen: Lead & Rhythm Guitars...
in 2007. - Noise rockNoise rockNoise rock describes a style of post-punk rock music that became prominent in the 1980s. Noise rock makes use of the traditional instrumentation and iconography of rock, but incorporates atonality and especially dissonance, and also frequently discards usual songwriting conventions.-Style:Noise...
band godheadSiloGodheadSilogodheadSilo was a noise rock duo from Fargo, North Dakota.The band consisted of Mike Kunka on bass and Dan Haugh on drums. The two met growing up near Fargo, North Dakota. The band originally started as a three-piece, with Phil Leitch playing guitar. Leitch left the band after their first show at...
also covered the song on their album Share the Fantasy. - Takka TakkaTakka TakkaTakka Takka is a band from Brooklyn, New York that has been performing since 2006 and whose members include Gabe Levine, Conrad Doucette, Rene Planchon and and Craig Montoro ....
recorded a cover of the song for Engine Room RecordingsEngine Room RecordingsEngine Room Recordings is an independent record label with a roster of Indie rock and Alternative rock musicians. Beyond marketing and distribution for its artists, the label does booking and artist management....
' compilation album Guilt by Association Vol. 2Guilt by Association Vol. 2Guilt by Association Vol. 2 is a compilation album released November 18, 2008 by Engine Room Recordings. Like its predecessor, Guilt by Association Vol. 1, it features indie rock artists covering well-known pop and R&B songs.-Overview:...
, which was released in November 2008. - It was covered by Rocksolid on their Rock Anthems album in 2002.
- On their 2009 album My Own Army, ExiliaExiliaExilia is an Italian nu metal band. They combine elements of alternative metal, rock, and hard rock in their music.-History:Exilia formed in 1993 in Milan, Italy, when Masha met guitarist Elio Alien....
covered this song - Australian artist Bertie BlackmanBertie BlackmanBertie Blackman is an Independent Australian singer, songwriter and guitarist. She rose to fame with her debut album in 2004, entitled 'Headway' which came after years of prolific performances around Sydney's Inner city venues, where she developed a dedicated following.-Early life and...
performed a cover of this song as part of Triple J'sTriple Jtriple j is a nationally networked Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners between the ages of 18 and 30. The government-funded station is a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
morning show Like a VersionLike A VersionLike a Version is a segment on the Australian radio station Triple J. It was created by Mel Bampton as part of the Mel in the Morning program. Currently the segment pops up whenever artists are available and willing to do it, though mainly on the Breakfast show...
segment. - Heavy metalHeavy metal musicHeavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band UndecidedUndecided"Undecided" is a popular song written by Sid Robins and Charlie Shavers and published in 1938.The first recording was made by John Kirby and The Onyx Club Boys on October 28, 1938, and released by Decca Records as catalog number 2216, with the flip side "From A Flat to C".It was also recorded by...
performed a cover of the song at FoxFest 2005 in South Mississippi. - Rapper DMXDMX (rapper)Earl Simmons , better known by his stage name DMX, is a multiplatinum American rapper and actor who rose to fame in the late 1990s. His stage name pays tribute to the Oberheim DMX drum machine, an instrument he used when he made his own rap beats in the 80's...
recorded a track titled "I Can Feel It" on his debut album It's Dark and Hell Is HotIt's Dark and Hell Is HotIt's Dark and Hell is Hot is the debut album of American rapper DMX, released May 19, 1998 on Ruff Ryders Entertainment and Def Jam Recordings. The album featured four singles with music videos, "Get at Me Dog", "Stop Being Greedy", "How's It Goin' Down" and the "Ruff Ryders Anthem"...
. The song's chorus sampled Phil Collins' song. - On the soundtrack to the documentary film Tupac: ResurrectionTupac: ResurrectionTupac: Resurrection is a 2003 documentary about the life and death of rapper Tupac Shakur. The film, directed by Lauren Lazin and released by Paramount Pictures, is narrated by Tupac Shakur himself. The film was in theaters from November 16, 2003 to December 21, 2003...
