If you ever watched MTV or turned on the radio during the '80s, then you know Phil Collins was pretty much inescapable. After all, the man had a whopping seven #1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including "One More Night" and "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)," not to mention a bunch of other super popular songs in the Top 20.
Considering what a major presence Collins was on the '80s charts, it's only fitting that one of his songs was the last #1 hit of the entire decade...as well as the last #1 hit of his career.
Released as the first single from Collins' 1989 solo album ...But Seriously, "Another Day in Paradise" was inspired by an encounter he had with an unhoused mother of two children on the street.
"I felt awkward," Collins admitted, per Stereogum. "I didn't ignore her, but at the same time, I didn't stop and give her some money."
The lyrics describe the uncomfortable interaction:
She calls out to the man on the street"Sir, can you help me?It's cold, and I've nowhere to sleepIs there somewhere you can tell me?"He walks on, doesn't look backHe pretends he can't hear herStarts to whistle as he crosses the streetSeems embarrassed to be there
At the time, Collins was frustrated with the "middle-of-the-road balladeer" he felt he'd been branded with after producing such pop-infused hits as "Two Hearts" and hoped that "Another Day in Paradise" would prove he was capable of taking on heavier topics. Unfortunately, while the song was a commercial success (obviously, since it went to #1), Collins experienced some significant backlash from those who felt the wealthy celebrity wasn't qualified to sing about poverty.
Collins attempted to defend himself, telling the Times, "When I drive down the street, I see the same things everyone else sees. It's a misconception that if you have a lot of money you're somehow out of touch with reality."
Related: '80s Rock Icon, 74, Hints at First New Music in Decades Following Health Struggles
He went on to point out that he wasn't even trying to write about homelessness, explaining that he was just playing around on the piano at the time.
"I decided to see what would happen when I started singing. When I began, the words just came out, 'She calls out to the man on the street.' I didn't set out to write a song about the homeless. Those were just the words I happened to sing," he explained.
In the years since, critical opinion hasn't particularly softened towards "Another Day in Paradise." In 2007, Blender said Collins "wrote the worst song ever about homelessness." A few years later, in 2010, David Sheppard of the BBC called the song "cringe-worthy," citing it as one of the times Collins "painted the bull's-eye on his own forehead." And in 2016, Mark Beaumont of NME slammed "Another Day in Paradise" as "arguably the corniest multi-millionaire-notices-homelessness-from-gold-plated-limousine ballad ever recorded."
Even if "Another Day in Paradise" was the last #1 for Collins, it certainly wasn't his last hit, so it apparently didn't do much to tarnish his legacy. Plus, at the time of this writing, the song has 871,575,578 streams on Spotify alone. (Another day in paradise, indeed.)
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