In the Air Tonight - wikipedia In the Air Tonight `` In the Air Tonight '' Single by Phil Collins from the album Face Value B - side `` The Roof is Leaking '' Released 9 January 1981 Format 7 - inch single 12 - inch single Recorded Townhouse Studios London, 1980 Genre Experimental pop soft rock Length 5 : 34 ( album version ) 4 : 57 ( single edit ) Label Virgin Atlantic Songwriter ( s ) Phil Collins Producer ( s ) Phil Collins Hugh Padgham Phil Collins singles chronology `` In the Air Tonight '' ( 1981 ) `` I Missed Again '' ( 1981 ) `` In the Air Tonight '' ( 1981 ) `` I Missed Again '' ( 1981 ) `` Separate Lives '' ( 1985 ) Separate Lives 1985 `` In the Air Tonight '' ( Remix ) ( 1988 ) In the Air Tonight1988 `` A Groovy Kind of Love '' ( 1988 ) A Groovy Kind of Love 1988 `` You Touch My Heart '' ( 2005 ) You Touch My Heart2005 `` In the Air Tonight '' ( Re-release ) ( 2007 ) In the Air Tonight2007 `` ( Love Is Like a ) Heatwave '' ( 2010 ) ( Love Is Like a ) Heatwave 2010 Audio sample file help `` In the Air Tonight '' is the debut solo single by the English singer - songwriter and drummer Phil Collins. It was released as the lead single from Collins ' debut solo album, Face Value, in January 1981. Collins co-produced the single with Hugh Padgham, who became a frequent collaborator in the following years. The song was an instant hit, quickly climbing to No. 2 on the UK Singles chart but was held off the top spot by a posthumous release of John Lennon 's `` Woman ''. It was also an international hit, peaking at No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States and No. 1 in the Netherlands. It was later certified Gold by the RIAA, representing 500,000 copies sold. The song 's music video, directed by Stuart Orme, received heavy play on MTV when the new cable music video channel launched in August 1981. It remains one of Collins ' best - known hits, often cited as his signature song, and is especially famous for his drum break towards the end, which has been described as `` the sleekest, most melodramatic drum break in history ''. Contents 1 Background and recording 1.1 Inspiration 1.2 Recording 1.3 Drum sound 2 Urban legend 3 Music Video 4 In popular culture 5 Sampling of the song 6 Use in literature 7 Single and credits 7.1 UK and US single ( 1981 ) 7.2 12 '' German maxi - single ( 1981 ) 7.3 Japan CD single ( 1988 ) 7.4 German CD single ( 1990 ) 8 Charts and certifications 8.1 Weekly charts 8.2 Year - end charts 8.3 Certifications 9 Cover versions 10 References 11 External links Background and recording Inspiration Collins wrote the song amid the grief he felt after divorcing his first wife Andrea Bertorelli in 1980. In a 2016 interview, Collins said of the song 's lyrics : `` I wrote the lyrics spontaneously. I 'm not quite sure what the song is about, but there 's a lot of anger, a lot of despair and a lot of frustration. '' In a 1997 BBC Radio 2 documentary, the singer revealed that the divorce contributed to his 1979 hiatus from Genesis until the band regrouped in October of that year to record the album Duke. The lyrics of the song take the form of a dark monologue directed towards an unnamed person : Well if you told me you were drowning, I would not lend a hand I 've seen your face before, my friend, but I do n't know if you know who I am Well I was there and I saw what you did I saw it with my own two eyes So you can wipe off that grin I know where you 've been It 's all been a pack of lies Recording The recording is notable for its atmospheric production and macabre theme. It has been described as being `` at the vanguard of experimental pop '' in 1981 and `` a rock oddity classic '', having been influenced by `` the unconventional studio predilections of Brian Eno and Peter Gabriel ''. Musically, the song consists of a series of ominous chords played by a Sequential Circuits Prophet - 5 over a simple drum machine pattern ( the Roland CR - 78 Disco - 2 pattern, plus some programming ) ; processed electric guitar sounds and vocoded vocals, an effect which is increased on key words to add additional atmosphere. The mood is one of restrained anger until the final chorus when an explosive burst of drums releases the musical tension, and the instrumentation builds to a thundering final chorus. Collins has described obtaining the drum machine specifically to deal with personal issues relating to his divorce through songwriting, telling Mix magazine : `` I had to