The fact that his ex wife was bitter about the song somehow makes it more pleasurable to listen to.

The greatest drum fill in the history of rock music and he calls it barking seals. Love it!

Excellent song despite what your ex wife thinks. YOU GAVE US ALL MUCH JOY PHIL COLLINS. After I got out of the US Army and had had PTSD your music saved my life! Bless you Phil. jhf, USArmy Veteran, SGT, NATO COMMAND. Vietnam Investigations. Voice Over work later in life. Some acting. Mike and Molly, NCIS, Community, Newsroom, jersey Boys for Clint Eastwood. Danny Collins, film w/Al Pacino. I am catching Pacino 'Scarf in TRAILER. 'Behind the Scene' Danny Collins. front row. Thank you all. We had some amazing years listening to GENESIS. PHIL COLLINS DRUM' SOLO AND MORE...Pure Talent A Gift from God

The fact that every word of this song was improvised lyrics based off of his pure, raw pain and emotion makes it even more impressive.

When I was a young girl I use to dream of having a sports car so that I could drive in the night and listen to this song. When I was 21 I fulfilled that dream and it felt really good.

"I dont care anymore" is Phils best anger song for me.

Not many famous music men would admit they have no clue the meaning of one of their best sellers. Written in sadness , anger and loneliness . that's why he's the man no ego to fill …..Just Phil pure talent !

Now that Phil has explained it I can hear and even feel the anger in IN THE AIR TONIGHT... And I like it.

The most famous drum-phil ever. I mean drum-fill.

“Just decided to keep that take” of the most famous drum fill in history!😎 Phil Collins mic drop!

That's exactly why the song came out so well. It's because of all the anger, the hate, love, and heartache I can just imagine how incredibly difficult it must have been for you without your wife and children. We musicians are all a bunch of emotionally deep individual people...when we love we love.......great song!

We all have air-drummed this one in some point of our lives. Goosebumps the couple of times I've heard this performed live by Phil Collins.

How can one be so humble while being an international superstar? I'd be an absolute prick I'm sure... I have huge respect for Phil Collins for being so honest and humble despite his well deserved status.

The pain of divorce , also this song , are timeless.

Phil Collins was one of the best artist of the 80's and deserves to be better treated and more respected. Too many discredit him and why? What have they done, clearly not one millionth the talent that Phil has.

“You can wipe off that grin…I know where you’ve been…it’s all been a pack of lies”. Nothing hits harder than finding out the truth.

It's still impressive that he turned the drums into the lead instrument in the 1980s. This song was bigger than life. It was everywhere, and it never got old. It's still not old. That kind of raw emotion. Crazy.

It's not about an event, it's about an emotion. I dig it.

Still one of the best songs ever

Phil is one of those drummers, that you know whose playing by just hearing the drums, he definitely has a signature drum sound.

ex-wives get angry when we capitalise on our sadness. love your work Phil.

"I was depressed and was not afraid to show my feelings" .. I love face value and I guess his feelings can be felt through many of his songs .. but I think his anger comes out big time on his next album "Hello, I must be going" and it´s opener I don´t care anymore .. I love Phil Collins .. best musician ever (well, at least for me .. so many great memories)

"I've been waiting for this moment for all my life." Could be that Phil knows exactly what this song is about.

Who could ever forget this song in Miami Vice. Absolutely iconic 80s.

Sounds like the desperation of loneliness. Crying out to the lord in pain

Through heartbreak he creates one of the best songs ever.

If you've ever been through a divorce where someone has done you inexplicably wrong, then you've felt as he did when he was writing it. And if you haven't... Just hide and watch! And then you'll understand how lyrics like this can be written. Thank you Phil!

To those who weren't around at the time, Phil Collins was everywhere in the '80s, from Genesis, to touring as Led Zeppelin's drummer one summer, drumming for the progressive group, "Brand X," to acting in episodes of Miami Vice. He has lived quite a life. And now, his son, Nick, is stepping into his shoes as a respected drummer, himself.

When I click on interviews of past artists on how they made classic songs THIS is what I hope to learn about rather than the 99% of click bait wana be youtube uploaders....

This song is definitely one of the soundtracks of my life.

I saw Genesis in concert in Saint Louis when I was a teenager. Phil Collins did a drum solo that went on forever..... and it wasn't long enough. All these years later I still remember....

He is an artist, his pain created his art of lyrics and music, that is not capitalizing that’s how a musician expresses their pain and processes their emotions.

Phil Collins was an inspiration for drumming with feeling, dynamics, personality and color. He was, and still is my favorite drummer of the 70's. In addition to Genesis, his progressive jazz work with the band Brand-X was phenomenal. Phenomenal Phil !! 🎧 🥁🎤

One of the most famous drum fills of my generation.