, a track titled "Starin' Through My Rear View" samples "In the Air Tonight." Though the sample of the song is only heard on the edited version of Tupac's song. In the explicit version, the sample is replaced by another rapper's verse. - Sean KingstonSean KingstonSean Kingston is a Jamaican-American singer. He pursued a music career and debuted in 2007 with the album Sean Kingston.-Early life:...
also has his own "sped up" variation on this song with the title "I Can Feel It". - Canadian artist Holly McNarlandHolly McNarlandHolly McNarland is a Canadian musician, singer and songwriter.She collaborated with Matthew Good on the song "Flight Recorder From Viking 7" from the album Loser Anthems as well as on the song "Pony Boy" from Matthew Good's greatest hits package In a Coma...
covers the song on her 1999 EP Live StuffLive StuffLive Stuff is a 1999 live EP by Holly McNarland.-Track listing:#"Water" #"Numb" #"The Box" #"I Won't Stay" #"Elmo" #"Stormy" #"In the Air Tonight"...
. - Majandra DelfinoMajandra DelfinoMajandra Delfino is an Alma Award-nominated Venezuelan-American actress and singer best known for her role as Maria DeLuca on the television series Roswell and Georgia's best friend, Jo Pye on the State of Georgia.-Personal life:Delfino was born in Caracas, Venezuela, the daughter of an...
sang a cover of the song as the character Maria Deluca in RoswellRoswell (TV series)Roswell is an American science fiction television series developed, produced, and co-written by Jason Katims. The series debuted on October 6, 1999 on The WB and moved to UPN for the third season. The last episode aired May 14, 2002...
. This was in the season 1, episode 14 "Blind Date" which originally aired on February 9, 2000. - Three Days GraceThree Days GraceThree Days Grace is a Canadian rock band, formed in Norwood, Ontario, Canada in 1992, originally under the name Groundswell. After a breakup in late 1997, the band regrouped in the same year under its current name and with a line-up consisting of guitarist and lead vocalist Adam Gontier, drummer...
has been singing a cover of this song while on tour in 2010. - Canadian synthpopSynthpopSynthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...
/New WaveNew Wave musicNew Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
artist Gary Flanagan recorded a version of this song, and will often play it live wearing a Phil Collins mask. - It was covered by Will MartinWill MartinWill Martin is a New Zealand-born classical crossover singer.Martin's first album, released in his native New Zealand, went platinum in 6 weeks. The album, called A New World, featured songs such as "Into the West", "If" and "Going Home".Will commented on his success with “I am an entertainer; I...
on his Inspirations album in 2010 - Artist FiL StraughanFiL StraughanFiL Straughan is a US/UK soul singer. He is known for his energetic performances and a rich smooth voice reminiscent of the legendary Luther Vandross...
has a version forthcoming in summer 2011. - Lil' KimLil' KimKimberly Denise Jones , better known by her stage name Lil' Kim, is an American rapper and actress who was a member of the group Junior M.A.F.I.A.....
has a remix of the song, called In the Air ToniteIn the Air ToniteIn the Air Tonite is the remix-version from "In the Air Tonight" was re-released in 2001 to promote the R&B/hip hop Collins tribute album Urban Renewal, the song is a duet between Collins and Lil' Kim. They did not work together for the video; scenes from the original video and new scenes...
, on the tribute album Urban Renewal. - Canadian musician Lights has covered the song during concerts.
- Rock band DaughtryDaughtryDaughtry is an American rock band from North Carolina, formed and fronted by former American Idol season 5 finalist Chris Daughtry in 2006. Their self-titled debut album was released in 2006...
has covered the song during concerts.
External links
- The Singer and the Song, a "Learning English" episode from the BBC World Service, which includes a clip from the song and a recording of Collins reading part of the song's lyrics (in RealAudioRealAudioRealAudio is a proprietary audio format developed by RealNetworks and first released in April 1995. It uses a variety of audio codecs, ranging from low-bitrate formats that can be used over dialup modems, to high-fidelity formats for music. It can also be used as a streaming audio format, that is...
) - "Classic track: In the Air Tonight" About the lyrics and the drum sound.
- aglassandahalffullproductions.com, Cadbury advert featuring a Gorilla playing the song.