"Sussudio"
Single by Phil Collins
from the album No Jacket Required
B-side
Released14 January 1985 (1985-01-14)
Genre
Length
  • 4:23 (album version)
  • 6:36 (extended version)
Label
Songwriter(s)Phil Collins
Producer(s)
Phil Collins singles chronology
"One More Night"
(1985)		 "Sussudio"
(1985)		 "Don't Lose My Number"
(1985)
Audio sample
  • file
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"Sussudio" is a song by English singer-songwriter Phil Collins, released as a single in January 1985. The song is the first track on Collins' third solo studio album, No Jacket Required, released in February of the same year. The song entered frequent rotation on MTV in May; by 6 July both single and album reached No. 1 on their respective US Billboard charts.[4] The song peaked at No. 12 in the UK Singles Chart.[5]

Production and recording

Collins has said that he "improvised" the lyric.[6] Collins was just playing around with a drum machine, and the lyric "su-sussudio" was what came out of his mouth.[6] "So I kinda knew I had to find something else for that word, then I went back and tried to find another word that scanned as well as 'sussudio,' and I couldn't find one, so I went back to 'sussudio'", Collins said.[6] According to Collins, the lyrics are about a schoolboy crush on a girl at school.

The synthesizer, rhythm and synth bass arrangement, sound design, and programming was done by David Frank of the System,[7] and the horn arrangements were done later based on the motif from the bassline.

Music video

The music video for the song was filmed at a pub owned at the time by Richard Branson (The Princess Victoria in Shepherd's Bush) in London.[8] The accompanying music video features Collins, as well as long-time collaborators Daryl Stuermer and Chester Thompson.[9] The video begins with a man telling his family he is taking his dog for a walk, with them ignoring him while watching TV (which happens to be playing the music video for Phil Collins' debut solo single "In the Air Tonight"). He passes outside a pub, with live music being played. It then cuts to Collins and his band inside playing for an uninterested crowd.[9] The crowd slowly migrates toward the band as the song progresses, leaving them cheering at the end.[9] Bass player Lee Sklar also appears in the video; however, neither Sklar nor Thompson played on the studio recording.[9]

Critical reception

Some music critics have suggested that the song sounds very similar to "1999" by Prince.[10] Collins does not deny the similarity between the two songs; he stated that he is a fan of Prince's work[11][12] and remembers listening to "1999" frequently while he was on tour with Genesis.[13] Tom Breihan of Stereogum commented in 2020 that "in making funky dance-pop, Collins committed the same sin as almost everyone else who made funky dance-pop in the mid-'80s: he bit Prince." According to Breihan, "if something like that happened today, Collins would've at least had to give Prince a songwriting credit." However, he acknowledged that "even if one groove is a distinct copy of another, everything else is different."[2]

Keegan Hamilton of The Riverfront Times said that the song was the best track on the album, saying that it's "catchy gibberish."[14] "Even though this song isn't on the Flashdance soundtrack, it makes me want to put on some goofy legwarmers and kick out an aerobics routine. Where the vast majority of artists from this era try out the synthesizer/keyboard/horn section soup and fail miserably, Collins seems to have the recipe down to a science," Hamilton adds.[14] Robert Hilburn of The Los Angeles Times thought the song had a "friskier R&B style" as compared to Collins' other songs, and agreed that it sounded very much like the Prince song.[15] Michael R. Smith of The Daily Vault believed that "Sussudio" was the best track on the album, calling it a "monster track"; he also added that:

This is a song that chugs and churns along at a gingerly pace, set to a beat that is sure to get car speakers thumping. At the time, it was like nothing you had ever heard before on the radio. The word "Sussudio" may not have meant anything, but the song itself was pure magic.[16]

Other reviewers have criticised the song. David Fricke of Rolling Stone said that songs like "Sussudio", with the heavy use of a horn section, were "beginning to wear thin."[17] In 2001, the chief rock and pop critic of The Guardian, Alexis Petridis, called the song a "vapid funk workout".[1] In 2013, Tom Service, also of The Guardian, wrote: "Sussudio brings me out in a cold sweat; the production, the drum machine, the inane sincerity of the lyrics; there's no colder or more superficial sound in popular music, precisely because it takes itself so seriously."[18]

"Sussudio" was the first track released as a single in the UK and the second to be released in the US. In the UK, the song reached number 12. In the US, the song entered frequent rotation on MTV in May and, by 6 July, both the single and the album had reached No. 1 on their respective US Billboard charts.[4][19] A remix of the song appeared on Collins' 12"ers album.

