"I Missed Again"
Single by Phil Collins
from the album Face Value
B-side"I'm Not Moving"
Released27 February 1981
RecordedAugust–October 1980
GenreR&B[1]
Length3:47
LabelVirgin (UK), Atlantic (international)
Songwriter(s)Phil Collins
Producer(s)Phil Collins, Hugh Padgham
Phil Collins singles chronology
"In the Air Tonight"
(1981) 		"I Missed Again"
(1981) 		"If Leaving Me Is Easy"
(1981)
Music video
"I Missed Again" on YouTube

"I Missed Again" is a song from Phil Collins's debut solo album, Face Value. It was selected as the lead single from the album in the US and Canada, although in most other countries "In the Air Tonight" was released as Collins' first solo single, followed by "I Missed Again".[2] The song features a tenor sax solo from British jazz musician Ronnie Scott.

Background

Like many of the songs on Face Value, "I Missed Again" is about Collins's anger and frustration about his first wife leaving him. The original demo was entitled "I Miss You, Babe", with sadder lyrics - this demo version was later released as a B-side of "If Leaving Me Is Easy". He re-wrote the lyrics, gave the song a different tempo, and re-titled it "I Missed Again" in an effort to make it lighthearted instead of sad.[3]

Record World called it a "mid-tempo rocker [that] has R&B underpinnings, melodic pop keyboard currents, and Collins' easily identifiable light tenor."[4]

Music video

The song's music video features Collins on a white background singing and miming the various instruments. It was released on VHS in 1983. It received a Grammy nomination for Best Video, Short Form.[5]

Credits

  1. "I Missed Again"
  2. "I'm Not Moving"

Chart performance

In the US, "I Missed Again" was the first single from Face Value. It peaked at No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in May 1981. It reached No. 14 in the UK.

Popular culture

The song was featured in a late 1980s promotional commercial, which featured bloopers, by the National Basketball Association. It was also used in the early 1990s by the BBC in a montage of snooker players missing shots. Similarly, NBC Sunday Night Football played the song immediately after kicker Eddy Piñeiro missed the second of two field goals during the Chicago Bears' game against the Los Angeles Rams on 17 November 2019.[14]

References

  1. ^ Molanphy, Chris (31 May 2019). "The Invisible Miracle Sledgehammer Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  2. ^ Collins, Phil (2016). Not Dead Yet. Penguin. p. 187. ISBN 978-1-784-75360-3.
  3. ^ Collins, Phil (21 October 1999). "Making of Face Value". Classic Albums. Isis Productions.
  4. ^ "Single Picks" (PDF). Record World. 14 March 1981. p. 12. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  5. ^ "Grammy Awards 1985". Awards & shows. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ "Item Display - RPM". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Library and Archives Canada. Archived from the original on 28 November 2014. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  8. ^ The Irish Charts, 8 March 1981
  9. ^ "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart". The Official New Zealand Music Chart; nztop40.co.nz. 5 July 1981. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  10. ^ "officialcharts.com". officialcharts.com. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  11. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2013). Joel Whitburn’s Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012. Record Research. p. 184.
  12. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  13. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1999). Pop Annual. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-142-X.
  14. ^ "NBC Sports subtly trolled the Bears during 'Sunday Night Football' loss to Rams". Kansas City Star. Archived from the original on 19 November 2019. Retrieved 19 November 2019.

External links

Phil Collins songs
Authority control databases
Categories