start writing some of this music that was inside me. '' He improvised the lyrics during a songwriting session in the studio : `` I was just fooling around. I got these chords that I liked, so I turned the mic on and started singing. The lyrics you hear are what I wrote spontaneously. That frightens me a bit, but I 'm quite proud of the fact that I sang 99.9 percent of those lyrics spontaneously. '' Drum sound Musically, it 's an extraordinarily striking record, because almost nothing happens in it... It 's the drum sound in particular that 's amazing. You do n't hear it at all for the first two minutes of the song... then there 's that great doo - dom doo - dom doo - dom comes in, and the drums come in half way through the song, setting the template for all the Eighties drum songs after that. -- Stuart Maconie The means by which Collins attained the drum sound on this recording was long a source of mystery. The exact process was a result of serendipity : an unintended use of studio technology giving unexpectedly useful results. In this case, the Solid State Logic 4000 mixing board had a `` reverse talk - back '' circuit ( labeled on the board as `` Listen Mic '' ). Normal `` talkback '' is a button that the mixing engineer has to press in order to talk to the recording musicians ( the recording and the mixing parts of a studio are, otherwise, completely sonically isolated ). Reverse talkback is a circuit ( also button - activated ) for the engineer to listen to musicians in the studio. In order to compensate for sound level differences -- people can be close to the reverse talkback microphone or far off -- this circuit has a compressor on it, which minimizes the differences between loud and soft sounds. While recording `` Intruder '' for his ex-bandmate Peter Gabriel 's third solo album, at some point Collins started playing the drums while the reverse talkback was activated. Engineer Hugh Padgham was amazed at the sound achieved. Overnight, they rewired the board so that the reverse talkback could be recorded in a more formal manner. Later models of the SSL 4000 allowed the listen mic to be recorded with the touch of a button. When recording engineer Padgham was brought in to help develop Collins ' demos that would become Face Value they recreated the `` Intruder '' sound using the reverse talkback microphone as well as heavily compressed and gated ambient mics. Padgham continued working with Genesis for Abacab later in 1981 and the same technique ( generally referred to as gated reverb ) was used, and the powerful drum sound has become synonymous with later Genesis projects and Collins ' solo career ever since. The original single version of `` In the Air Tonight '' features extra drums that play underneath the song until the signature drum crash ( referred to by fans as the `` magic break '' ) appears. These were added at the suggestion of Atlantic Records head Ahmet Ertegun. In 2007, Collins wrote : Ahmet came down to the final mix in the cutting room in New York (... ) The drums do n't come in until the end but Ahmet did n't know that at this point, because on the demo the drums had n't come in at all ; it was only drum machine all the way. And he was saying, `` Where 's the down beat, where 's the backbeat ? '' I said, `` The drums come in in a minute. '' `` Yeah, you know that and I know that, but the kids do n't know that ; you 've got to put the drums on earlier. '' So we added some drums to the mix and put it out as a single. Black Sabbath singer Ozzy Osbourne has called the drum fill `` the best ever -- it still sounds awesome ''. In 2007, Mike Gruss, former columnist for The Virginian - Pilot, referred to the song as a `` soft rock classic. '' Urban legend An urban legend has arisen around `` In the Air Tonight '', according to which the lyrics are based on a drowning incident in which someone who was close enough to save the victim did not help them, while Collins, who was too far away to help, looked on. Increasingly embellished variations on the legend emerged over time, with the stories often culminating in Collins singling out the guilty party while singing the song at a concert. Collins has denied all such stories ; he commented on the legends about the song in a BBC World Service interview : I do n't know what this song is about. When I was writing this I was going through a divorce. And the only thing I can say about it is that it 's obviously in anger. It 's