Take Me Home (Phil Collins song)

"Take Me Home" is a song written and performed by English drummer, singer and songwriter Phil Collins. It is the tenth and final track on Collins' third solo album, No Jacket Required. Collins co-produced the song with Hugh Padgham and released it as a single in the UK in July 1985 and the U.S. in March 1986. It did moderately well in the UK, peaking at No. 19.^[2] While it was not as successful as other singles from the album, such as "Sussudio" or "One More Night" in the US, it still reached the top 10, peaking at No. 7.^[3]

"Take Me Home"
Single by Phil Collins
from the album No Jacket Required
B-side	"We Said Hello Goodbye" "Only You Know and I Know"
Released	15 July 1985 (UK) March 1986 (US)
Recorded	January 1985
Studio	The Townhouse, London; and Old Croft, Surrey
Genre	Rock new wave pop[1]
Length	4:37 (single version) 5:51 (album version) 8:03 (extended mix) 6:46 (extended mix – Japan only)
Label	Atlantic
Songwriter(s)	Phil Collins
Producer(s)	Phil Collins Hugh Padgham
Phil Collins singles chronology
"Don't Lose My Number" (1985) "Take Me Home" (1985) "Separate Lives" (1985)
Music video
"Take Me Home" on YouTube

The "extended mix" of "Take Me Home", released on the 12-inch single, was one of the six songs to be included on Collins' 12"ers album. John "Tokes" Potoker created an edited extended mix of the song for the Japanese release of 12"ers, removing around one and half minutes from the full length mix.

In a readers poll, Rolling Stone ranked "Take Me Home" number five on their list of ten best Collins songs.^[4]

Background

Meaning

The song lyrics refer to a patient in a mental institution^[5] and it is influenced by the Ken Kesey novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.^[6]

Guest appearances

While recording "Long Long Way to Go," Collins asked Sting, former Genesis bandmate Peter Gabriel, and Helen Terry to provide backing vocals.

Live version

"Take Me Home" became Collins's show closer during the No Jacket Required World Tour. It remained at the end of the live show for at least a decade, including the Seriously, Live! World Tour of 1990. The song was not featured in the 2001 video Live & Loose in Paris, although it was played as an encore.

Music video

The music video, directed by Jim Yukich and produced by Paul Flattery,^[7] features Collins getting into a Ford Popular and singing a line of the song in various places around the world, including London, Paris, Tokyo, New York City, Sydney, Bremen, Memphis (Graceland), Los Angeles (Hollywood),^[8] Stockholm, San Francisco, Kyoto, Chicago, St. Louis and Houston. Filming was completed on location when Collins' subsequent No Jacket Required World Tour was staged at the corresponding locale.

Reception

Reception for the song was mostly positive. Jan DeKnock of the Chicago Tribune said that the song was "hypnotic".^[9] Geoff Orens of AllMusic said that the song was an AMG Track Pick, and that the "pulsating 'Take Me Home' utilizes the drama of 'In the Air Tonight' on a more wistful track".^[10] David Fricke of Rolling Stone said that the song had "engaging, circular rhythm and languid melodic texture".^[11] Marty Racine of the Houston Chronicle thought that "Take Me Home" was one of the few songs that "[rose] above the crowd [on the album]".^[12] Cash Box called it "an urgent ballad" with "intensity and hummable refrain".^[13] Billboard called it an "introspective mood piece of melancholy and defiance."^[14]

Covers, remakes, and usage in media

"Take Me Home" appeared on the opening episode of the second season of the popular crime show Miami Vice,^[15] much like Collins's own "In the Air Tonight" appeared in the series premiere a year earlier. The song was included on the Miami Vice II soundtrack album. The song was also the closing theme song for the World Wrestling Federation's television show, Saturday Night's Main Event, for several years in the late 1980s.^[16][17]

"Take Me Home" appeared on the Phil Collins tribute album Urban Renewal, as performed by Malik Pendleton.

In 2003, the hip-hop group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony based their song "Home" on this single.^[18] That version of the song featured the original song's chorus, and reached No. 19 in the UK. Collins appeared in the music video to sing the chorus.^[18]

In 2014, R&B singer JoJo included her own revamped interpretation of "Take Me Home" on her three-track Valentine's Day EP, #LoveJo. The cover, which features production from Da Internz, was praised for JoJo's vocals and the incorporation of trap and 808 beats. "The clear standout is her version of Phil Collins’ 'Take Me Home,' all militant stomp buried under ambient noise," said Sam Lansky of Time magazine. "Her voice soars and crashes over the glitchy, stuttering beat."^[19]

In 2016, the extended mix was prominently used in a scene from the season 2 premiere episode of USA's television series Mr. Robot, in which an executive of the show's villainous corporation is blackmailed into publicly burning $5.9 million of his own company's money.^[20]

Little Big Town and Sugarland covered this song to honor LBT's 25th anniversary as a band, and they performed it on the 2024 CMT Music Awards. The title was also the name of the tour in Fall 2024.