"Because she thought I was, I was capitalizing on the sadness, you know?" The expression Phil makes directly after this statement is the ACTUAL statement - and I love it.

There was nothing luck about this song, it's a masterpiece strait from the heart and that's why it will be remembered for years to come.

I have lived in Miami, FL all my life and in the mid 80's you could regularly see production crews filming Miami Vice in and around Miami. Back then they did a lot of on-location shooting and I used to cruise the city playing this tune and it never failed to give that Vice "vibe". I still sometimes take a ride at night and will play this tune and it STILL gives you that same same 80's vibe from yesteryear. The 80's drug wars was a bad period made just a little better by the greatest music of all time... and I survived it.

One of the best, and most influential, drummers of the late 20th century.

I'm sure all the Phil Collins fans who love this song are as surprised (shocked) to discover what this song isn't about....its a song about a man having to face divorce and the pain and anguish that ending a marriage entails....you question yourself ...you question every thing you've ever done, your mind tortures you and your heart feels like its been ripped out of your chest leaving only a gaping hole were it once was and yet you know you have to go on because if you don't......you will destroy yourself into so many pieces that nothing or no one can ever bring you back, you can see that even years later in this interview his eyes water up when he thinks of the great loss....Phil brought himself back thru his music and this song and as he says its just a song and now I'm known for it....these words remind me of John Lennon when he's talking to a fan who had jumped over the fence of his home in England the fan questions John about one of his songs and asks intently what does it mean like he's come to a sage and wants to know the meaning of life....and John with Yoko standing next to him says simply "some times a song is just a song".....

His Face Value album was & is still a favorite of mine. He poured his divorce emotions in each and every song. It is sheer magic from beginning to end. It’s a masterpiece.

God the rumours that went around when I was in high school about this song and the back story to it were rife. We didn't have internet eccetera. Basically everyone was saying that Phil actually witnessed a drowning from a cliff and saw that somebody walked by on the beach and did not help them. Somehow Phil found out who that person was and sent him a ticket for the the front row of one of his shows and sang it directly to him and pointed him out and apparently that man in the audience cried. Good story but bloody bollocks. ✌

The most iconic drum fill ever! Imagine if we never heard it. Crazy. We are definitely lucky as Phil described it.

OMG I love him!!!! His music got me thru some hard times and good times. He has been consistently my favorite for over 30 years!!

The song still sounds fresh and current, even in 2020

Still remember this song on Miami Vice..

“Barking seals” Oh cheers Phil, now that’s all I’m ever gonna hear. Smh...

This song is truly a "CRISIS" song. He knew his divorce was coming soon...therefore he knew it subconsciously and that explains "in the air tonight". We all go through crisis in our lives. On Jan 1 1992 I awoke to a blood red sky...and my year of crisis begun...a horrific dark period...thank God he pulled me through to His light

This song has helped me heal from some pretty deep hurt and maybe that's what people relate to. So I think Phil Collins for having the insight to record it and know when it was right and leave it alone

You can have your paintings in museums. Phil Collins is a true artist in every sense of the word. He creates it and builds it as well. What an amazing talent he is.

Hands down one of the best songs ever written......Theres nothing else like it.

You don’t see much of Phil Collins today in 2021 in the United States anymore as we Americans used to in the 1980’s. He was everywhere and all over in those days. You don’t see Phil Collins on television anymore.

The BEST SONGS ever written were all written in pain... dealing with the anger and grief of any given situation. This song is just further proof of that fact!

Phil called the greatest beat drop of all time luck lol.

Wow... One of the greatest songs ever was a freestyle 🤯

And once again it's proven: the real masterpiece only happens when you don't think about it and just let your emotions do all the magic. Will always love Phil Collins' music, glad my dad is such a big fan and introduced me to the work of this genius right here.

Phill Collins is another one of those that was in my collection of music in the 1980’s. It was a great time to be young. ‘In the Air Tonight’....Great song!!!!

After decades his music still impresses me!

35+ years of wondering what that song is all about- now I know Phil doesn’t even know!

I love how iconic the drum fill is and from Phil's perspective, how inconsequential the choice was (at the time), literally just trying stuff - but that's what stuck and the rest is history.

Anger+pain+experience + authenticity= great lyrics .

Real emotional song. Collins' music then sounded so real and full of soul. That album is pure gold too

You took an agonizing experience and turned it into something the whole world enjoyed...Good for you Phil. One of my favorite songs of all time.

Iconic. Never gets old.

I honestly believe looking back now I’m 44 and was a little kid in the 80’s of course I remember Phil Collins and Genesis. Now I look back and listen to the genius in the synth sounds and drums and drum programming. He was the most contemporary artist of the 80’s he was the architect of the 80’s and that drum sound everyone used that in the 80’s. His stuff has aged soooo well much better than other artists.

What a legend.