the angry side, or the bitter side of a separation. So what makes it even more comical is when I hear these stories which started many years ago, particularly in America, of someone come up to me and say, `` Did you really see someone drowning ? '' I said, `` No, wrong ''. And then every time I go back to America the story gets Chinese whispers, it gets more and more elaborate. It 's so frustrating, ' cause this is one song out of all the songs probably that I 've ever written that I really do n't know what it 's about, you know ? The urban legend is referenced in the song `` Stan '' by Eminem. The reference is contained in the following lyrics : You know the song by Phil Collins, `` In the Air of the Night '' ( sic ) About that guy who coulda saved that other guy from drownin ' But did n't, then Phil saw it all, then at a show he found him ? Music video The music video animates the photograph of Collins ' face from the cover of the Face Value album, slowly fading in through the intro until it fills the screen, singing the first chorus. The video then cuts to Collins sitting in an empty room at night. Twice a spectral figure appears in the window, but only the second time does Collins get up to look at it, then is shown walking to the one door of the room. Collins ' face returns for the second chorus, then he 's shown leaving the room and entering a hallway full of doors. The first one is locked, then the second opens and Collins sees himself looking at the window again, only now the specter has turned into his own reflection. The third door is locked, but as the fourth one opens, the drum break sounds and the viewer is returned to Collins ' face again, this time in thermal coloring, which gradually reverts to black and white. Collins recedes into the darkness as the song repeats and fades. In popular culture `` In the Air Tonight '' remains a popular selection on many classic rock radio stations. It is the song most often associated with Collins ' solo career, and he has performed versions of it at many events, including at Live Aid, where he played the song on a piano on the same calendar day in both Philadelphia and London. He also performed the song at The Secret Policeman 's Ball, which was his first live performance as a solo artist. `` In the Air Tonight '' has been licensed repeatedly for use in films, television and advertisements for various products. It was used in the train sequence of the 1983 film Risky Business and appeared on the soundtrack album. In 1984 the song was featured in the pilot episode of the U.S. television show Miami Vice ( `` Brother 's Keeper '' ), one of the first pop / rock songs to be featured as part of a television program in this manner. Its use in that scene was `` a moment that first signaled to audiences and critics that Miami Vice had something to offer that few other TV programs on the air in 1984 could match '', The A.V. Club wrote in 2012. It subsequently `` bubbled under '' the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 102 in late 1984 and appeared on the television soundtrack album released in 1985. On the heels of this successful merging of media, Collins became associated with the show ; other Collins tracks including `` Take Me Home '' were later featured, and Collins himself also acted in the second season episode `` Phil the Shill ''. This song was later used in the show 's fourth season episode `` A Bullet for Crockett '' for its car chase opening scene, a clear reference to the show 's pilot episode. A cover of `` In the Air Tonight '', performed by American metal band Nonpoint, also appeared in the 2006 film adaptation. It was used in 1986 when the brewer Anheuser - Busch adopted it for an ad campaign promoting Michelob beer, along with night - related songs by Collins ' peers Steve Winwood ( `` Do n't You Know What the Night Can Do ? '' ) and Eric Clapton ( `` After Midnight '' ). Cadbury used the song in their 2007 Gorilla advertising campaign for its Dairy Milk chocolate bar. Afterwards, the song reached No. 14 on the UK singles chart and No. 9 on the UK Download Chart. The advertisement also helped the song re-enter the New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart and went to No. 1, staying there for two weeks, beating its original 1981 No. 6 peak, and become his first chart topper song on the country. The single was finished also certified Platinum with sales of over 15,000 copies. This advert was