Do You Remember? (Phil Collins song)

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Wikipedia

"Do You Remember?"
Single by Phil Collins
from the album ...But Seriously
B-side
Released
  • April 1990 (1990-04) (studio)
  • 26 November 1990 (live)
Length4:36
Label
SongwriterPhil Collins
Producers
Phil Collins singles chronology
"Something Happened on the Way to Heaven"
(1990)		 "Do You Remember?"
(1990)		 "That's Just the Way It Is"
(1990)
Music videos
"Do You Remember?" (studio version) on YouTube
"Do You Remember?" (live version) on YouTube

"Do You Remember?" is a song by the English drummer and singer-songwriter Phil Collins. It was released in April 1990 as the fourth single from his fourth solo studio album, ...But Seriously (1989). It was produced by Collins and Hugh Padgham and features singer-songwriter Stephen Bishop on the track as a backing vocalist.[1] The song had minor success in European countries but went to number one on both the Canadian and US Adult Contemporary charts. It also reached number one in Canada and peaked at number four on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number three on the US Cash Box Top 100, becoming his 14th and last top-ten hit.

A live performance of the song appears on the Serious Hits... Live! album. The live version was released as a single in Australia and Europe, where it reached number 57 on the UK Singles Chart and the top 30 in Belgium, France, Ireland and the Netherlands. Music videos were produced for both versions; a live version, using the Serious Hits... Live! album recording was published on Phil Collins' YouTube channel in June 2010[2] while the original video using the studio version was not published on his YouTube channel until July 2018.[3]

The song's lyrics are from the perspective of a man whose relationship is failing, due to his lover's neglect. It was awarded a BMI Most Performed Song Award and one of BMI's Pop Awards in 1991, honoring the songwriters, composers and music publishers of the song.[4] An instrumental cover performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra was released later. It was extremely popular in Bulgaria during the early 1990s, due to a then-famous teenage TV program using it while showing its closing credits. The song was also featured in the United States Army aviation action movie Fire Birds starring Nicolas Cage and Sean Young.

Music video

The music video for "Do You Remember?" opens on Collins finishing up performing the song in the recording studio when his engineer alerts him of a phone call. Collins picks up the phone amid a loud lightning and thunder storm, unable to hear the person on the other line. He then hears and sees a woman-like figure through a door calling for him. He opens the door and is blinded by a bright light and glass shattering, which presumably transports him back to his childhood and the video to black and white. The song begins to play as the childhood sequence, interspersed with the adult Collins singing to "Remember", tells the story of a young newspaper boy (played by Justin Wilmeth) becoming acquainted with a girl classmate (Carla Anderson). The two become romantically involved before the girl tells him that she is moving. As the two bid goodbye, the boy gives her his hat and watches despairingly as her and her family drive away. The video cuts back to exactly how it began, only this time Collins says to his engineer, "Can we take a message?"[3]

Critical reception

Gavin Report called the song, "A beautifully written and performed open letter to a closed mind."[5]

Formats and track listings

  • 7-inch single
  1. "Do You Remember?"
  2. "I Wish It Would Rain Down" (demo)
  • CD maxi
  1. "Do You Remember?" (live)
  2. "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" (live)
  3. "Doesn't Anybody Stay Together Anymore?" (live)
  4. "Inside Out" (live)
  • CD maxi - Caroussel boxset
  1. "Do You Remember?" (live)
  2. "Doesn't Anybody Stay Together Anymore?" (live)
  3. "The Roof Is Leaking" (live)
  • 7-inch single
  1. "Do You Remember?" (live) – 5:47
  2. "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" (live) – 3:32
  • 12-inch single
  1. "Do You Remember?" (live) – 5:47
  2. "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" (live) – 3:32
  3. "Doesn't Anybody Stay Together Anymore" (live) – 5:52

Personnel

Charts

Release history

Region Version Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref(s).
United States Studio April 1990 7-inch vinyl Atlantic [24]
Japan 10 May 1990 Mini-CD WEA [25]
Australia 6 August 1990
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • cassette
 [26]
20 August 1990 CD [27]
United Kingdom Live 26 November 1990
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • CD1
  • cassette
 Virgin [28][29]
Australia 10 December 1990
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • CD
  • cassette
 WEA [30]
Japan Mini-CD [31]
United Kingdom 24 December 1990 CD2 Virgin [32]

References

  1. ↑ Wesley Hyatt (1999) The Billboard Book of #1 Adult Contemporary Hits (Billboard Publications)
  2. ↑ "Phil Collins - Do You Remember (Official Music Video) - Live at Berlin, 15 July 1990". YouTube. June 2010. Archived from the original on 2 February 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  3. 1 2 "Phil Collins - Do You Remember? (Official Music Video)". YouTube. 6 July 2018.
  4. ↑ "BMI: We Proudly Congratulate All The Prs Writers And Publishers Of The Most Performed Works In The United States Of 1990" (PDF). Music Week. 14 December 1991. p. 2. Retrieved 5 December 2025.
  5. ↑ "Gavin Report - April 13, 1990" (PDF). Gavin Report. p. 30. Retrieved 19 December 2025.
  6. 1 2 Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988-2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  7. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 1272." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
  8. ↑ "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 7964." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
  9. 1 2 "Phil Collins Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 22 March 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  10. ↑ "Top 100 Pop Singles" (PDF). Cash Box. Vol. LIII, no. 50. 7 July 1990. p. 27. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
  11. ↑ "Top 100 Hit Tracks of 1990". RPM. Archived from the original on 18 November 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2019 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  12. ↑ "Top 100 Adult Contemporary Tracks of 1990". RPM. Archived from the original on 3 July 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2019 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  13. ↑ "Billboard Top 100 – 1990". Archived from the original on 6 July 2009. Retrieved 15 September 2009.
  14. ↑ "Year-End Charts: Adult Contemporary Songs 1990". Billboard. Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  15. ↑ "Awards: Top 50 Pop Singles" (PDF). Cash Box. Vol. LIV, no. 22. 29 December 1990. p. 9. Retrieved 24 November 2025.
  16. ↑ "Phil Collins – Do You Remember? (Live)" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
  17. ↑ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 8, no. 13. 30 March 1991. p. 27. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  18. ↑ "Phil Collins – Do You Remember? (Live)" (in French). Le classement de singles. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
  19. ↑ "Phil Collins – Do You Remember? (Live)" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
  20. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Do You Remember". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
  21. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 1, 1991" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
  22. ↑ "Phil Collins – Do You Remember? (Live)" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
  23. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
  24. ↑ "Phil Collins – Do You Remember?". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  25. ↑ "フィル・コリンズ | ドゥ・ユー・リメンバー" [Phil Collins | Do You Remember] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
  26. ↑ "New Release Summary: Singles". The ARIA Report. No. 30. 5 August 1990. p. 17.
  27. ↑ "New Release Summary: Singles". The ARIA Report. No. 32. 19 August 1990. p. 21.
  28. ↑ Smith, Robin (24 November 1990). "This Week – The Next Seven Days in View: Releases". Record Mirror. p. 33. ISSN 0144-5804.
  29. ↑ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 24 November 1990. p. vii.
  30. ↑ "New Release Summary: Singles". The ARIA Report. No. 48. 9 December 1990. p. 19.
  31. ↑ "フィル・コリンズ | ドゥ・ユー・リメンバー" [Phil Collins | Do You Remember] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
  32. ↑ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 22 December 1990. p. vi.