You Can't Hurry Phil

I was putting together a playlist of 1980s Pop.  Not a big fan of post-Peter Gabriel Genesis and a lot of Phil Collins stuff leaves me cold, but I did add one Genesis single (Turn It On Again) and two Collins songs - Against All Odds and, of course, this, which is the most 80s of all 80s songs - if you have any question about that I have three words for you; "Crockett and Tubbs".(1)

Of course, this brought back memories of how Collins and Genesis were all over the music world and their domination of MTV back in that decade, so I decided to double check to make sure my memory was correct.  It was.  Here is the decade for Collins, Genesis, and Mike Rutherford's solo project, Mike and The Mechanics, as well as a nod to Peter Gabriel, the band's former front man.

Collins and Genesis released eight albums in the decade and in the US the worst performing reached #11 on the charts, while two hit #1.  They had 17 top 10 singles with 8 reaching #1, while Mike & The Mechanics added three top 10s, including a #1.  Based upon this exhaustive analysis it appears that both Peak Phil and The Genesis Maximum occurred between the fall of 1984 and spring 1987.

Here's the breakdown with US release date and the chart position in parens:

1980

Duke, Genesis Album, 3/80 (11)

Misunderstanding, Genesis Single, 5/80 (14)

 

1981

In The Air Tonight, Collins Single, 1/81 (18, but #1 in UK and elsewhere and the video was in constant MTV rotation)

Face Value, Collins Album, 2/81 (7)

Abacab, Genesis Album, 8/81 (7) 

1982

You Can't Hurry Love, Collins Single, 11/82 (10)

Hello, I Must Be Going, Collins Album, 11/82 (8)

1983

Genesis, Genesis Album, 10/83 (9)

That's All, Genesis Single, 10/83 (6)

1984

Against All Odds, Collins Single, 2/84 (1)

In The Air Tonight featured on Miami Vice, 9/84

Easy Lover, Collins Single, 11/84 (2) 

1985

No Jacket Required, Collins Album, 1/85 (1)

Sussudio, Collins Single, 1/85 (1)

One More Night, Collins Single, 2/85 (1)

Don't Lose My Number, Collins Single, 7/85 (1)

Collins only musician to play at Live Aid Concerts in UK & US on 7/13/85

Separate Lives, Collins Single, 9/85 (1)

Silent Running, Mike & Mechanics Single, 11/85 (6)

1986

All I Need Is A Miracle, Mike & Mechanics Single, 2/86 (5)

Take Me Home, Collins Single, 3/86 (7)

Sledgehammer, Gabriel Single, 4/86 (1)

So, Gabriel Album, 5/86 (2)

Invisible Touch, Genesis Single, 5/86 (1)

Invisible Touch, Genesis Album, 6/86 (3)

Throwing It All Away, Genesis Single, 8/86 (4)

Land Of Confusion, Genesis Single, 11/86 (4)

 

1987

Tonight, Tonight, Tonight, Genesis Single, 3/87 (3)

In Too Deep, Genesis Single, 4/87 (3)

 

1988

A Groovy Kind Of Love, Collins Single, 8/88 (1)

Two Hearts, Collins Single, 11/88 (1)

The Living Years, Mike & Mechanics Single, 12/88 (1)

 

1989

But Seriously, Collins Album, 11/89 (1)

Another Day In Paradise, Collins Single, 11/89 (1)

 

Not too shabby.

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(1)  Miami Vice made incredibly creative use of pop music integrated into the flow of the show.  This is perhaps the finest example.