Don't Lose My Number
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"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
David Lee Roth David Lee Roth (born October 10, 1954) is an American rock singer. Known for his wild and energetic stage persona, he was the lead vocalist of the hard rock band Van Halen for three stints: from 1974 to 1985, during 1996, and from 2006 to when ...
("
California Girls "California Girls" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1965 album '' Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)''. Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, the lyrics were partly inspired by the band's experiences touring Europe f ...
"),
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"),
The Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. Within a few months of their first gig, the line-up settled as Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar, primary songwriter), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussi ...
("
Every Breath You Take "Every Breath You Take" is a song by the English rock band the Police from their album ''Synchronicity'' (1983). Written by Sting, the single was the biggest US and Canadian hit of 1983, topping the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart for ei ...
"), and
The Cars The Cars were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1976. Emerging from the New wave music, new wave Subculture, scene in the late 1970s, they consisted of Ric Ocasek (rhythm guitar), Benjamin Orr (bass guitar), Elliot Easton (l ...
(" 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

*
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 ...
– 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


See also

*
1985 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1985. Specific locations *1985 in British music *1985 in Japanese music *1985 in Norwegian music Specific genres *1985 in country music *1985 in heavy metal music *1985 in ...


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