"Don't Lose My Number" is a song by the English singer

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and later became the lead singer of the rock band Genesis (band), Genesis and had a successful solo career, ac ...

from his third solo studio album ''

No Jacket Required ''No Jacket Required'' is the third solo studio album by 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 commi ...

''. The single was not released in the UK, though it peaked at No. 4 in the US in September 1985. The B-side, "We Said Hello Goodbye" was released as a bonus track on the CD for ''No Jacket Required''. In Australia, the single was released with the title "(Billy) Don't Lose My Number".

History

Collins has stated that the lyrics to "Don't Lose My Number" were improvised, and that he himself does not fully understand what they mean. Stephen Holden of ''The New York Times'' also agreed that the lyrics were very "vague, sketching the outlines of a melodrama but withholding the full story". The song prominently features Collins' signature

gated reverb Gated reverb or gated ambience is an audio processing technique that combines strong reverb and a noise gate that cuts the tail of the reverb. The effect is typically applied to recordings of drums (or live sound reinforcement of drums in a PA ...

drum sound.

Critical reception

'' Cashbox'' said that the song "merges a

Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

drive with the singer/songwriter’s own charm and vocal urgency." ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' said that it was a "slightly mysterious DOR tune."

Music video

Collins did not know what to use as a theme for the song's music video, so he decided that it would show his decision process in selecting a theme for it. In the video, Collins talks to various "directors", who all give him ill-fitting ideas for the video. Their suggestions allow Collins to parody several other music videos of the time, including videos by

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"),

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

(" I'm Still Standing"),

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"), and

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(" You Might Think"). Spoofs of samurai movies,

Westerns The Western is a genre of fiction typically set in the American frontier (commonly referred to as the "Old West" or the "Wild West") between the California Gold Rush of 1849 and the closing of the frontier in 1890, and commonly associated wit ...

, and ''

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'' are also included. His wife at the time, Jill Tavelman, makes a cameo in the beach scene as the model who smiles at him.

Track listing

7": Atlantic / 7-89536 (US) # "Don't Lose My Number" (4:46) # "We Said Hello Goodbye" (4:15) 7": WEA / 7-259001 (Australia) # "(Billy) Don't Lose My Number" (4:46) # "We Said Hello Goodbye" (4:15) 12": Atlantic / 0-86863 (US) # "Don't Lose My Number" (Extended Mix) (6:36) # "Don't Lose My Number" (LP Version) (4:46) # "We Said Hello Goodbye" (4:15) 12": WEA / 0-259001 (Australia) # "(Billy) Don't Lose My Number" (Extended Mix) (6:36) # "We Said Hello Goodbye" (4:15) CD: WEA International / WPCR 2063 (Japan) # "Don't Lose My Number (Edit)" (4:11) # "We Said Hello Goodbye" (4:15)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Personnel

– vocals, keyboards, drums,

LinnDrum The LinnDrum, often erroneously referred to as the LM-2, is a drum machine manufactured by Linn Electronics between 1982 and 1985. About 5,000 units were sold. Development The LinnDrum was designed by the American engineer Roger Linn. It was ...

* David Frank – additional keyboards *

Daryl Stuermer Daryl Mark Stuermer (born November 27, 1952) is an American musician, songwriter, singer, and record producer best known for playing the guitar and bass for Genesis during live shows, and lead guitar for Phil Collins during most solo tours and ...

– guitars *

Leland Sklar Leland Bruce Sklar (born May 28, 1947) is an American bassist and session musician. He rose to prominence as a member of James Taylor's backing band, which coalesced into a group in its own right, The Section, which supported so many of Asylu ...

– bass guitar

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Don't Lose My Number 1985 songs 1985 singles Atlantic Records singles Phil Collins songs Song recordings produced by Hugh Padgham Song recordings produced by Phil Collins Songs written by Phil Collins Dance-rock songs Virgin Records singles