so popular, it won the awards for the Best Ad of the Year, at New Zealands Fair - Go Ad Awards. It was also subsequently parodied in a spoof ad by Wonderbra. Contrary to popular belief, it was not Phil Collins performing in the gorilla suit but American actor Garon Michael. The song also featured in the hit BBC One 1980s - based drama series Ashes to Ashes. In an interview with SFX, series creator Matthew Graham discusses his editorial choices in using the iconic song and its referential value for the dramatic finale. He considered the piece ideal for his purpose, evoking the mood of the early - 1980s. Sampling of the song The song has been sampled by many artists, including Shaquille O'Neal in his song `` Edge of Night '', Nas in his song `` One Mic '', and Tupac Shakur on his tracks `` Starin ' Through My Rear View '' and `` Letter to the President ''. Other tracks which include samples of `` In the Air Tonight '' include DMX 's `` I Can Feel It '', Krayzie Bone 's `` Silent Warrior '', Joe Budden 's `` Rest in Peace ( In the Air ) '', Sean Kingston 's `` Can You Feel It '', Young Buck 's `` New York City '', Big Audio Dynamite 's `` Innocent Child '', Lil ' Kim 's `` In the Air Tonite '', Ke $ ha 's `` Love Into the Light '', and Av LMKR 's `` In The Air ''. It was used in 2009 by Canadian rapper Roi Heenok in his song `` La Mama Coca. '' According to video game music composer David Wise, he sampled the percussion track of `` In the Air Tonight '' for `` Bayou Boogie '', a track in the 1995 SNES game Donkey Kong Country 2 : Diddy 's Kong Quest. It was also sampled by MiC LOWRY on their single `` Oh Lord ''. The song sampled by The Overall Ole in the songs `` Gig Paty Gig ! ''. Use in literature U.S. author Mohja Kahf obtained permission to cite two lines from the song in her novel, The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf ( Perseus Books, 2006 ). When the novel 's protagonist, a young Syrian American woman named Khadra who is coming of age during the 1970s and 1980s in America, performs the Muslim ritual pilgrimage ( hajj ) to Mecca and views the Ka'ba for the first time, the author writes that : `` Khadra tried to keep the joyous talbiya ( ritual chant ) in her mind and on her tongue : Here I am, O my Lord, Here I am ! Labbaik, allahumma, labbaik ! But she kept getting it crossed with Phil Collins in her head crooning, ' I can feel it coming in the air tonight, Oh Lo - ord... I 've been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lo - ord... ' '' Single and credits VSK102 UK Single Release ( Martin H ) `` In the Air tonight '' `` The Roof is leaking Sleeve includes a black and white 12 page cartoon storyboard drawn by Collins ' brother Clive Collins. UK and U.S. single ( 1981 ) `` In the Air Tonight '' -- 4 : 57 Phil Collins -- Roland CR - 78, vocals, drums, Prophet 5, Rhodes, Roland VP - 330 vocoder John Giblin -- bass Daryl Stuermer -- guitar L. Shankar -- violins `` The Roof Is Leaking '' -- 3 : 36 Phil Collins -- piano, vocal Daryl Stuermer -- banjo Joe Partridge -- slide guitar, aka Eric Clapton, credited as Eric A demo track for `` In the Air Tonight '' also appeared on the `` If Leaving Me Is Easy '' single. 12 '' German maxi - single ( 1981 ) `` In the Air Tonight '' ( full - length version including the extra drums ) -- 5 : 34 Phil Collins -- Roland CR - 78, vocals, drums, Prophet 5, Rhodes, Roland VP - 330 vocoder John Giblin -- bass Daryl Stuermer -- guitar L. Shankar -- violins `` The Roof Is Leaking '' -- 3 : 36 Phil Collins -- piano, vocal Daryl Stuermer -- banjo Joe Partridge -- slide guitar, aka Eric Clapton, credited as Eric Japan CD single ( 1988 ) `` In the Air Tonight '' ( extended ) `` In the Air Tonight '' ( ' 88 remix ) `` I Missed Again '' ( Album Version ) German CD single ( 1990 ) `` In the Air Tonight '' ( extended version ) -- 7 : 33 ( Additional production by Ben Liebrand ) `` In the Air Tonight '' ( ' 88 remix ) -- 5 : 07 ( Remixed by Phil Collins and Hugh Padgham ) `` I Missed Again '' -- 3 : 42 ( catalogue 2292 - 57672 - 2 ) Charts and certifications Weekly charts Chart ( 1981 ) Peak position Australia ( Kent Music Report ) Austria ( Ö3 Austria Top 40 ) Belgium ( Ultratop 50 Flanders ) Canadian RPM Top Singles Netherlands ( Single Top 100 ) Germany ( Media Control Charts ) Ireland ( IRMA ) New Zealand ( Recorded Music NZ ) 6 Norway ( VG - lista ) Spain ( AFYVE ) 7 Sweden ( Sverigetopplistan ) Switzerland ( Schweizer