No Jacket Required

No Jacket Required is the third solo album by the English drummer and singer-songwriter Phil Collins. It was released on 18 February 1985 by Virgin Records in the UK and by Atlantic and WEA internationally.

After finishing touring commitments with Genesis and working with Eric Clapton in 1984, Collins resumed his solo career and started work on a new album. He made a conscious decision to write more uptempo and dance-oriented songs, as much of his previous material was influenced by matters surrounding his first divorce. The album features Helen Terry, Peter Gabriel, and Sting as guest backing vocalists. Some songs, like "Don't Lose My Number" and "Sussudio", were based around improvisation, and others, like "Long Long Way to Go", had a political message.

No Jacket Required was received favourably by the majority of critics and was a huge worldwide commercial success, reaching number 1 in the UK for five consecutive weeks and for seven non-consecutive weeks in the US. It was the second-best-selling album of 1985 in the UK, behind Dire Straits' Brothers in Arms. "One More Night", "Sussudio", "Don't Lose My Number" and "Take Me Home" were released as singles with corresponding music videos. All four were Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, with "Sussudio" and "One More Night" reaching number 1. The three singles released in the UK all reached the Top 20. Some tracks were featured on the television shows Miami Vice and Cold Case, and "The Man with the Horn" was re-written and re-recorded for the episode "Phil the Shill".

In 1991, one the songs of this album, "Who Said I Would", was released as a live single from his 1990 live album Serious Hits... Live!, it reached the Billboard Hot 100 at number 73.

In 2001, No Jacket Required was certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling 12 million copies in the US and amassed worldwide sales of over 25 million copies, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time. It won three Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year. The No Jacket Required World Tour saw Collins perform 85 concerts which culminated with a performance at both Live Aid shows in London and Philadelphia. Remixes of six songs from the album were released on the compilation 12"ers (1987). In 2010, it was among ten albums nominated for the best British album of the previous 30 years by the Brit Awards. It ranked No. 74 on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's "Definitive 200" list. A remastered deluxe edition with updated artwork and bonus tracks was released in 2016, and a remix by Steven Wilson followed in 2025.

Production and recording

After touring commitments with Genesis and completion of work on Eric Clapton's album Behind the Sun, Collins produced Philip Bailey's Chinese Wall with occasional work on his solo material. Upon returning from his wedding honeymoon, he focused more on writing for the album in September 1984 over a period of five weeks. Like previous albums, he demoed the tracks on his 8-track recording setup at Old Croft with a range of drum machines and keyboards, later transferring them onto 24-track for overdubs at The Townhouse including drums, guitars and horns. Some of the songs emerged from Collins' improvisations with a drum machine, including "One More Night" and "Sussudio". Collins added that he does not fully understand the meaning of the lyrics, Stuermer provided a demo of "F Song" to Collins, and Collins wrote lyrics for it, changing the key from F to E flat. Stuermer would later record it for his first solo album, 1988's Steppin' Out, retaining the Collins title "I Don't Wanna Know" but reverting to the key of F.

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 The Phil Collins Big Band played this live on tour. but this is not true. Collins has stated that the song lyrics refer to a patient in a mental institution, and that it is based on the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

"We Said Hello Goodbye" appeared as a B-side to "Take Me Home" and "Don't Lose My Number" originally, and as an "extra track" on the CD release of the album. A remix of the song with additional guitars and without an orchestra was released the following year (1986) on the soundtrack for the movie, Playing for Keeps. 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".

"The Man with the Horn" was originally recorded during sessions for Collins' second solo album Hello, I Must Be Going! 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.

Title and cover

The album is named after an incident at The Pump Room restaurant in Chicago, Illinois. Collins, entering the restaurant with former Led Zeppelin lead vocalist Robert Plant, was denied admittance because he did not meet the restaurant's dress code of "jacket required" for dinner, while Plant was allowed in. Collins was wearing a jacket and argued about it. The maître d'hôtel argued that the jacket was not "proper".

The cover image of No Jacket Required (a continuation of the 'facial close-up' theme begun with Face Value) 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, Both songs had music videos that were shot at a London pub owned by Richard Branson, featuring Collins playing both before and after the building closes. By the end of the month, it had climbed to number 1 in America as well. Collins had become the fifteenth British artist to top both the album and single Billboard charts, as "One More Night" was leading the Billboard Hot 100 that same week. The same thing was happening in the UK, where Collins' duet with Philip Bailey, "Easy Lover", was the UK Singles Chart number 1. No Jacket Required was number 1 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, where it peaked at number 12. It was the second single to be released in the US and entered frequent rotation on MTV in May 1985. By 6 July 1985, both the single and the album had reached number 1 on their respective US Billboard charts. 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. "Take Me Home" also received a video where Collins sung in various locations around the world. "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. Twenty years after its release, No Jacket Required remains among the 50 highest-selling albums 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. Alternate versions of six songs from No Jacket Required were included on the remix album 12"ers, released in January 1988.

The album was re-released using a flat transfer done by Steve Hoffman for the Audio Fidelity label in 2011. It was reissued as a deluxe edition on CD, vinyl and digital on 15 April 2016, including a new second disc with bonus tracks.

In September 2025, a 40th Anniversary LP Boxset entitled No Jacket Required (Fully Tailored) was released alongside a standalone Blu-ray which contains 2025 Stereo, 5.1 Surround and Dolby Atmos mixes by Steven Wilson, plus a remaster of the Original 1985 Mix.

No Jacket Required EP (home video)

In 1985, Atlantic also released a home video called No Jacket Required EP. The collection consisted of the music videos "Sussudio", "One More Night", "Who Said I Would", "Don't Lose My Number" and "Take Me Home".

Critical reception

The reception for the album was mostly positive. Geoff Orens of AllMusic, 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."

