Easy Lover

"Easy Lover"

Front cover of US 12-inch vinyl single
Single by Philip Bailey and Phil Collins
from the album Chinese Wall
B-side "Woman"
Released November 1984 (US),
25 February 1985 (UK)[1]
Format 7", 12"
Recorded 1984
Genre Disco, pop rock, dance-rock
Length 4:50 (Single Edit)
5:02 (Album Version)
6:18 (Extended Version)
Label Columbia/CBS
Writer(s) Philip Bailey, Phil Collins, Nathan East
Producer(s) Phil Collins
Certification Gold
Philip Bailey singles chronology
"Easy Lover"
(1984)		 "Photogenic Memory"
(1984)
Phil Collins singles chronology
"Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)"
(1984)		 "Easy Lover"
(1984)		 "One More Night"
(1984)
Alternative cover
Front cover of UK 7-inch vinyl single

"Easy Lover" is a hit song performed by Philip Bailey and Phil Collins and written by Bailey, Collins and Nathan East. The song appeared on Bailey's solo album Chinese Wall. Collins has performed the song in his live concerts and it appears on his 1990 album Serious Hits... Live!, as well as his 1998 compilation album, ...Hits.

The song was a No. 1 hit in several countries worldwide, including Canada, the Netherlands, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. In the U.S. it reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 on 2 February 1985, kept out of the top spot for two weeks by "I Want to Know What Love Is" by Foreigner. In the UK Singles Chart it reached No. 1, staying there for four weeks.[2] The single was certified gold in the UK.[1] The single sold over a million copies in the U.S. and was certified gold, as the RIAA requirement for a platinum single disc was not lowered to 1 million units until 1989. In addition, "Easy Lover" has been certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry for sales of over 400,000 in the UK and platinum in Canada by Music Canada.[3][4][5][6]

"Easy Lover" won an MTV Video Music Award for Best Overall Performance in a Video in 1985 and was Grammy nominated for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals in 1986.[7][8]

The lighthearted video for the song was filmed in London, England and is a music video about the making of a music video.

Electric Six covered the song on their cover album Mimicry and Memories (2015).[9]

Background

In 1984 Phil Collins was hired as the producer for Chinese Wall. According to Phil Collins, he was approached by Philip Bailey at the end of the sessions for the album, who asked him to write a song together. In a 2016 interview Collins said of the song: "So we just started having a jam one night, and went round and round and turned it into a verse and a chorus. We recorded it that night so we wouldn't forget it. That song doesn't sound like any particular era. It's just fantastic."[10]

Chart performance

Weekly singles charts

Chart (1984–86) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[11] 74
Austrian Singles Chart 18
Canada (The Record)[12] 1
Dutch Top 40[13] 1
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[14] 5
French Singles Chart 14
German Singles Chart 5
Irish Singles Chart 1
Italy (FIMI)[15] 18
Oricon Japanese Weekly Singles Chart 19
Oricon Japanese International Chart 1
New Zealand Top 50 [16] 2
Spain (AFYVE)[17] 11
Swedish Singles Chart 10
Swiss Singles Chart 8
UK Singles Chart 1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[18] 2
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks 15
U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks 5
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs 3
U.S. Cash Box Top 100 [19] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (1985) Rank
Canada [20] 4
New Zealand [21] 42
UK [22] 7
US Billboard Hot 100 [23] 12
US Cash Box [24] 7

Personnel

References

  1. 1 2 "BPI > Certified Awards > Search results for Phil Collins (page 3)". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2016-02-16.
  2. ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 447. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  3. ↑ "Gold & Platinum Searchable Database - March 29, 2014". RIAA. Retrieved 2014-03-29.
  4. ↑ "Rock Music, etc., Terms". spider.georgetowncollege.edu. Retrieved 2009-03-23.
  5. ↑ Archived January 6, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.
  6. ↑ "Music Canada : Gold Platinum Database". Musiccanada.com. Retrieved 2014-03-29.
  7. ↑ "MTV Video Music Awards History: Best Overall Performance". Rock On The Net. Retrieved 2014-03-29.
  8. ↑ "Grammy Awards: Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Group or Duo". Rock On The Net. Retrieved 2014-03-29.
  9. ↑ "Final track listing for Mimicry and Memories". Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  10. ↑ http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/phil-collins-my-life-in-15-songs-20160229
  11. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). St. Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 71. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. N.B. the Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between mid 1983 and 19 June 1988.
  12. ↑ Lwin, Nanda. Top 40 Hits: The Essential Chart Guide (2000). Mississauga, Ont.: Music Data Canada
  13. ↑ "De Nederlandse Top 40, week 4, 1985". Retrieved 2008-03-01.
  14. ↑ Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
  15. ↑ "Hit Parade Italia - Indice per Interprete: C". Hit Parade Italia. Retrieved July 6, 2012.
  16. ↑ http://charts.org.nz/weekchart.asp?cat=s&year=1985&date=19850324
  17. ↑ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  18. ↑ [Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-2002]
  19. ↑ http://50.6.195.142/archives/80s_files/19850209.html
  20. ↑ http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.0619&type=1&interval=50&PHPSESSID=hfqghgi7qo83i9lhvl8q3orfj0
  21. ↑ http://nztop40.co.nz/chart/?chart=3874
  22. ↑ http://www.uk-charts.top-source.info/top-100-1985.shtml
  23. ↑ http://www.musicoutfitters.com/topsongs/1985.htm
  24. ↑ http://50.6.195.142/archives/80s_files/1985YESP.html
Preceded by
"Careless Whisper" by Wham!		 Canadian RPM number-one single
February 9, 1985 – February 16, 1985 		Succeeded by
"I Want to Know What Love Is" by Foreigner
Preceded by
"You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" by Dead or Alive		 UK number one single
23 March 1985 – 13 April 1985 		Succeeded by
"We Are the World" by USA for Africa
Preceded by
"Like a Virgin" by Madonna		 Japanese Oricon International Singles Chart number one single
4 March 1985 – 11 March 1985 		Succeeded by
"The NeverEnding Story" by Limahl
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