Phil Collins' biggest hits of the digital age revealed

Take a look at his biggest hits now...

Earlier this month, Phil Collins announced that he’s hauling himself out of retirement for a string of shows across Europe, including five nights at London’s Royal Albert Hall.

It’s his first run of shows in nearly ten years and ties in with the release of his new autobiography – the brilliantly titled Not Dead Yet – and his new retrospective collection The Singles, which reached Number 2 on the Official Albums Chart this month.

Most casual music fans above a certain age can name at least a couple of Phil’s hits off the top of their heads, but a deeper look at his chart history – which you view here in glorious detail – reveals plenty more that you may have quietly forgotten about. Thank goodness he’s coming back to remind us all of them, right?

But which of his hits are holding up strongest today? A large number of Phil’s most successful singles were released in the '80s before Official Charts’ digital records began, so we’re looking at his biggest downloads and most streamed songs to reveal his biggest hits of the digital age. Let’s count down the Top 6…

6. Another Day In Paradise (1989)

The lead single from Phil’s …But Seriously album, Another Day In Paradise hailed a very different sound for the singer after the dance-pop of his previous album, 1985’s No Jacket Required. The track was a global smash, reaching Number 2 in the UK (Click here to see who kept him off the top spot), Number 1 in America and winning a Grammy and BRIT Award. The track has been streamed 3.2 million times (since streams were introduced to the Official Chart in 2014) and notched up 125,000 downloads.

5. You Can’t Hurry Love (1982)

Phil’s first Number 1 on the Official Singles Chart was a cover of The Supremes You Can’t Hurry Love, which first reached Number 3 in 1966. Fun fact: the song is the first track on the very first Now That’s What I Call Music compilation album. In the digital era, the song has racked up 5.1 million streams and 126,000 downloads.

4. You’ll Be In My Heart (1999)

One of his more recent hits, You’ll Be In My Heart was released to tie in with Disney’s animated Tarzan film. The song peaked at Number 19 in the UK and went on to win a Golden Globe for Best Original Song, though missed out on an Oscar that year to Madonna’s Beautiful Stranger from the Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me film.

3. Easy Lover (1985)

Easy Lover is one of Phil's biggest Number 1s, racking up four weeks at the top in the UK in March/April 1985. Originally recorded for collaborator Philip Bailey's solo album Chinese Wall, the track was nominated for a Grammy and became a regular at Collins' concerts. It's download count is at 100,000, while the song has been streamed 3.5 million times.

2. Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now) (1984)

One of the all-time great power ballads, Against All Odds just missed out on claiming the top spot on the Official Singles Chart in 1984, logging a frustrating three weeks at Number 2. It was recorded for the soundtrack to the film of the same name, and has since been covered to varying degrees of success (and quality) by the likes of Westlife/Mariah Carey and the original X Factor winner Steve Brookstein. The song’s total download count currently stands at 196,000.

1. In The Air Tonight

Unbelievably, Phil’s iconic and enduring debut single didn’t reach Number 1 in the UK, topping out at Number 2 (click here to see who bagged the Number 1 that week). It did manage to top the charts in plenty of other countries though, and is considered to have one of the best drum breaks ever.

The track has been used regularly as a soundtrack over the years, most notably by Cadburys in the 2007 Gorilla ad campaign, which sent it back into the UK Top 20. To date, the song has been played 8.4 million times on streaming services, and has been downloaded 481,000 times.

Oh, and it still sounds just as fresh today, as he proved with a performance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon in the US this week:

Phil Collins' Official UK Top 20 most downloaded songs are...

1	IN THE AIR TONIGHT	PHIL COLLINS	2
2	AGAINST ALL ODDS (TAKE A LOOK AT ME NOW)	PHIL COLLINS	2
3	EASY LOVER	PHILIP BAILEY & PHIL COLLINS	1
4	ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE	PHIL COLLINS	2
5	YOU'LL BE IN MY HEART	PHIL COLLINS	17
6	YOU CAN'T HURRY LOVE	PHIL COLLINS	1
7	A GROOVY KIND OF LOVE	PHIL COLLINS	1
8	TWO HEARTS	PHIL COLLINS	6
9	ONE MORE NIGHT	PHIL COLLINS	4
10	SEPARATE LIVES	PHIL COLLINS	4
11	I WISH IT WOULD RAIN DOWN	PHIL COLLINS	7
12	TWO WORLDS (FROM TARZAN)	PHIL COLLINS	n/a
13	SUSSUDIO	PHIL COLLINS	12
14	SOMETHING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO HEAVEN	PHIL COLLINS	15
15	STRANGERS LIKE ME (FROM TARZAN)	PHIL COLLINS	n/a
16	ON MY WAY (FROM BROTHER BEAR)	PHIL COLLINS	n/a
17	SON OF MAN (FROM TARZAN)	PHIL COLLINS	n/a
18	TRUE COLORS	PHIL COLLINS	26
19	IF LEAVING ME IS EASY	PHIL COLLINS	17
20	DO YOU REMEMBER	PHIL COLLINS	57

Phil Collins' Official UK Top 20 most streamed songs are...

1	IN THE AIR TONIGHT	PHIL COLLINS	2
2	YOU CAN'T HURRY LOVE	PHIL COLLINS	1
3	YOU'LL BE IN MY HEART	PHILIP BAILEY & PHIL COLLINS	17
4	AGAINST ALL ODDS (TAKE A LOOK AT ME NOW)	PHIL COLLINS	2
5	EASY LOVER	PHIL COLLINS	1
6	ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE	PHIL COLLINS	2
7	SUSSUDIO	PHIL COLLINS	12
8	TWO WORLDS (FROM TARZAN)	PHIL COLLINS	n/a
9	STRANGERS LIKE ME (FROM TARZAN)	PHIL COLLINS	n/a
10	ON MY WAY (FROM BROTHER BEAR)	PHIL COLLINS	n/a
11	SON OF MAN (FROM TARZAN)	PHIL COLLINS	n/a
12	ONE MORE NIGHT	PHIL COLLINS	4
13	TWO HEARTS	PHIL COLLINS	6
14	A GROOVY KIND OF LOVE	PHIL COLLINS	1
15	I WISH IT WOULD RAIN DOWN	PHIL COLLINS	7
16	CAN'T STOP LOVING YOU	PHIL COLLINS	28
17	SOMETHING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO HEAVEN	PHIL COLLINS	15
18	SEPARATE LIVES	PHIL COLLINS	4
19	THIS MUST BE LOVE	PHIL COLLINS	n/a
20	TRUE COLOURS	PHIL COLLINS	26

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DodoRabbit

29th October 2016

Why does number 3 have less sales and streams than number 6 on the list?

Nu No

25th June 2022

There is certainly a number off there... number 5 and number 6 numbers are higher than number 3...
Much probably there is a mistake on number 3 sales and streams.