I get how he explains the lyrics may not mean anything specifically. For me, it's always been about the *energy* that is expressed in the music and somehow the words just fit together. It's brilliant.

Beautiful song forged from pain. Serendipity, not luck.

Best drum fill ever, best video layout ever. This song can fit into anything it plays with.

"Somebody's heart is broken, And it becomes your favorite song". Dave Matthews

something about these great artists ... they are not afraid to say “I don’t know what I did” or “it was just luck”. Of course, their talent lurking behind all this time.

It's beautiful to turn ugly moments into beautiful butterflies and the world was forever bless for it! Peace and plenty of blessings to Phil Collins for turning a bad situation in to pure gold ! Hopefully all was well with the family unit beyond the divorce

I think I was 18 when I heard this song for the first time and loved it straight away. It is a kind of unusual song specially with the drum and it sound for me a bit mystical. ❤️👍🏼

“Quiet, quiet.....” “Mike Tyson?” “This is my favorite part comin up right now.”

Sometimes music is just like an art painting. Everybody sees (or hears) something else in it.

Usually the best things come out of suffering. This is stupendous. I also went through a divorce so understand. The drums are part of the emotions that can't be put into words.

A genuine genius....a song that gives me the chill and humbleness.

Truly an iconic song

This song makes me feel like i could take on the 🌎. 🤘🇺🇸🗽🇬🇧🤘

Love this man, loved in the air tonight since I was a nipper, can feel the anger and frustration with the love lost with hurt and vengeance in this track. I use to lie on my bed with massive headphones on blazing this between my ears feeling overwhelmed as the drums dropped in. Amazing Phil says its pure luck, you were at the height of emotion with what you were going through at the time of this track, that rawness you felt it truly developed to evoke an energy that I couldn't get enough of.

It's amazing how words can translate emotions.. even if the mind is not ready to hear it...we all grew up hearing that song..we all know it and we all love it...that's the value of that song..?

I know exactly how he felt. None of the family around that you were there for and tried to be there for, though work and necessity took you away from. The empty nights filled with far too much time on your hands. The nightmares, worries, fears and regrets, the bottle ever-present, keeping you awake because you’re too afraid to confront the dreams and nightmares of your deepest fears realized. I now look at this song in an entirely different light. Thank You Mr. Collins.

I’m not at all an artsy person, but I’ve always felt the best masterpieces come from pain. Maybe it’s the soul’s way of getting better.

3:54 Barking seals? Bro that drum sequence is the best drum sequence hands down I’ve ever heard in any song, in my life… oh lord.

Still a classic and it stands up today.

I bought this years ago when it was on Cassette . Could only have been 21 or so . Loved it . One of my all time favs . Years later there i am at 315am rushing into Hospital 30 minutes across Town as the Nurse has called my Sister " he is on his Last breath " . Guess what comes on the radio while the roads are empty and before My Dad died ?

I think Miami Vice absolutely portrays the words of this song perfectly. That sense of foreboding and an ominous cloud of darkness hovering within a torrent of anxiety as a prelude to impending doom.

When "In the Air tonight was released I was picking apples and on the way to work the radio in the car was playing the song and they had it on repeat all day. I always remember because I was going through the end of my marriage . On repeat ALL DAY! It was so significant! That was 30+ years ago I love that song.

It's definitely one of the most famous drum fills in pop music.

I enjoyed this, and to hear the brutal honesty of it all. I have that track on a 12 inch vinyl and it is still one of my favourites to this day. People may have got angry when Phil Collins produced this, but is not music, a form of therapy ? And far better to let it out through Music ! Than keeping the anger with in.

I bet she was really sad when she saw that Phil wrote his most successful album after she left him and she didn't get a cut of the money. lol

Phil is still "the man", but in the early 80's he was "THE MAN". Who knew that Genesis would produce not one, but two of the greatest voices ever to grace the airwaves.

Ex Wife: "I gave you lemons, how DARE you make lemonade".

The quality of this content is amazing! Thank you very much!

Ladies and gentleman,Mr.Phil Collins!!!

One of THE best songs of the 80s the drum fill is iconic and somehow him not knowing himself what the song is about makes it even more epic , funny how many of the best songs out there are born out of heartache , Adele has made millions on the back of it

Ex wifes, they only want one thing: money, money money. When my wife divorced from my, i'll listen a lot to his songs. It's timelles! and pulls my trough this sad period.. Thanx Phill, for this gift!

This guy made my childhood awesome with all his great songs. I still play them on the daily. Thanks for sharing

Phil is the man!!!! I love him!!!❤❤❤

i am 61 now and always thought the song was whatever you wanted it to be . what you feel hearing this song is what it is , wow i was right . it does have meaning for me as well as a lot of songs from this album . a genius in songwriting .

Phil Collins is the King, in my opinion. So blessed to discover his music at an early age.