Track listings

7-inch: Virgin / VS736 (UK)

  1. "Sussudio"
  2. "The Man with the Horn"

7-inch: Atlantic / 7-89560 (US)

  1. "Sussudio"
  2. "I Like the Way"

12-inch: Virgin / VS736-12 (UK)

  1. "Sussudio" (extended remix)
  2. "Sussudio"
  3. "The Man with the Horn"

CD: WEA International / WPCR 2065 (Japan)

  1. "Sussudio"
  2. "Sussudio" (extended mix)

Personnel

Charts

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[30] Silver 200,000‡
United States (RIAA)[31] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United Kingdom 14 January 1985 7-inch vinyl Virgin [32]
United States 30 April 1985
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • 12-inch vinyl
 Atlantic [31]

References

  1. 1 2 Petridis, Alexis (9 November 2001). "They are not worthy". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  2. 1 2 Breihan, Tom (12 October 2020). "Phil Collins – "Sussudio"". Stereogum. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  3. ↑ Molanphy, Chris (31 May 2019). "The Invisible Miracle Sledgehammer Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  4. 1 2 Dean, Maury (2003). Rock N' Roll Gold Rush. Algora. p. 160. ISBN 0-87586-207-1.
  5. ↑ David Roberts, ed. (2006). British Hit Singles and Albums. Guinness World Records Limited. p. 115. ISBN 978-1904994107.
  6. 1 2 3 "VH-1 Storytellers: Phil Collins". VH-1 Storytellers. 14 April 1997.
  7. ↑ Phil Collins (2016). Not Dead Yet. London, England: Century Books. p. 219. ISBN 978-1-780-89513-0.
  8. ↑ "17 January 2005". philcollins.co.uk. Archived from the original on 3 July 2007. Retrieved 19 September 2009.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Pareles, Jon (2 November 1986). "HOME VIDEO; Recent Releases Of Video Cassettes: Photos and 'White Suit'". New York Times. Retrieved 6 November 2008.
  10. ↑ Mark, Caro (1 May 2007). "Yes, Phil Collins' 'Sussudio' Ripoff of Prince's '1999' is Included". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 24 March 2010. Retrieved 3 March 2010.
  11. ↑ Bronson, Fred (1998). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits. New York: Billboard Books. p. 624. ISBN 0-8230-7641-5.
  12. ↑ Keegan, Hamilton (17 February 2009). "Phil Collins, No Jacket Required". Second Spin. Retrieved 3 March 2010.
  13. ↑ Hogan, Ed. "Sussudio review". Allmusic.
  14. 1 2 "Second Spin: Phil Collins, No Jacket Required". Riverfront Times. 17 February 2009. Retrieved 5 March 2009.
  15. ↑ Hilburn, Robert (5 June 1985). "Pop Music Review: One More Time, One More Night". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 23 March 2009.
  16. ↑ "The Daily Vault Music Reviews: No Jacket Required". The Daily Vault. 27 January 2008. Retrieved 23 March 2009.
  17. ↑ "Phil Collins: No Jacket Required : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. 9 May 1985. Archived from the original on 2 October 2007. Retrieved 23 March 2009.
  18. ↑ Service, Tom (20 December 2013). "American Psycho musical and Phil Collins' perfectly vacuous music". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  19. 1 2 3 "Billboard.com - Artist Chart History - Phil Collins". billboard.com. Retrieved 20 September 2008.
  20. ↑ 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.
  21. ↑ "Results - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 15 September 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
  22. ↑ Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
  23. ↑ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  24. ↑ "Phil Collins: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  25. ↑ "Phil Collins Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  26. ↑ "Phil Collins Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  27. ↑ "Phil Collins Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  28. ↑ "Kent Music Report No 599 – 30 December 1985 > National Top 100 Singles for 1985". Kent Music Report. Retrieved 23 January 2023 – via Imgur.
  29. ↑ "1985 The Year in Music & Video: Top Pop Singles". Billboard. Vol. 97, no. 52. 28 December 1985. p. T-21.
  30. ↑ "British single certifications – Phil Collins – Sussudio". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  31. 1 2 "American single certifications – Phil Collins – Sussudio". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  32. ↑ "New Singles". Music Week. 12 January 1985. p. 12. Misprinted as 21 January on source.
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