Track listings

All songs were written by Phil Collins, except where noted.

7-inch vinyl single

• UK: Virgin / VS777

Side one

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Take Me Home" (edit)	4:37

Side two

No.	Title	Length
1.	"We Said Hello Goodbye"	4:15

• US: Atlantic / 7-89472
• Germany: WEA / 258 830-7
• Japan: WEA / P2058

Side one

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Take Me Home" (edit)	4:37

Side two

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
1.	"Only You Know and I Know"	Collins	Collins Daryl Stuermer	4:21

12-inch vinyl single

• UK: Virgin / VS777-12
• UK: Virgin / VSM777-12 (limited edition, in gatefold picture sleeve with integral fold-out map and stills from the "Take Me Home" video)

Side one

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Take Me Home" (extended mix)	8:07

Side two

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Take Me Home" (album version)	5:52
2.	"We Said Hello Goodbye"	4:15

CD single

• Japan: WEA International / WPCR-2066

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Take Me Home" (edit)	4:37
2.	"We Said Hello Goodbye"	4:15

Personnel

• Phil Collins – lead and backing vocals, keyboards, drums, Roland TR-909
• Daryl Stuermer – guitars
• Leland Sklar – bass, Piccolo bass
• Peter Gabriel – backing vocals
• Sting – backing vocals
• Helen Terry – backing vocals

Chart performance

Chart (1985–1986)	Peak position
Irish Singles Chart[21]	13
UK Singles Chart[2]	19
Australia (Kent Music Report)[22]	64
Canadian AC[23]	2
Canadian Singles Chart[24]	23
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[3]	7
U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks[3]	12
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks[3]	2

Year-end chart (1986)	Rank
US Top Pop Singles (Billboard)[25]	88

References

1. Edwards, Luke (30 January 2021). "Best Phil Collins Songs: 20 solo hits that defined the 80s". Dig!. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
2. "The Official Charts Company – Phil Collins – Take Me Home". Official Charts. Retrieved 27 February 2009.
3. "allmusic – Phil Collins > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles". Retrieved 27 February 2009.
4. "Readers' Poll: The 10 Best Phil Collins Songs". Rolling Stone. 11 December 2013.
5. Holden, Stephen (7 April 1985). "Phil Collins: Pop Music's Answer to Alfred Hitchcock". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 February 2009.
6. "VH-1 Storytellers: Phil Collins". VH-1 Storytellers. 14 April 1997.
7. "Phil Collins "Take Me Home" dir. Jim Yukich, 1985". videos.antville.org.
8. Pareles, Jon (2 November 1986). "Recent Releases Of Video Cassettes: Photos and 'White Suit'". New York Times. Retrieved 27 February 2009.
9. DeKnock, Jan (21 March 1986). "Sweeter Voice Takes Heart Right to the Top". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 10 May 2009. Retrieved 6 March 2009.
10. "allmusic ((( No Jacket Required > Overview )))". allmusic. Retrieved 6 March 2009.
11. "Phil Collins: No Jacket Required : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2 October 2007. Retrieved 19 September 2008.
12. "Records". Houston Chronicle. 24 March 1985. Retrieved 12 October 2010.
13. "Single Releases" (PDF). Cash Box. 15 March 1986. p. 13. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
14. "Reviews". Billboard. 15 March 1986. p. 101. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
15. "Prodigal Son". Miami Vice. Season 2. Episode 1. 27 September 1985.
16. "Episode #7". Saturday Night's Main Event. Richfield, Ohio. 4 October 1986. NBC.
17. "Episode #16". Saturday Night's Main Event. Springfield, Massachusetts. 30 April 1988. NBC.
18. "everyHit.com – UK Top 40 Chart Archive, British Singles & Album Charts". everyhit.co.uk. Retrieved 25 March 2009.
19. "Happy Valentine's Day From JoJo: Hear the Singer's Excellent New EP". Time. 14 February 2014.
20. "Mr. Robot: "eps2.0_unm4sk-pt1.tc/eps2.0_unm4sk-pt2.tc" Review". IGNIGN. 14 July 2016.
21. "irishcharts.ie search results". Retrieved 27 February 2009.
22. 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. N.B. the Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between mid 1983 and 19 June 1988.
23. "RPM Top 30 AC – May 17, 1986" (PDF).
24. "RPM Top 100 Singles – June 7, 1986" (PDF).
25. "1986 The Year in Music & Video: Top Pop Singles". Billboard. Vol. 98, no. 52. 27 December 1986. p. Y-21.

External links

• allmusic review