Easy Lover
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| “Easy Lover” | |||||
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| Single by Philip Bailey & Phil Collins from the album Chinese Wall |
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| Released | USA: 1984 UK: 1985 |
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| Format | 7", 12" | ||||
| Recorded | 1984 | ||||
| Genre | Pop | ||||
| Length | 5:02 | ||||
| Label | Columbia/CBS | ||||
| Writer(s) | Philip Bailey, Phil Collins and Nathan East | ||||
| Producer | Phil Collins | ||||
| Philip Bailey & Phil Collins singles chronology | |||||
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"Easy Lover" is a song written by Philip Bailey, Phil Collins, and Nathan East, and accredited to both singers Bailey and Collins when released as a single. The song appeared on Bailey's solo album Chinese Wall. Collins has also performed the song in his live shows and it appears on his 1990 album Serious Hits... Live!, as well as his 1998 compilation album, ...Hits.
The song was a smash hit in the UK, reaching #1 and staying there for four weeks and also reaching #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US.
The lighthearted video for the song was filmed in London and features Bailey travelling by helicopter to meet Collins in a television studio.
Contents |
[edit] Chart performance
| Country | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austria | 18 |
| France | 14 |
| Germany | 5 |
| Japan Weekly Singles Chart | 19 |
| Japan International Chart | 1 |
| The Netherlands | 1[1] |
| Sweden | 10 |
| Switzerland | 8 |
| UK | 1 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 2 |
| US R&B | 3 |
[edit] Cultural references
The song was used as a theme song to the inaugural WrestleMania in 1985. The song also featured in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories as part of its soundtrack in the fictional pop radio station, Flash FM. The song was also used in the TV advertisements for the game in the United States and the United Kingdom. In 1994 it was sampled by Chris Morris for "Uzi Lover", a parody of gangsta rap (with Morris portraying its fictitious performer "Fur-Q") in an episode of The Day Today. The song was also covered by R&B/Gospel singer, Cheryl Gamble of SWV in 2001.
[edit] "Discovery" of Bailey
Phil Collins, during a radio interview, was asked how "he discovered" Philip Bailey[citation needed]. Annoyed at the lack of knowledge of the interviewer he made up a story about how he had been filling his car with gas/petrol when he heard the attendant singing...and that turned out to be Philip Bailey. The interviewer believed the whole story, which was also picked up by other media outlets.
[edit] External links
- Video on VH1 Classic
[edit] References
- ^ De Nederlandse Top 40, week 4, 1985. Retrieved on 2008-03-01.
| Preceded by "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" by Dead or Alive |
UK number one single March 17, 1985 |
Succeeded by "We Are the World" by USA for Africa |