Hitparade ) UK Singles Chart US Billboard Hot 100 19 US Mainstream Rock ( Billboard ) Zimbabwe Singles ( ZIMA ) Chart ( 1984 ) Peak position U.S. Billboard Bubbling Under the Hot 100 102 Chart ( 1988 ) Peak position Dutch Singles Chart 17 Germany ( Media Control Charts ) UK Singles Chart Chart ( 1989 ) Peak position Australia ( ARIA ) 47 Chart ( 2007 ) Peak position UK Singles Chart 14 Chart ( 2008 ) Peak position New Zealand ( Recorded Music NZ ) Chart ( 2012 ) Peak position France ( SNEP ) 102 Year - end charts Chart ( 1981 ) Peak position New Zealand ( Recorded Music NZ ) 35 Chart ( 2008 ) Peak position New Zealand ( Recorded Music NZ ) 23 Certifications Region Certification Certified units / Sales Germany ( BVMI ) Physical single Gold 250,000 Italy ( FIMI ) Digital single Gold 10,000 New Zealand ( RMNZ ) Physical single Gold 25,000 New Zealand ( RMNZ ) Digital single Platinum United Kingdom ( BPI ) Physical single Gold 500,000 United States ( RIAA ) Physical single Gold 3,500,000 United States ( RIAA ) Digital single 3 × Platinum sales figures based on certification alone shipments figures based on certification alone Preceded by `` Shaddap You Face '' by Joe Dolce Music Theatre German Singles Chart number - one single 15 May 1981 Succeeded by `` Stars on 45 Medley '' by Stars on 45 Preceded by `` Always on My Mind '' by Tiki Taane New Zealand RIANZ number - one single 21 July 2008 -- 27 July 2008 Succeeded by `` Nesian 101 '' by Nesian Mystik Cover versions A cover of the song appears on the Nonpoint album Recoil and on the godheadSilo album Share the Fantasy. The Nonpoint cover was featured in the film Miami Vice ( 2006 ), and a video was made to promote the track using clips from the film. Nonpoint 's version was also used in teasers for the fifth season of Dexter in 2010. The band Shinedown also released a version of the song. In 2007, the Finnish heavy metal cover supergroup Northern Kings released on the album Reborn a cover version of the song, with Marco Hietala ( Nightwish, Tarot ) as a solo vocalist. X Factor Australia 2015 winner Cyrus Villanueva 's version, which he sang is on his self - titled album. Other recent versions of the song include the one by Kelly Sweet ( 2014 ) and Julio D ( 2016 ). Chicago - based band Umphrey 's McGee incorporated `` In the Air Tonight '' in a Halloween `` mashup '' song along with `` Loser '' by Beck and `` The National Anthem '' by Radiohead. The result was called `` National Loser Anthem ''. It was first performed at the House of Blues Boston on October 31, 2015, and a studio recording is on Umphrey 's McGee 's 2016 album Zonkey. Barenaked Ladies performed an acoustic cover of the song in 2015 for the A.V. Club. Metal band In This Moment covered this song for their sixth album Ritual released in 2017. References Jump up ^ `` BPI > Certified Awards > Search results for Phil Collins ( page 3 ) ''. British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 16 February 2016. ^ Jump up to : `` Official Charts > Phil Collins ''. The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved 16 February 2016. Jump up ^ `` The 20 Best Drummers of All Time ''. LA Weekly. Los Angeles. 11 November 2014. Retrieved 24 July 2015. Jump up ^ Veix, Joe ( 11 April 2014 ). `` An intense 30 - minute loop of Phil Collins 's ' In The Air Tonight ' drum fill ''. Death and Taxes. Retrieved 24 July 2015. ^ Jump up to : Wardrop, Murray ( 8 May 2009 ). `` Ozzy Osbourne : ' I love Phil Collins ' ''. The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 24 July 2015. Jump up ^ Greene, Andy ( 2016 - 02 - 29 ). `` '' In the Air Tonight '' ( 1981 ) Phil Collins : My Life in 15 Songs ``. Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 19. Jump up ^ Mills, Gary ( 26 May 2010 ). `` No Flak Jacket Required : In Defence Of Phil Collins ''. The Quietus. Retrieved 23 October 2015. the single 's place in 1981 at the vanguard of experimental pop ^ Jump up to : `` Mix Magazine - Classic Tracks : Phil Collins ' `` In the Air Tonight '' ``. Archived from the original on 17 March 2007. Jump up ^ Thompson, Dave ( November 2004 ). Turn It On Again : Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins, and Genesis. Backbeat Books. p. 182. ISBN 978 - 0 - 87930 - 810 - 0. Jump up ^ Sold on Song - Song Library - In the Air Tonight Jump up ^ Collins, Phil ; et al. ( 2007 ). Genesis : Chapter and Verse. St. Martin 's Griffin. pp. 220 -- 221. ISBN 978 - 0 - 312 - 37956 - 8. Jump up ^ Gruss, Mike ( 11 July 2007 ). `` I 've been Waiting for a theme song all my life ''. The Virginian - Pilot. Daily Break section, p. E1. Retrieved 11 August 2013... Phil Collins ' 1981 soft - rock classic ' In the Air Tonight. ' ( subscription required ) Jump up ^ `` In the Air Tonight ''. Snopes.com. Retrieved 2015 - 11 - 11. Jump up ^ `` BBC World Service - `` The Singer and the Song '' Phil Collins `` ''. Jump up ^ `` Eminem -- Stan Lyrics ''. MetroLyrics. Retrieved 9 September 2016. Jump up ^ `` BBC News : Stars recall Live Aid spectacular ''. 