10 Biggest Rock Songs From Every Year Of The 1980s

Former Genesis drummer and all-round cheeky chappie Phil Collins announced himself as a solo star with his debut album, 1981’s Face Value. 

Sporting a giant picture of Phil’s mug on the front cover - Face Value, get it? - the album was a mega-seller, thanks in no small part to its monumental opening track.

In the Air Tonight was written by Collins in the fallout of his first divorce, its dark, moody tone matching the sadness in his heart at the time. It is, of course, best known for its distinctive drum break, which someone needs to figure out how to get into a museum. It’s that damn important.

Though it only just cracked the top 20 in the US and finished second place in the singer’s native land, In the Air Tonight was a global sensation. It appeared high in the year-end charts of countries from West Germany to New Zealand, Switzerland to Canada. It also ensured that Collins made it as a solo act, which in turn led to all the other great things he’s gone on to do. 

To think, if this song never existed, the world would have never known the joys of the movie Buster.