Thru These Walls

"Thru These Walls"
Single by Phil Collins
from the album Hello, I Must Be Going!
B-side "Do You Know, Do You Care?"
Released October 1982
Format 7"
Recorded May–September 1982 at Old Croft On 1" 8 track
Genre Pop rock, art rock
Length 5:05
Label Virgin Records (UK)
Atlantic Records (International)
Writer(s) Phil Collins
Producer(s) Phil Collins, Hugh Padgham
Phil Collins singles chronology
"If Leaving Me Is Easy"
(1981)		 "Thru These Walls"
(1982)		 "You Can't Hurry Love"
(1982)

"Thru These Walls" is a song by the English singer-songwriter Phil Collins, drummer and lead vocalist for the rock band Genesis. It was released as a single in October 1982, being Collins' fourth single. The song is also the seventh track on Collins' second solo studio album, Hello, I Must Be Going!, released in November of the same year (1982).[1] The song is very dark, which follows a vast majority of songs from the album, and is about a man listening through the wall to his neighbours partaking in unseemly sexual activities.[2]

Recording

The song has distinct similarities with Collins's debut solo single "In The Air Tonight", featuring similar atmospheric opening chords on a Sequential Circuits Prophet-5 and even utilizing the same drum part several times in the song that Collins made famous on "In The Air Tonight". The song also features one of Collins's attempts at a "Ringo Starr drum part", who is his biggest influence as a drummer.[3]

Release

The song was the first single by Collins that did not reach the Top 20 in the UK, peaking at a poor chart position of 56 in the UK (it was never released as a single in the U.S.).[4][5] The song gained little airplay on album-oriented rock or adult-contemporary radio formats in the UK; this may have been down to its voyeuristic theme.

Music video

The music video for the song was directed by Stuart Orme, who also directed the video for "In The Air Tonight".[6]

Track listing

7": Virgin / VS 524 (UK)

  1. "Thru These Walls"
  2. "Do You Know, Do You Care?"[1]

Sales chart performance

Peak positions

Chart Position
Ireland (IRMA) 27
France (SNEP) 15
Poland (Polish Music Charts) 21
UK (The Official Charts Company) 56
Italy (FIMI) 65
Netherlands (Single Top 100) 48
Spain (AFYVE) 15
U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks 34

Credits

  1. "Thru' These Walls"
  2. "Do You Know, Do You Care?"
    • Phil Collins – vocals, drums, keyboards, tymps, bass pedals, trumpet
    • Daryl Stuermer – guitars

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 http://www.discogs.com/Phil-Collins-Thru-These-Walls/release/842609
  2. ↑ Fitzpatrick, Rob (20 February 2009). "Readers recommend: Songs about secret vices". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
  3. ↑ Hitmen, 1986 Part Two, Hitmen, 1986. reprinted at Collins's website in 2009; archived copy at archive.org.
  4. ↑ http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/_/phil%20collins/
  5. ↑ http://www.rockvf.com/Phil+Collins.art
  6. ↑ http://www.popzoot.tv/cliparchiv/director-Stuart+Orme.html

External links