8 November 2004. Jump up ^ `` The top ten sex scenes in film '' The Michigan Daily 14 February 2002 : 5B Jump up ^ Murray, Noel ( 2 August 2012 ). `` How Miami Vice launched the ' 80s on TV, then died with its decade TV A Very Special Episode ''. The A.V. Club. The Onion. Retrieved 9 August 2012. Jump up ^ Whitburn, Joel. Bubbling Under Singles & Albums ( 1998 ) : 51 Jump up ^ Lippert, Barbara. `` Michelob Taps Sultry Feel In Night Moves '' The Milwaukee Journal 17 June 1986 : XTRA14 Jump up ^ `` New Zealand Platinum Certification ''. RadioScope New Zealand. 25 October 2009. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 28 October 2009. Jump up ^ Wonderbra drums up sexy hit, Daily Mail, 9 November 2007. Retrieved 27 February 2012. Jump up ^ YouTube. `` Gorilla TV advert - In The Air Tonight ( Ad Of The Decade ) ''. YouTube. Retrieved 26 August 2017. Jump up ^ Daily Mail. `` Revealed : The man behind the drum - playing gorilla suit in Cadbury 's ad ''. Daily Mail. Retrieved 26 August 2017. Jump up ^ Setchfield, Nick ; Graham, Matthew ( 22 May 2010 ). `` Ashes exclusive ''. SFX. Retrieved 17 June 2010. Jump up ^ `` David Wise on Twitter : `` @ pantalytron No coincidence. I was trying to get the SNES to sound like the Roland CR78 that Phil Collins used for In the air tonight. '' ``. Twitter. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 19. Jump up ^ ( The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf, p. 162 ) Jump up ^ Kent, David ( 1993 ). Australian Chart Book 1970 -- 1992 ( Illustrated ed. ). St. Ives, N.S.W. : Australian Chart Book. p. 71. ISBN 0 - 646 - 11917 - 6. Jump up ^ `` Austriancharts.at -- Phil Collins -- In the Air Tonight '' ( in German ). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Jump up ^ `` Ultratop.be -- Phil Collins -- In the Air Tonight '' ( in Dutch ). Ultratop 50. Jump up ^ `` Dutchcharts.nl -- Phil Collins -- In the Air Tonight '' ( in Dutch ). Single Top 100. Jump up ^ `` Offizielle Deutsche Charts > Phil Collins - In the Air Tonight ( single ) '' ( in German ). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 16 February 2016. Jump up ^ `` The Irish Charts -- Search Results -- In the Air Tonight ''. Irish Singles Chart. Jump up ^ `` Charts.org.nz - Phil Collins - In the Air Tonight ''. Retrieved 14 June 2016. Jump up ^ `` Norwegiancharts.com -- Phil Collins -- In the Air Tonight ''. VG - lista. Jump up ^ Salaverri, Fernando ( September 2005 ). Sólo éxitos : año a año, 1959 -- 2002 ( 1st ed. ). Spain : Fundación Autor - SGAE. ISBN 84 - 8048 - 639 - 2. Jump up ^ `` Swedishcharts.com -- Phil Collins -- In the Air Tonight ''. Singles Top 100. Jump up ^ `` Swisscharts.com -- Phil Collins -- In the Air Tonight ''. Swiss Singles Chart. Jump up ^ `` Phil Collins -- Chart history '' Billboard Hot 100 for Phil Collins. Jump up ^ `` Phil Collins -- Chart history '' Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs for Phil Collins. Jump up ^ * Zimbabwe. Kimberley, C. Zimbabwe : singles chart book. Harare : C. Kimberley, 2000 Jump up ^ `` Offizielle Deutsche Charts > Phil Collins - In the Air Tonight ( ' 88 Remix ) ( single ) '' ( in German ). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 16 February 2016. Jump up ^ `` australian-charts.com > Discography Phil Collins ''. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 29 February 2016. Retrieved 16 February 2016. Jump up ^ `` Charts.org.nz -- Phil Collins -- In the Air Tonight ''. Top 40 Singles. Jump up ^ `` Lescharts.com -- Phil Collins -- In the Air Tonight '' ( in French ). Les classement single. Jump up ^ `` Top Selling Singles of 1981 ''. Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 14 June 2016. Jump up ^ `` Top Selling Singles of 2008 ''. Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 14 June 2016. Jump up ^ `` Gold - / Platin - Datenbank ( Phil Collins ; ' In The Air Tonight ' ) '' ( in German ). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 2 February 2016. Jump up ^ `` Italian single certifications -- Phil Collins -- In The Air Tonight '' ( in Italian ). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 2 February 2016. Jump up ^ `` New Zealand single certifications -- Phil Collins -- In The Air Tonight ''. Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 2 February 2016. Jump up ^ `` Latest Gold / Platinum Singles -- RadioScope New Zealand ''. Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. RadioScope New Zealand. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 2 February 2016. Jump up ^ `` British single certifications -- Phil Collins -- In The Air Tonight ''. British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2 February 2016. Enter In The Air Tonight in the search field and then press Enter. ^ Jump up to : `` American single certifications -- Phil Collins -- In The Air Tonight ''. Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 2 February 2016. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH Jump up ^ Adams, Erik ( 1 September 2015 ). `` Barenaked Ladies cover Phil Collins ''. The A.V. Club. External links The Singer and the Song, a `` Learning English '' episode from the BBC World Service, which includes a clip from the song and a recording of Collins reading part of the song 's lyrics ( in RealAudio ) `` Classic track : In the Air Tonight '' About the lyrics and the drum sound. aglassandahalffullproductions.com, Cadbury advert featuring a Gorilla playing the song. Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics Phil Collins Discography Awards Studio albums Face Value Hello, I Must Be Going ! No Jacket Required... But Seriously Both Sides Dance into the Light Testify Going Back Compilations 12 `` ers... Hits Love Songs : A Compilation... Old and New The Singles Box sets The Platinum Collection Soundtracks Buster Tarzan Brother Bear Tarzan ( Broadway ) Live albums Serious Hits... Live ! A Hot Night in Paris Concert tours The Hello, I Must Be Going Tour The No Jacket Required World Tour The Seriously, Live ! World Tour The Both Sides of the World Tour The Trip into the Light World Tour Finally... The First Farewell Tour Not Dead Yet Tour Bands Genesis Brand X Flaming Youth The Phil Collins Big Band Related articles Urban Renewal Gorilla Joely Collins Lily Collins ( daughter ) Simon Collins ( son ) Hugh Padgham Daryl Stuermer Chester Thompson Touring and studio musicians `` Timmy 2000 '' Book Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=In_the_Air_Tonight&oldid=800472896 '' Categories : 1981 singles Phil Collins songs 1980s ballads Number - one singles in Germany Number - one singles in New Zealand Number - one singles in Sweden Number - one singles in Switzerland Debut singles Virgin Records singles Rock ballads Songs written by Phil Collins Song recordings produced by Hugh Padgham Song recordings produced by Phil Collins Atlantic Records singles 1980 songs Miami Vice Number - one singles in Austria Hidden categories : Pages containing links to subscription - only content CS1 German - language sources ( de ) CS1 Italian - language sources ( it ) Use dmy dates from August 2013 Music infoboxes with deprecated parameters Articles with hAudio microformats All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from January 2017 Articles with unsourced statements from June 2015 Singlechart usages for Austria Singlechart usages for Flanders Singlechart usages for Dutch100 Singlechart usages for Ireland2 Singlechart called without artist Singlechart usages for Norway Singlechart usages for Sweden Singlechart usages for Switzerland Singlechart usages for Billboardhot100 Singlechart called without song Singlechart usages for Billboardmainstreamrock Singlechart usages for New Zealand Singlechart usages for France Certification Table Entry usages for Germany Certification Table Entry usages for Italy Certification Table Entry usages for New Zealand Certification Table Entry usages for United Kingdom Certification Table Entry usages for United States Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Español Français Bahasa Indonesia Italiano ქართული Nederlands Norsk nynorsk Polski Português Română Русский Simple English Svenska Türkçe Edit links This page was last edited on 13 September 2017, at 19 : 27. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: when did in the air tonight come out
Answer: January 1981