Stephen Holden of The New York Times 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.

Rolling Stone reviewer David Fricke said "Phil Collins' sudden transformation from the balding bantam drummer for a prosperous British art-rock 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." 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." The Dallas Morning News 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 Newsday 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." 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." 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". In 2013, music critic Tom Service of The Guardian 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' 1980s contemporaries such as the Human League and—in particular—the Pet Shop Boys, saying the latter were "geniuses by comparison".

At the 28th Annual Grammy Awards, Collins was nominated in five categories. The album won the award for Album of the Year, and Collins won Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male. Collins shared the Producer of the Year (Non-Classical) award with co-producer of the album, Hugh Padgham. The home video No Jacket Required EP received a nomination for Best Music Video, Short Form. In 1986 the album received an American Music Award nomination for Favorite Pop/Rock Album. At the Brit Awards in 1986 the album received an award for British Album of the Year.

Influence and legacy

At the Brit Awards in 2010, the album was one of ten nominees for Brits Album of 30 Years in a poll of BBC Radio 2 listeners; the winner was (What's the Story) Morning Glory? by Oasis. In the book and film adaptation of American Psycho, main character Patrick Bateman briefly discusses it, amongst other work by Collins. The synthesiser riff was heavily criticised for sounding too much like Prince's 1982 song "1999", 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 Miami Vice. "Take Me Home" appeared in "The Prodigal Son", the premiere of the second season. "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 gets in trouble with cocaine distributors. The re-written version was titled "Life Is a Rat Race". In 2003, the hip-hop group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony based their song "Home" on this single. That version of the song featured the original song's chorus and hit number 19 on the UK charts.

Tour

The album was followed by a concert tour in 1985 named The No Jacket Required World Tour. For the tour, Collins retained his usual cast of musicians, including Chester Thompson, Leland Sklar and Daryl Stuermer. The band was nicknamed the "Hot Tub Club". A television special was recorded in Dallas and aired on HBO, titled "No Jacket Required... Sold Out". Another television special was recorded for Cinemax for a show titled "Album Flash", taped in London, England at the Royal Albert Hall.

Reception for the tour was positive as well. Rick Kogan of the Chicago Tribune said that "After hearing and observing Collins' eminently satisfying and frequently spectacular two-hour performance, one is left not with a series of niggling questions about his popularity but rather with renewed admiration for the forcefulness of well crafted songs played in a straightforward manner."

In interviews during the tour, it was remarked by interviewers that the singer appeared similar to actors Bob Hoskins and Danny DeVito. Collins joked that all three of them could play the Three Bears from the story Goldilocks and the Three Bears. DeVito heard the idea and contacted Collins and Hoskins about making a film. However, problems arose (mostly involving the script), and all three actors abandoned the film. In the US, the song went to number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100,

Live Aid

The No Jacket Required World Tour ended with Collins performing at both the Wembley Stadium and JFK Stadium Live Aid concerts. Collins claims that it all happened by accident and that both he and the Power Station were going to attend both Live Aid shows as well, but "they all chickened out."

Collins first performed with Sting at Wembley, and together they performed "In the Air Tonight", "Against All Odds", "Long Long Way to Go" and "Every Breath You Take", accompanied by saxophonist Branford Marsalis. After Collins finished performing, he flew on Concorde to the Live Aid show in Philadelphia. On the plane, he met Cher and convinced her to be a part of the event. It was not available on the original vinyl or cassette releases and was not included on the 2016 vinyl reissue of the album, but was included on the 2016 CD and digital download/streaming reissue.

Personnel

Adapted from Phil Collins' official website.

Musicians

Phil Collins – vocals, backing vocals, Roland TR-909 (1, 10), keyboards (2, 3, 5–11), bass (2), drums (2, 4, 6–11), LinnDrum (2, 6, 8), Roland TR-808 (3, 5), Simmons electronic drums (credited on 2016 release as 'Simmonds') (3, 7), vocoder (7), kalimba (7)
David Frank – keyboards (1, 7), Minimoog bass (1, 7), Oberheim DMX (1), additional keyboards (6)
Nick Glennie-Smith – keyboards (11)
Daryl Stuermer – guitars (1–10), keyboards (4)
Leland Sklar – bass guitar (3–6, 8–11), piccolo bass (3, 10)
The Phenix Horns, arranged by Tom Tom 84 – horns (1, 2, 7)
Don Myrick – saxophones, sax solo (5, 9)
Louis Satterfield – trombone
Michael Harris – trumpet
Rahmlee Michael Davis – trumpet
Gary Barnacle – sax solo (4, 7)
Arif Mardin – string arrangements (5), orchestral introduction (11)
Sting – backing vocals (3, 4, 10)
Peter Gabriel – backing vocals (10)
Helen Terry – backing vocals (10)

Production

Phil Collins – producer, mixing, album design
Hugh Padgham – producer, engineer, mixing
Steve Chase – assistant engineer
Jon Jacobs – string recording at AIR Studios (London)
Peter Ashworth – cover photography

Charts

Weekly charts

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"

! Chart (1985)

! Peak<br/>position

! scope="row"| Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)

| align="center"| 1

!scope="row"|European Albums (Music & Media)

|align="center"|1

! scope="row"| Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts)

| align="center"| 5

!scope="row"| French Albums (SNEP)

| align="center"| 6

! scope="row"|Italian Albums (Musica e Dischi)

| align="center"| 4

!scope="row"|Japanese Albums (Oricon)

| align="center"| 4

!scope="row"|Spanish Albums (AFYVE)

| align="center"| 1

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"

! Chart (2016–2020)

! Peak<br/>position

Year-end charts

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

! Chart (1985)

! Position

! scope="row" | US Billboard 200

| 6

! Chart (1986)